"The Crash" - MacKenzie Shirilla (UPDATED)

 

Edited - with something I thought of later, which was this:  So unless she also planned to kill herself in the process as well and failed, I'm still not sure about the "premeditated" part, and the fact their good friend was in the back seat also prevents me from being sure of that.

Not because I don't think she's capable of murder, she very well may be - but even a NASCAR or Formula 1 racer, or let's say even someone with a Doctorate in Physics  -  could have planned a crash at that speed that would ensure her own survival - and we're talking about a 17-year-old.

_______________ ORIGINAL POST __________________

So a friend asked me to watch "The Crash" and give my thoughts.

It's really hard for me to pronounce guilt or innocence unless I've seen all the evidence myself, particularly in the actual courtroom, which I haven't. 

Edited: UNLESS I have seen most of the evidence from both sides and/or all documentaries from all sides - and neither side is claiming evidence was suppressed.

For example, Alex Murdaugh or Bryan Kohberger. I've watched all sides to those arguments - and I mean, DNA doesn't lie, so fairly certain they are both guilty. 

Having said that, just based on what I have seen ... honestly?

I think there's not enough evidence either way  - for me, or anyone, to conclude that she is guilty OR innocent beyond reasonable doubt.

 

However, that's just based on one documentary alone, and sometimes these things are biased.

I think the other possibilities of temporary distraction, joyriding too fast,  or medical issue were not fully investigated and therefore not ruled out, but they ARE less likely.

Thus, it came as a surprise when the judge convicted her of premeditated murder - of not just her boyfriend, but of their friend riding in the car, too (which actually doesn't make any sense)?

So ... I'm not sure if even a NASCAR or Formula 1 driver - maybe even someone with a Doctorate in Physics - could've planned a crash to kill not just her boyfriend, but her friend in the backseat as well, but leave themselves as the driver alive - much less a 17-year-old?

I think the most likely scenario is -  IF it was intentional, it was an impulsive act in the heat of the moment.

However, again - my theory, along with other theories, cannot be proven beyond reasonable doubt. 

In fact, there's not much proof of anything?

Also, with the exception of what she said when trying to get back in their apartment and what she said to a teacher, nothing the prosecution presented off her social media accounts was anything I haven't heard or seen before out of the mouths of hormonal, emotional, overdramatic teenage girls - and this describes most teenage girls - and actually, I've seen and heard way worse, from both teenage girls AND teenage boys.

Teenage brains, both male and female, aren't fully developed until after age 26 - thus, they have trouble controlling their impulses or thinking through the consequences of their words and actions.

And most of the time, they don't even mean them when they say this crazy stuff. 

Stuff like "OMG, her voice makes me want to kill myself" or "If she says that again, I'm going to punch her in the throat."

They're meant as jokes, but to the wrong audience - let's say like in her case, you're on trial for murder later - all those "jokes" you made, especially on social media?

They can and will be used as evidence against you.

Still, there wasn't a shred of evidence that she ever said, nor even implied, "I want to/am going to kill my boyfriend."

I also saw nothing whatsoever that made me believe she was the "If you break up with me, I'll kill you" type of girl - and in fact, as we learned at the end - with text proof - that it was actually HIM that texted "I'm going to crash this car if you do."  . 

Hell, it's possible they BOTH said it before on separate occasions, neither one really meaning it, it was a toxic relationship.

Teenagers  in general can be manipulative and can say some awful things, especially when mad, that they don't really mean (and 5 minutes later they're over it and back together) - but that was especially true with these 2, who seemed to have little parental supervision and a toxic relationship that both their parents missed?

(Their parents appeared to be overly permissive, by allowing them to smoke weed and drive, move in together when she was 17 and he was 20, and he sold mushrooms.)

Don't get me wrong, she said some awful things that shouldn't be said to someone you love - but then - so did he.

(Don't forget, he said "because you're dumb" - on video, and she just laughed).

I also don't think not remembering what happened just before the crash is unusual - in fact, it's typical - it's the brain's way of protecting itself from trauma.

I know 2 people involved in horrific car crashes that don't remember anything but waking up later - that's actually more common than remembering what happened just before the crash. 

Now, what do I believe happened? 

I'll percentage out my belief - but again, that's all it is - belief.

60% possibility she may have impulsively and intentionally crashed the car in the heat of the moment while angry/arguing with her boyfriend - which would make it vehicular homicide manslaughter without intent to kill. 

35% possibility she was distracted or joyriding and the road ended before she realized it in time.

5% - there was a medical emergency like passing out or seizure.

The problem is, this is all speculation - because despite her conviction, there actually IS no proof either way. 

Now - I do think she was a little spoiled, didn't have enough parental supervision, and may have impulse-control issues that need treatment - even beyond what's considered normal for teenagers (which is a lot).

But there was nothing whatsoever that convinced me this was premeditated murder of both her boyfriend and especially their friend in the backseat.

I also think that at time, their deaths didn't seem to affect her as much as you would think they would, which I admittedly found odd - but I also know that too much weed can make you care less about anything, it can sort of numb you out.

I could be wrong, but that's the problem - there is no proof either way.

As for the 5% of my belief being possibility of medical issue?

The prosecution is correct - "POTS" syndrome would cause you to pass out and your body would thus relax, making it LESS likely  you'd push the pedal to the metal, but it's not impossible for weight of collapse to cause that.

A more likely medical scenario would be that considering she has had "blackouts" before, it may not be POTS syndrome, but rather a type of seizure that has gone undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.

In particular, tonic-clonic seizures cause your body to tense up/go rigid for a few seconds to minutes, then subsequently relax and you pass out - and they are often misdiagnosed as POTS.

I'm not saying that's what happened and actually think it's the least likely option, but it should've at least been investigated and ruled out - but it wasn't.

However, my suspicion is that this was vehicular homicide/manslaughter as an impulsive act without intent to kill -   and thus, she does deserve an appeal trial - with a new lawyer because here's clearly sucked!

As for the parents believing it was murder, I think parents often want someone to blame regardless and they will see it as "murder" even if it wasn't. 

And of course, her parents are going to claim she's innocent until the day she dies, even if she isn't.

I will say that this case does have a slightly misogynistic feel to it that I can't quite put my finger on, other than the above - which doesn't surprise me for Ohio cops, to be quite honest, I've seen way worse with actual DV cases in Ohio - in some ways, Ohio is worse than Kentucky or even the deeper South when it comes to women, for some reason.

And lastly, just because she's not super likable doesn't mean she murdered someone - likeable people have murdered, too.

And that's all she wrote!