Mackenzie Shirilla’s latest attempt to reopen her case has hit another major roadblock. On September 1, 2026, the Supreme Court of Ohio rejected her motion for reconsideration, leaving in place the earlier decision not to accept jurisdiction over her post-conviction challenge.

The ruling does not overturn Shirilla’s convictions or address the underlying evidence again. Instead, the latest fight has centered largely on whether her post-conviction petition was filed within Ohio’s statutory deadline. Meanwhile, a separate federal habeas case remains pending, meaning her broader legal battle is not completely over.

Ohio Supreme Court Rejects Mackenzie Shirilla’s Latest Appeal Attempt

In a September 1 entry, the Supreme Court of Ohio denied Shirilla’s motion for reconsideration in State v. Shirilla, Case No. 2026-0519. The court did not issue a substantive opinion explaining the denial.

The official entry records that Justices R. Patrick DeWine and Jennifer Brunner dissented, making the decision a 5-2 ruling with seven justices on the court.

The decision followed the Ohio Supreme Court’s June 23, 2026 refusal to accept jurisdiction over Shirilla’s post-conviction appeal. DeWine had dissented from that June decision, while both DeWine and Brunner dissented from the September reconsideration ruling.

Date	Legal development	Case/detail
August 2023	Shirilla convicted following bench trial	Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court
September 26, 2024	Direct appeal affirmed	Eighth District Court of Appeals
April 2025	Ohio Supreme Court declined direct appeal	State-level direct review ended
May 2025	Post-conviction petition dismissed	Trial court ruled it was untimely
March 12, 2026	Eighth District affirmed dismissal	Petition deemed filed on 366th day
June 23, 2026	Ohio Supreme Court declined post-conviction jurisdiction	DeWine dissented
September 1, 2026	Reconsideration denied	DeWine and Brunner dissented
July 28, 2026	Federal habeas petition filed	Shirilla v. Maldonado, No. 1:2026cv01771

This is the latest in a series of setbacks for Shirilla in Ohio state court.

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Why Mackenzie Shirilla’s Post-Conviction Petition Was Rejected

The legal dispute may sound technical, but it has become central to Shirilla’s latest challenge: the filing deadline for post-conviction relief in Ohio.

Her trial transcripts were filed in October 2023. The Eighth District Court of Appeals’ 2026 decision states that the transcripts were filed on October 23, 2023, while the clerk’s docket reflected the criminal-trial transcripts as filed on October 24.

Shirilla’s attorneys filed her post-conviction petition on October 24, 2024.

The trial court determined that the petition arrived one day after the applicable 365-day deadline. The Eighth District later agreed, ruling on March 12, 2026, that the petition had been filed on the 366th day.

Under Ohio law, a post-conviction petition generally must be filed within 365 days after the trial transcript is filed in the direct appeal.

The situation became more complicated because 2024 was a leap year. Shirilla’s attorneys argued that the additional calendar day affected the calculation and that the petition should have been considered timely.

Her lawyers also argued that Ohio appellate districts have not applied the deadline consistently. According to the defense, defendants could potentially receive different treatment depending on which appellate district handled their case.

In their reconsideration filing, attorneys John T. Martin and Steven L. Bradley argued that the question went beyond Shirilla’s individual case and presented a broader legal issue worthy of review by Ohio’s highest court.

“If Mackenzie Shirilla had been convicted in one of the counties that comprise the Second District Court of Appeals of Ohio, her postconviction relief petition would have been heard on its merits because it would have been considered timely filed. There is the distinct probability that the First and Seventh Districts would have reached the same conclusion.”

The filing continued:

“But, because the postconviction relief petition was filed in the Eighth District (which views the time limit for filing similarly to the Tenth and Eleventh Districts), the petition was dismissed as untimely filed.”

The attorneys described the dispute as an “important issue” that they believed deserved immediate consideration.

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Trial Judge Said the Court Could Not Consider Shirilla’s Claims

The original post-conviction dismissal came from Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Nancy Margaret Russo in May 2025.

Russo was also the judge who presided over Shirilla’s 2023 bench trial.

The prosecution argued that the petition was filed beyond the statutory deadline, and Russo agreed.

“The court finds the state’s position well-taken, to wit: that the defendant’s petition is time-barred as a matter of law, having been filed past the statutory deadline.”

Russo then explained why the deadline issue prevented her from reaching the substance of Shirilla’s arguments:

“As the filing by defendant was untimely, this court is without jurisdiction to consider the merits or arguments of any of the pleadings. Therefore, as the defendant’s petition is statutorily time-barred and filed out of rule, the court denies the petition for post-conviction relief.”

The Eighth District subsequently reached the same conclusion:

“Shirilla’s postconviction relief petition was filed on the 366th day following the filing of her trial transcript. Accordingly, we find that the trial court correctly determined it was without jurisdiction to consider the petition.”

That distinction is crucial.

