Mackenzie Shirilla’s aunt tried to defend her niece in her homicide case … telling the decide Mackenzie was in “very much in love” along with her boyfriend earlier than the deadly automobile crash … TMZ has realized.
TMZ obtained court docket docs filed as a part of Mackenzie’s attraction of her sentence. She made the case that prosecutors did not show she had an actual motive to kill her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and his pal, Davion Flanagan.
Prosecutors used forensic proof to indicate Mackenzie was driving a automobile that was going 100 mph and did not apply the brakes earlier than it slammed right into a wall, killing Dominic and Davion, on July 31, 2022.
Mackenzie claims prosecutors offered witnesses who testified about her and Dominic’s rocky four-year relationship, however did not introduce any proof suggesting she “harbored animosity or ill-will towards [Dominic] that one could reasonably conclude that she purposely crashed the vehicle with the intent” to kill.
She mentioned the proof truly confirmed that she and Dominic seemed to be in love within the days and hours main as much as the crash.
Mackenzie mentioned one witness testified they noticed her and Dominic collectively at 4 AM on the day of the incident.
She identified that the proprietor of a retailer, the place Mackenzie and Dominic usually shopped, mentioned the 2 appeared “very loving” within the months earlier than the crash.
As well as, Mackenzie says her aunt, Candace Shipley, mentioned she spent three hours with Mackenzie and Dominic on July 28, 2022, “as the couple was scheduled to watch her dogs in the coming days.”
She claims her aunt mentioned she didn’t observe any indicators of “discomfort or unhappiness between Dominic and Mackenzie” … and that they appeared “very much in love and spoke about their future plans together.”
The protection additionally argued that the crash may have been attributable to a medical occasion triggered by Mackenzie’s postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), which is a situation that causes an individual’s coronary heart to beat sooner than regular.
The prosecutors and decide in the end didn’t purchase her claims. She was convicted on 12 felony expenses and sentenced to fifteen years to life.
