The father of convicted “Hell on Wheels” killer Mackenzie Shirilla lost it at Ohio police after her arrest, insisting his daughter was too “dumb” to be treated like an adult while she faced double murder charges.
Newly circulated Strongsville Police Department bodycam from Nov. 4, 2022, shows Steve Shirilla storming into the station less than an hour after cops cuffed his then-18-year-old daughter. He demanded to speak with her immediately and repeatedly warned officers they were “not allowed” to question her.
“I need to speak to my daughter, because you guys aren’t allowed to speak to her at all, that’s from the lawyer,” an agitated Steve tells a police official while gesturing wildly.
When an officer calmly explained that Mackenzie was a legal adult and could speak for herself, the dad snapped.“Yeah, but she’s a dumb 18-year-old that just turned 18,” he bellowed.
His wife, Natalie, laughed and told him to stop calling their daughter dumb. Steve doubled down: “All the kids nowadays are dumb. These guys are going to take advantage of her.”He continued yelling as officers walked away: “She’s not allowed to speak to you guys… Don’t ask her any questions!”
Mackenzie had been arrested more than three months after the July 31, 2022, crash that killed her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, 20, and their friend Davion Flanagan, 19.
Prosecutors said the then-17-year-old deliberately floored her Toyota Camry to nearly 100 mph and slammed it into a brick building in Strongsville. Both young men died at the scene. Mackenzie survived with serious injuries.
In August 2023, a Cuyahoga County judge found her guilty of multiple counts of murder and other charges after a bench trial, famously branding her “hell on wheels.” She was sentenced to two concurrent terms of 15 years to life and remains locked up at the Ohio Reformatory for Women.
The bodycam exchange has gone viral again, with online viewers slamming the parents’ entitled attitude in the face of a horrific crime. One thing’s clear from the footage: when the cops said she was an adult, her dad still saw a kid he needed to protect — even after she’d already driven two people to their deaths.
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