The latest state-court proceedings have primarily concerned whether Shirilla’s post-conviction petition could legally be considered, rather than a new trial or a fresh examination of every piece of evidence behind her murder convictions.

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Shirilla’s Lawyers Raise Medical Evidence and Ineffective Assistance Claims

Although the procedural deadline has dominated the latest litigation, Shirilla’s post-conviction filings also contain substantive constitutional claims.

Her attorneys have alleged ineffective assistance of counsel and raised questions about medical evidence that they say was not adequately investigated during the original proceedings.

In a filing before the Ohio Supreme Court, the defense argued that medical evidence relating to a pre-existing condition could potentially have caused Shirilla to lose consciousness while driving.

Her attorneys contended that trial counsel knew about the condition but did not adequately investigate it or seek expert testimony concerning it.

The defense characterized the issue as a significant constitutional question. It argued that because the post-conviction petition was dismissed on procedural grounds, the courts never reached the underlying claims.

The defense has also challenged the handling of other evidence connected to the case. None of those arguments has resulted in Shirilla’s convictions being overturned.

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What Happened in the 2022 Strongsville Crash?

The case goes back to the early morning of July 31, 2022, when Shirilla was driving a vehicle carrying her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and their friend, Davion Flanagan, in Strongsville, Ohio.

The vehicle struck a brick building at extremely high speed. Both passengers died.

Shirilla was 17 years old at the time and was subsequently transferred from juvenile proceedings so she could be prosecuted as an adult.

After a bench trial in August 2023, Judge Russo found her guilty of four counts of murder, four counts of felonious assault and two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, along with charges involving drug possession and possession of criminal tools.

The Eighth District later affirmed the convictions.

Several counts were merged for sentencing, and Shirilla received concurrent indefinite sentences of 15 years to life for the murder convictions.

Judge Russo delivered a pointed assessment during sentencing:

“She morphs from a responsible driver to literal hell on wheels as she makes her way down the street.”

The judge added:

“She had a mission and she executed it with precision.”

Prosecutors maintained that the crash was deliberate. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley said:

“When you drive four or five seconds with the pedal all the down at 100 miles per hour into a building we felt this charge was appropriate and we think the judge felt that as well with today’s verdict.”

Shirilla has continued to dispute the finding that the crash was intentional.

At sentencing, she said:

“I’m so deeply sorry.”

She also said:

“I hope one day you can see I would never let this happen or do it on purpose.”

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Mackenzie Shirilla’s Direct Appeal Was Already Unsuccessful

The latest post-conviction litigation should not be confused with Shirilla’s original direct appeal.

The Eighth District previously reviewed her direct challenge and affirmed the judgment in a September 26, 2024 decision.

That appeal raised several issues, including Shirilla’s transfer from juvenile court to adult prosecution, the sufficiency of the evidence supporting her convictions and whether the verdicts were against the manifest weight of the evidence.

The defense also raised concerns regarding the handling of evidence, including allegations involving the coroner’s report.

The Ohio Supreme Court subsequently declined to accept the separate direct appeal in April 2025.

That means the newer litigation has followed a different path. The post-conviction proceedings have focused on constitutional claims, alleged ineffective assistance of counsel, medical evidence and, critically, whether the petition was filed on time.

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Federal Habeas Petition Keeps Another Legal Route Open

Despite the latest Ohio Supreme Court defeat, Shirilla’s broader legal fight is not necessarily finished.

On July 28, 2026, she filed a federal petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

The case is Shirilla v. Maldonado, No. 1:2026cv01771, and was filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, which provides a federal mechanism for state prisoners seeking to challenge their custody on constitutional grounds.

The petition names Ohio Reformatory for Women Warden Erin Maldonado as the respondent.

Among the issues raised are arguments concerning Shirilla’s transfer from juvenile court to adult court, alleged ineffective assistance by trial and appellate counsel, and the dismissal of her state post-conviction petition as untimely.

The federal proceeding is separate from the Ohio Supreme Court litigation.

Its existence does not mean Shirilla’s convictions have been overturned, nor does the filing itself establish that a federal court has agreed with her claims. The federal case remains pending.

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Netflix’s The Crash Brings the Case Back Into the Spotlight

While the legal proceedings continued, Shirilla’s case received renewed national attention following Netflix’s true-crime documentary The Crash.

Released on May 15, 2026, the documentary revisits the Strongsville crash, the investigation, the evidence presented against Shirilla and the trial that ultimately resulted in her convictions.

Netflix’s official material describes the documentary as examining the relationships surrounding the crash and the evidence considered during the investigation.

The film quickly became a major streaming success.

According to Netflix’s Top 10 data, The Crash reached No. 1 on the English-language film list during the week of May 18, recording 27.6 million views.

The documentary also gave viewers access to Shirilla’s account of events. She has continued to reject the characterization that she intentionally killed Russo and Flanagan and has said that she does not remember the crash.

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Thousands of Text Messages and Jail Calls Were Released

The renewed attention surrounding the documentary was followed by the public release of a huge amount of case-related material.

