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Published 10:41 12 Jun 2026 GMT
More has been revealed about Mackenzie Shirilla's life behind bars after the convicted murderer reportedly landed a new prison job.
The update comes as public interest in Shirilla's case remains high following the success of Netflix documentary The Crash, which introduced the case to a new audience.
The documentary explores the tragic deaths of Dominic Russo, 20, and Davion Flanagan, 19, who were passengers in a car that crashed into a brick building at more than 100mph back in July 2022.
While some details surrounding the crash remain heavily debated online, it is known that Shirilla, who was 17 at the time, was behind the wheel.
First responders found her trapped inside the vehicle, while Russo and Flanagan were pronounced dead at the scene.
Toxicology reports ruled out drug and alcohol impairment, and Shirilla was later convicted of murder after prosecutors argued that she intentionally drove into the building.
She was found guilty in 2023 and sentenced to two concurrent life sentences, with the possibility of parole after 15 years.
According to TMZ, the 21-year-old is now working as a food service worker at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville, where she is serving her sentence.
Tara Nickle, a spokesperson for the prison, confirmed to the outlet that Shirilla recently began working in the facility's food service department.
While details surrounding her pay have not been released, Ohio law reportedly allows inmates to earn up to $24 per month through prison work assignments.
The update comes just weeks after a prison phone call between Shirilla and her mother, Natalie, gained attention online.
In the call, Shirilla reportedly complained that she was "bored" and unsure how she would spend her time while incarcerated.
She also suggested she did not believe she would be allowed to work because of the nature of her convictions.
Interest in Shirilla's case recently emerged in a new way after The Crash was released on Netflix.
Since then, viewers have continued to debate the evidence presented during the trial, while new details about Shirilla's life in prison continue to emerge.
Her latest prison job is just the newest development in a case that continues to generate widespread discussion years after the fatal crash.
Published 10:42 25 May 2026 GMT
The release of The Crash on Netflix has sparked interest in the Mackenzie Shirilla murder case, four years on.
Mackenzie, then 17, was found guilty of killing two men, ex-boyfriend Dominic Russo, 21, and Davion Flanagan, 19.
It was determined that she had intentionally crashed her car into a brick wall at over 100 mph (160 km/h) in July 2022, before being convicted of murder in 2023.
The judge had explained that she crashed the car on purpose in a premeditated murder and as a result, Mackenzie was convicted of 12 felony charges and sentenced to two concurrent life sentences, with the possibility of parole after 15 years.
And now, an alleged former lover of Mackenzie's has spoken out about how she was when they met behind bars.
Mackenzie, now 21, is currently serving her prison sentence at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville, known for housing minimum and medium security inmates.
A woman who claims to have dated her said Mackenzie is certain she won't spend her life behind bars.
Shyann Topping, 27, spent two years behind bars after being convicted on drug charges, and claims she started dating Mackenzie just two weeks before she was released.
Speaking to the U.S. Sun, Shyann said, like many others, that Mackenzie had a "popular girl aura."
She added: “She said she was just gonna live it [if she gets out], like she’s gonna go back to concerts. She’s gonna travel,
“She’s gonna be an influencer and write a book when she gets out about everything that happened.
“She said it might take some time, but she’s gonna get out and live it again,” Shyann claimed.
The former convict said that Mackenzie claimed she was not aware of the facts behind the case, believing it was an accident.
Shyann recalled: “I thought, okay, if this girl really is innocent, it would be an amazing story to get out, write a book and blow up off of that and even honor your boyfriend and his friend,
“Then if she did blow up, okay, she could set the families off with her, what is it? Publishing money.”
Upon reflection and having been released, Shyann says that her former lover is actually guilty and wants to be famous.
She allegedly boasted about her nickname in prison, "Shirilla The Killa," as Shyann explained: “Now I’m thinking, okay, she was just trying to grab a piece of fame.
“I don’t think she would do any of that for the families if she got out.
“I think she would throw up a big middle finger to them like, I got away with it.”
The subject of The Crash documentary had claimed that she suffers from POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), a disorder linked with the autonomic nervous system, which she claimed gave her a seizure in the car.
However, prosecutors argued this wasn't the case, as Shyann pointed out: “She’s going with this POTS theory when everybody knows it’s not true,
“And then she’s gonna say, go out there, appeal, appeal, appeal, appeal, going with that theory.
“It’s not gonna work. You have to show remorse. You at least gotta tell the families what happened.”
Shyann, who said that she would get intimate with Mackenzie in the prison yard, claimed she saw no POTS symptoms while being with her.
In fact, it was the opposite.
“It was always bubbly, smiley, happy, line-dancing every Friday. I’ve never seen her sad, honestly. She just stays real busy all day,” Shyann said, adding that she even took part in line dancing in the gym.
Mackenzie had built up a social media following before being thrown in jail, as she was known for posting videos of her dancing, showing off outfits, or even smoking marijuana while behind the wheel of a vehicle.
She has also posted selfies from prison since, and though marijuana was found in her system at the time of the crash, experts said it was not a contributing factor.
