Mackenzie Shirilla is asking a federal court to overturn her murder conviction, with her new attorney arguing that critical evidence was never presented to the jury and that her consтιтutional rights were violated throughout the case.

In a peтιтion for a writ of habeas corpus, Shirilla’s legal team claims her previous defense attorney provided ineffective representation, failed to introduce key evidence, and allowed the case to proceed despite what they describe as insufficient evidence to support the charges.

Among the newly raised claims is evidence that a local grocery store had prepared a produce order for Shirilla at a 24-hour pickup location near the crash scene on the morning of the incident. Her attorney argues that presenting this information at trial could have offered an innocent explanation for why she was driving in that area, challenging the prosecution’s theory that she intentionally traveled there.

The peтιтion also argues that Shirilla’s case was improperly transferred from juvenile court to adult court, alleging that the decision ultimately violated her consтιтutional rights and affected the fairness of her trial.

Shirilla was sentenced on Aug. 21, 2023, to 15 years to life in prison after being convicted of four counts of murder, four counts of felonious ᴀssault, two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, and additional drug-related offenses.

The convictions stem from a devastating crash that occurred shortly before dawn on July 31, 2022, in Strongsville, Ohio, about 20 miles south of Cleveland.

At the time, Shirilla was 17 years old and was driving her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and their friend, Davion Flanagan, home after the group had attended a graduation party and later visited another friend’s house.

Her new legal filing now seeks to have the conviction set aside, arguing that crucial evidence was overlooked and that serious legal errors denied her a fair trial. Whether those arguments will succeed will ultimately be decided by the federal court.