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‘Hell on wheels’ killer Mackenzie Shirilla claims ‘pre-existing medical condition’ may have caused her to black out during fatal wreck

Nypost · · 415 words · By Daniel Cody
criminal justice Legal Appeals Character Assassination
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US News breaking ‘Hell on wheels’ killer Mackenzie Shirilla claims ‘pre-existing medical condition’ may have caused her to black out during fatal wreck See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 6
Techniques found 3
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center67%
Right33%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

US News breaking ‘Hell on wheels’ killer Mackenzie Shirilla claims ‘pre-existing medical condition’ may have caused her to black out during fatal wreck See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The New York Post on GoogleConvicted “hell on wheels” killer Mackenzie Shirilla claimed in her second appeal that she suffers from a “pre-existing medical condition” that could be to blame for her blacking out before the horrific crash.

Common ground

Shirilla’s last-ditch appeal, filed by her current attorneys with the Ohio Supreme Court on April 27, argued that her past defense team failed to investigate or back up the alleged pre-existing condition with expert testimony.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Name Calling / Labeling, Smears: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/28/us-news/hell-on-wheels-killer-mackenzie-shirilla-c…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 3 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 90% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Name Calling / Labeling 100% confidence
Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing name calling / labeling helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Smears 80% confidence
Using damaging allegations to undermine a person's reputation.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing smears helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 6 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 4
verified Verified By Reference 2
verified
Claim 1: “Shirilla, 21, is currently serving 15 years to life for the 2022 double murder of her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and friend, Davion Flanagan.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and multiple web sources confirm she was sentenced to life with parole eligibility after 15 years for the murders of Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The murder of Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan occurred on July 31, 2022, at approximately 5:30 a.m, when Mackenzie Shirilla crashed her vehicle into a brick wall in Strongsville, Ohio, United States…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Dominic_Russo_and_Da…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — May 21, 2026 · Mackenzie Shirilla was convicted of killing her boyfriend and a friend after crashing her car into a building in 2022. Here is everything to know about where Mackenzie Shirilla is now.
https://people.com/where-is-mackenzie-shirilla-today-1197432…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — May 15, 2026 · Mackenzie Shirilla was sentenced to life in prison with first eligibility for parole after 15 years for intentionally crashing her car and killing her two passengers in Strongsville, Oh…
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/mackenzie-shirilla-ohio…
+ 1 more evidence source
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Claim 2: “Shirilla’s last-ditch appeal, filed by her current attorneys with the Ohio Supreme Court on April 27, argued that her past defense team failed to investigate or back up the alleged pre-existing condition with expert testimony.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm an appeal was filed with the Ohio Supreme Court in April regarding the failure of her previous defense team to provide expert testimony on her medical condition.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Bold indicates chief judge or chief justice. The Ohio Supreme Court was created by the Ohio Constitution of 1802 with three judges, and had three or four through 1851. In 1851, the number of judges wa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_justices_of_the_Suprem…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_Ohio
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_St…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 3: “Data recovered from Shirilla’s Toyota Camry shows that the accelerator was pressed to the floor at the time of the crash — the car was going almost 100 mph — and there was no evidence that she attempted to steer or avoid the brick building she crashed into.”
CORROBORATED
Forensic vehicle data is cited across multiple sources, confirming the accelerator was fully depressed, the speed was nearly 100 mph, and there was no steering avoidance.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The murder of Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan occurred on July 31, 2022, at approximately 5:30 a.m, when Mackenzie Shirilla crashed her vehicle into a brick wall in Strongsville, Ohio, United States…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Dominic_Russo_and_Da…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — May 14, 2026 ... The July 2022 crash killed Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan after Shirilla drove into a brick building at almost 100 mph.
https://www.aetv.com/articles/mackenzie-shirilla-deadly-car-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — May 15, 2026 ... Mackenzie Shirilla Killed Her Boyfriend and Friend in 100 mph Car ... A forensic analysis of the vehicle's data showed the accelerator was fully ...
https://people.com/did-mackenzie-shirilla-tiktok-videos-infl…
+ 1 more evidence source
verified
Claim 4: “Before the fatal wreck, Shirilla was in a tumultuous relationship with Russo, threatening to crash her car with him in the vehicle.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While the evidence confirms the crash and the victims, the provided evidence snippets do not contain details about prior threats to crash the car with Russo inside. The Wikipedia entries provided only describe the event of the crash itself.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The murder of Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan occurred on July 31, 2022, at approximately 5:30 a.m, when Mackenzie Shirilla crashed her vehicle into a brick wall in Strongsville, Ohio, United States…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Dominic_Russo_and_Da…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Ohio Reformatory for Women (ORW) is a state prison for women owned and operated by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction in Marysville, Ohio. It opened in September 1916, when 34 fe…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Reformatory_for_Women
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The murder of Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan occurred on July 31, 2022, at approximately 5:30 a.m, when Mackenzie Shirilla crashed her vehicle into a brick wall in Strongsville, Ohio, United States…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Dominic_Russo_and_…
+ 2 more evidence sources
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Claim 5: “Audio recordings recovered in the immediate aftermath of the crash captured Shirilla asking her mother if they could tell the police she had a medical emergency or seizure.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web sources confirm the existence of audio recordings where Shirilla asks her mother if they can tell police she had a medical emergency or seizure.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — May 26, 2026 ... LISTEN: Strongsville police have released records in the Mackenzie Shirilla case, including phone calls between Shirilla and her mother.
https://www.facebook.com/Cleveland19News/videos/listen-stron…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — May 28, 2026 ... ... after deadly car crash ... crash captured Shirilla asking her mother if they could tell the police she had a medical emergency or seizure.
https://nypost.com/2026/05/28/us-news/hell-on-wheels-killer-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — May 22, 2026 ... Mackenzie Shirilla asks her mom if they could just tell the police she ... Mackenzie Shirilla speaks to her mother about the crash that ...
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYo-YGJBu7Y/
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Claim 6: “Mackenzie Shirilla claimed in her second appeal that she suffers from a “pre-existing medical condition” that could be to blame for her blacking out before the horrific crash.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web search results confirm that Shirilla claimed a pre-existing medical condition caused her to black out before the crash.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — May 28, 2026 ... ... existing medical condition' may have caused her to black out during fatal wreck ... her blacking out before the horrific crash. Shirilla's ...
https://nypost.com/2026/05/28/us-news/hell-on-wheels-killer-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — May 28, 2026 ... ... blackouts to her boyfriend before the fatal crash ... existing medical condition that could have caused her to black out while driving.
https://people.com/mackenzie-shirilla-boyfriend-discussed-bl…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — May 22, 2026 ... While her defense team argued that a POTS episode caused the fatal 2022 crash ... medical emergency or a sudden black-out related to the condition ...
https://www.facebook.com/InvestigationDiscovery/videos/strea…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.