Shyann said that her ex-partner would wake up at 6AM every morning to do her hair and makeup, and that she regularly got money from her parents.
Apparently, inmates were allowed tablets in prison and could read books and listen to music.
Noting that Mackenzie's favorite genre was hip-hop, she said of her hobbies: “She would do art a lot…. would paint cups for people, paint people’s shoes, draw, stuff like that.”
Everyone in prison was assigned a job, and Mackenzie was on the maintenance team.
Shyann said Mackenzie was demanding while they were together, asking to see her at 7AM at first yard as they were in different sections.
“If we did argue, it’s because I didn’t come outside on time or didn’t come outside for that yard,” she recalled.
“And she’d be like, ‘I was waiting for you. Where were you? Like, if this is how it’s gonna go, I just won’t talk to you.'”
Apparently, Mackenzie dropped the L-word despite their relationship being just two weeks old.
She said: “Mackenzie was upset that I was leaving. She would tell me all the time, ‘I wish we met sooner before you were about to get out. I wish you would have talked before this’,” Shyann explained.
While they did video call and stay in touch shortly after Shyann's release, the couple stopped talking as Shyann asked for answers on the crash.
Published 11:40 21 May 2026 GMT
There's been a big update on Mackenzie Shirilla's parole after the release of her Netflix documentary.
Shirilla was 17 years old when she tragically killed Dominic Russo, 20, and Davion Flanagan, 19, after driving her Toyota Camry into the Plidco Building in Ohio at upwards of 100 mph on July 31, 2022.
Russo, who was Shirilla's boyfriend of four years, and Flanagan, the couple's friend, both died at the scene, while Shirilla suffered life-changing injuries.
During her 2023 trial, the now-21-year-old was declared guilty of all 12 charges against her, including murder, aggravated vehicular homicide, felonious assault, and drug possession.
She is now serving 15 years to life in prison at the Ohio Reformatory for Women.
The crash has remained the subject of fierce debate, with some convinced it was a deliberate act while others believe it was a devastating accident.
Throughout the trial, Shirilla claimed she could not remember what happened.
Her defense team argued she may have experienced a medical emergency linked to postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a chronic condition that can affect heart rate and blood pressure.
However, according to PEOPLE, no medical records or expert testimony confirming the diagnosis were ever presented in court.
Prosecutors instead argued Shirilla intentionally caused the crash to end what they described as a "toxic relationship" with Russo.
According to Law&Crime Network’s On The Case with Chris Stewart, footage shown during the trial allegedly captured Shirilla arguing with Russo and saying: "You lied... This is your last chance to open the door, or you are not coming out of this house all night [because] I will not leave."
In addition to this, court documents tied to one of Shirilla’s unsuccessful appeals also alleged she had previously driven the same crash route just days before the collision.
Since premiering on Netflix on May 15, The Crash has quickly climbed to the top of the platform’s charts, becoming its most-watched movie and sparking online debate about what really happened that night.
Criminal defense attorney and Goodman Law Group founder Ross Goodman spoke to The Mirror about Shirilla’s future and the possibility of parole after her 2037 hearing.
"Mackenzie Shirilla is well-positioned to be granted parole, given she was a youthful (teenager) and first-time offender," Goodman revealed, "Mackenzie will also need to document that she is remorseful and accepts responsibility.
"This will be the biggest challenge for someone who believes she suffered a medical condition resulting in an accident," he added.
In the documentary, Shirilla gave her first interview from prison and denied intentionally causing the crash.
"I’ve never spoken before, and I’ve never told my side of the story. I understand there’s many different sides to the story and different perspectives, but I just wanna say my truth. I just know myself, and I know I’m not a monster," she said.
"I just want to make sure I’m big on the no intent," she continued. "There was no intent whatsoever. I have excessive amounts of remorse for Dominic, Davion, both of their families.
"This was not intentional, and I will do everything I can to prove that to the world and the families,” Shirilla added.
The Crash is available to watch on Netflix now.
Published 10:18 04 Jun 2026 GMT
More has been revealed about Mackenzie Shirilla's time behind bars, following the success of the Netflix documentary about her murder case, titled The Crash.
The true crime doc covers the deaths of Dominic Russo, 20, and Davion Flanagan, 18, who were both passengers in a car that crashed into a brick wall at over 100 mph (160 km/h) in July 2022.
While some details have been omitted from the doc, it's known that Mackenzie Shirilla, 17 at the time, was the driver.
First responders found her wedged between the seat and door, with the two other passengers pronounced dead at the scene.
The trio was heading back from a party when they crashed in the early hours of the morning.
Mackenzie would be found guilty of killing the two men in 2023, as toxicology tests ruled out drug and alcohol impairment.
The judge determined her actions to be a premeditated murder, and Mackenzie was convicted of 12 felony charges and sentenced to two concurrent life sentences, with the possibility of parole in 2037.
Anastasia, 30, a former inmate who spent time with Mackenzie at the Ohio Reformatory for Women, told the Daily Mail that she was left disturbed after encountering the now-21-year-old.
