Dominic Russo (left), Christine Russo, and their brother Angelo.Photo:Courtesy of Christine Russo
Courtesy of Christine Russo
“Nothing can make this better,” Christine Russo, 34, tells PEOPLE. “Just hoping and praying that our pain eases even slightly.”
“There’s a huge hole in us all,” she shares. “We will never be whole again.”
Christine Russo says she disagrees with Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Nancy Margaret Russo’s decision to sentence Mackenzie Shirilla to two concurrent 15-year-to-life terms in the 2022 crash that killed Dominic Russo, 20, and Davion Flanagan, 19.
“I feel like the sentences should have been [run] consecutively,” she says. “I can’t imagine how I would feel if Mackenzie got out in 14 years.”
“My brother’s life and Davion’s life was completely stolen,” Christine adds. “They don’t get out in 15 years. They don’t come back in 15 years. They don’t get any chance to live a life.”
Dominic Russo.Courtesy of Christine Russo
Shirilla, 19, will only be eligible for parole in 15 years, and was credited for almost a year of time served,NBC Newsreports. Her driver’s license is also permanently suspended.
“She had a mission and she executed it with precision,” the judge said just before she handed down her verdict Monday,3Newsreports. “The decision was death.”
According to Strongsville Police, in the early morning hours of July 31, 2022, Shirilla was driving a 2018 Toyota Camry with Russo in the front seat and Flanagan in the back seat.
In court, prosecutors alleged that Shirilla wanted to end her toxic relationship with Russo, per3News,and presented surveillance video that showed Shirilla driving normally before speeding up and smashing into a brick building at 100 mph, trapping her and her passengers inside the vehicle.
Russo and Flanagan were pronounced dead at the scene while Shirilla was found unconscious and not breathing, 3News reports.
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Davion Flanagan.Jardine Funeral Home
Jardine Funeral Home
The deaths have crushed Christine, who said her brother was very goal-oriented and had many plans for the future. He had just opened up a couple of companies, one being a clothing line.
Christine says she prays that her family and the Flanagan family can begin healing now that the trial is over. She wants Dominic to be remembered as someone who was kind and had the best sense of humor.
“He was the most doting and proud uncle to our children,” she says. “He was so loved, and he is so indescribably missed. I’m so proud to call him my brother.”
Christine tells PEOPLE she would trade places with her younger brother if she could.
“I would give my life to bring you back,” she says. “I hope you’re watching over us. I hope you see how much you’re cared about, and I’ll see you again.”
source: people.com
