The father of convicted Ohio teen killer Mackenzie Shirilla is speaking out after facing intense backlash over comments he made in Netflix’s The Crash documentary — and now he’s accusing prosecutors of twisting the narrative surrounding the deadly 2022 crash that killed two young men.
Steve Shirilla defended controversial remarks about his daughter’s marijuana use during a new interview with TMZ, insisting his words were taken out of context. In the documentary, Steve stated that he personally didn’t have a problem with marijuana, calling it the “one drug” he would prefer over others. The comments quickly sparked outrage online following the documentary’s release.
Now, Steve says critics misunderstood what he meant.
“I wasn’t encouraging marijuana use,” he explained. “I was saying I can’t control every decision my daughter makes.”
Mackenzie Shirilla is currently serving two concurrent prison sentences of 15 years to life after being convicted of intentionally crashing her car into a brick wall at nearly 100 mph in July 2022. The crash killed her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, 20, and their friend Davion Flanagan, 19.
Prosecutors argued during trial that Mackenzie deliberately caused the crash after tensions reportedly grew in her relationship with Russo. Evidence presented in court allegedly showed she never hit the brakes before impact, and investigators found no signs of mechanical failure.
But Steve Shirilla continues to reject the prosecution’s version of events.
“This prosecutor is lazy,” Steve said during the interview. “There’s so much omission of evidence and changing of evidence.”
He also claimed he had no idea his daughter smoked marijuana while driving until videos were shown in court. According to prosecutors, Mackenzie had THC in her system at the time of the crash, although investigators reportedly concluded it was not the direct cause of the collision.
The controversy surrounding the case has intensified again following Netflix’s documentary release, which included emotional interviews from both the victims’ families and Mackenzie’s parents. The documentary has divided viewers online, with some believing Mackenzie intentionally caused the crash while others question whether the evidence fully supports a murder conviction.
Steve has also come under fire for wearing a shirt displaying the word “BOOM” in the documentary — something many viewers considered insensitive given the violent nature of the fatal crash.
Following the backlash, reports surfaced that Steve was placed on administrative leave from his teaching position at a Cleveland-area school while officials conduct an internal review.
Despite the criticism, Steve and his wife Natalie continue standing firmly behind their daughter’s innocence, insisting the public still doesn’t know the full story behind the deadly crash that changed multiple families forever.
