Russo and Flanagan died from the crash, leading to Shirilla’s arrest on November 4, 2022. Prosecutors alleged Shirilla intentionally crashed to kill the passengers.
The footage from Strongsville Police Department officers documents Shirilla’s arrest and her placement in a police car. An officer introduces himself as the investigator of the crash and informs her, “You’re under arrest for aggravated murder x 2, okay?”
During the arrest, the officer swaps Shirilla’s handcuffs, while she concentrates on protecting a bracelet around her wrist, asking, “Could you please be careful taking this one off so it doesn’t break the bracelet please?”
Subsequently, Shirilla is seen in the back of the police vehicle, appearing to try to sleep.
In 2023, Shirilla was convicted of murder, felonious assault, aggravated vehicular homicide, drug possession, and possessing criminal tools.
Judge Margaret Russo of Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, unrelated to Dominic Russo, described Shirilla as transforming from ‘a responsible driver to literal hell on wheels as she [made] her way down the street’ during the event.
“She had a mission and she executed it with precision,” noted the judge.
Judge Russo commented after viewing the crash’s surveillance footage, a significant piece of evidence in the trial, labeling Shirilla’s actions as ‘controlled, methodical, deliberate, intentional, and purposeful’.
“The video clearly shows the purpose and intent of the defendant,” Russo said: “She chose a course of death and destruction that day.”
Shirilla’s attorneys appealed the convictions, arguing insufficient evidence, but the September 2024 appeals court upheld the ruling.