On May 27, 2026, the Strongsville Police Department released approximately 32,000 text messages and recorded jail calls connected to the investigation.

Netflix’s filmmakers said they had already been given access to the material while producing the documentary.

“None of this material is new.”

The filmmakers added:

“We had access to all the messages in the making of the documentary.”

They said they focused on correspondence dating back roughly a year before the crash and examined both positive and negative exchanges in the relationships involved.

There is also an important distinction surrounding the numbers.

The broader investigative record has referenced approximately 93,000 text-message exchanges reviewed in connection with the case. That figure should not be confused with the roughly 32,000 messages publicly released in May 2026.

The larger figure represents the wider body of investigative material, while the smaller figure refers to material made public alongside recorded jail calls.

The filmmakers also cautioned viewers about interpreting social-media material without context:

“When we make a documentary, we fact-check everything, and we do not take messages out of context.”

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Shirilla’s Prison Conduct Has Also Become Part of the Public Conversation

Shirilla is serving her sentence at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville.

Records reported by WKYC showed that she had accumulated 36 prison conduct reports nearly three years into her sentence.

Those records indicated findings of guilt in 32 cases, three not-guilty findings and one case for which the disposition was not listed.

The reported violations included seven findings involving being “out of place,” six involving contraband, four involving disobeying a direct order and four involving institutional rules, regulations or procedures.

The reports also included allegations involving unauthorized medication, disturbances and violations of video-visitation rules.

These disciplinary matters are separate from the criminal convictions arising from the Strongsville crash. They do not change the status of those convictions.

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Fallout From the Netflix Documentary Also Reached Shirilla’s Father

The renewed attention surrounding The Crash also affected Shirilla’s family.

Her father, Steve Shirilla, worked as an art and digital media teacher at Mary Queen of Peace School in Cleveland.

He was placed on administrative leave in May 2026 after allegations circulated on social media concerning what the school described as “poor judgement.”

The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland later confirmed that he would not return to the school.

The diocese said:

“Catholic school personnel decisions are the purview of each school in the Diocese of Cleveland. Due to privacy considerations, neither the schools nor the Diocese ordinarily discuss personnel issues publicly. However, we can confirm that Mr. Steve Shirilla will not be returning to Mary Queen of Peace School.”

Steve Shirilla has continued to defend his daughter and has said he believes she is innocent. He has also criticized the documentary’s editing, arguing that portions of what he said were not included in the final film.

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What Happens Next for Mackenzie Shirilla?

For now, the September 1 Ohio Supreme Court ruling leaves the lower courts’ procedural decisions intact and closes Shirilla’s latest reconsideration effort in the state’s highest court.

But the federal habeas case remains pending.

Shirilla’s 2023 convictions remain in place, and she continues to serve her 15-years-to-life sentence. The federal proceeding represents a separate avenue through which she is seeking relief from her state custody.

So while the latest Ohio Supreme Court decision is another significant defeat for Shirilla’s state-level challenges, it is not the end of the broader legal proceedings surrounding her conviction.

The next major question is whether the federal courts will consider her constitutional and ineffective-assistance claims and, ultimately, whether any of those claims could provide a legal basis for relief.

For now, the state-court record remains unchanged: Shirilla remains convicted, her post-conviction petition was rejected as untimely, and the Ohio Supreme Court has declined to reconsider that decision.

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Disclaimer and Sources

This article is based on a thorough review of publicly available court records, official statements and reporting available as of September 3, 2026. The filing of an appeal, post-conviction petition or federal habeas petition does not establish that the underlying claims are valid. Mackenzie Shirilla remains convicted unless and until a court changes that judgment.

Sources reviewed include the **Supreme Court of Ohio September 1, 2026 Case Announcement; State v. Shirilla, Case No. 2026-0519; Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals decisions 2026-Ohio-830 and 2024-Ohio-4674; Netflix Tudum materials concerning The Crash, its release and the released text messages and jail calls; Netflix Top 10 data; Cleveland 19 News reporting concerning Steve Shirilla; the U.S. District Court case record for Shirilla v. Maldonado, No. 1:2026cv01771; and WKYC’s September 1, 2026 report on the Ohio Supreme Court ruling.

Sources

• Supreme Court of Ohio — September 1, 2026 Case Announcement
• Supreme Court of Ohio — State v. Shirilla, Case No. 2026-0519
• Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals — State v. Shirilla, 2026-Ohio-830
• Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals — State v. Shirilla, 2024-Ohio-4674
• Netflix Tudum — The Crash and the Shirilla case
• Netflix Tudum — Newly released Shirilla text messages and jail calls
• Netflix Top 10 — The Crash reaches No. 1 with 27.6 million views
• Cleveland 19 News — Shirilla’s father will not return to teaching
• U.S. District Court case record — Shirilla v. Maldonado
• WKYC — Original September 1, 2026 report on the Ohio Supreme Court ruling

Featured Image Credit: Credit: Instagram / @mackenzieshirilla