Despite the convict claiming that the tragedy was an accident, and she doesn't recall the events leading up to it as she "passed out," Anastasia claimed Mackenzie was telling a different story behind bars.
The former inmate said that she claimed to crash the car on purpose as "Dom had to die," as the 27-year-old alleged: "She said she was suicidal, but she almost looked as though she was enjoying (telling the story) - like she was amused by it."
Anastasia also claimed that Mackenzie was a common user of K2, a synthetic drug that is made from smoking paper that has been sprayed with chemicals.
Chillingly, she claims to remember Mackenzie trying to blame Satan for her actions, alleging: "She said the devil made her do it,
"She said the devil was pressing on her foot... She wanted to make it sound like she was a little devil girl, and that this is what she intended to do. Like there was a reason that Dom had to die."
Anastasia told the publication that many prisoners kept a scrapbook for their time behind bars, which was usually filled with photos of loved ones and family members.
However, she claimed that Mackenzie's scrapbook only contained photos of herself, and the picture of a brick wall with the word "BOOM" on it, in a joke about the crash.
"She didn't have any pictures of Dom or Davion, I felt like that was cold," Anastasia stated.
Her behavior would leave her inmates shocked, according to the former prisoner, who said that cellmate Jalisa Roberts also couldn't believe her behavior, and she was convicted of murdering a man when she was 16.
While Mackenzie claims to suffer from Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), they had "never heard of that."
Anastasia stated: "I never saw her pass out," which contrasts with what Mackenzie claimed in the Netflix doc.
Published 15:31 20 May 2026 GMT
The truth about Mackenzie Shirilla has been revealed by a former inmate, following the release of a Netflix documentary covering her murder case.
Shirilla was found guilty of killing two men after intentionally crashing her car into a brick wall at over 100 mph (160 km/h), and was convicted of murder in 2023.
She was just 17 at the time of the crime in 2022, but in a trial the following year, it was determined by a judge that she crashed the car on purpose in a premeditated murder.
As a result, Shirilla was convicted of 12 felony charges and sentenced to two concurrent life sentences, with the possibility of parole after 15 years.
But now, an alleged former inmate of hers from the Ohio Reformatory for Women has claimed that the latest documentary on the case, titled The Crash, doesn't portray Shirilla in an accurate light.
Former inmate Mary Katherine Crowder, who served time at the prison with Shirilla, told the New York Post that the woman in the documentary was nothing like the one she knew behind bars.
She explained: “When she walked out in the documentary, my jaw literally dropped, because her demeanor and the way that she looked was nothing like the person I was in there with.”
Rather, Shirilla was allegedly done up behind bars and acted like Rachel McAdams' character from "Mean Girls," said Crowder.
She even claimed that the convict would sport hickeys as a result of hooking up with other women, while both Shirilla's parents and her sugar daddies would help pay for makeup and new clothes.
But this is a stark contrast to what we see in the Netflix doc, which is now No. 1 on the streaming service platform.
Shrilla, who is now 21, appears behind bars in the documentary, where she shows remorse for the crash, stating that she is "not a monster."
However, Crowder has claimed that this version of Shirilla was a huge contrast to the "little high school girl" she saw behind bars for over six months in 2024.
Crowder recalled: “When I was in there with her, you’d look at her and she had her makeup done every day, she was very well put together — almost like preppy,
“But in the documentary, she did not look like that at all — she almost looked like she was conforming to the people who have been there for a while.
“Even the way she talks is completely different — she talked like a Valley girl when I was in there with her. Her voice was very happy-go-lucky and high-pitched, but now she has an edge to her voice.”
She said that the "character" in the doc wasn't anything like the woman she met while serving time on outstanding misdemeanor warrants from Tennessee in April 2024.
Crowder said that Shirilla enjoyed her prison celebrity status, recalling: “Everyone knew why she was there, and she walked around like she was this famous person within prison,
“She always had makeup done, hair done, her clothes were altered to fit her body tighter or be different.
“She definitely carried herself like she was the Regina George of prison … she was very much like an ‘It girl.’”
Crowder said that she wouldn't really grieve her friends, as she claimed she did in the Netflix doc, instead claiming that she was "always smiling and happy" in prison.
"Like, it was never on her mind that she was serving two concurrent 15-to-life sentences because she killed two people,” Crowder claimed.
The former inmate said that she would even sell customized jewelry and shoes to others behind bars.
Crowder previously spoke about her past with Shirilla with several videos on TikTok earlier this month, claiming that Shirilla treated jail like a "high school popularity contest."
The inmate claimed in one of the videos that she never saw Shirilla cry, adding: “She walked around like she thinks she’s gonna get out.”
As well as this, she had numerous romantic relationships with other female inmates, explaining: “Yes, Mackenzie has had multiple girlfriends … she was walking around with hickeys on her neck,
“She’s gone to ‘the hole’ [solitary confinement] for being intimate with girls in prison.
“If she were grieving or remorseful, she would not have gone to prison and jumped into prison relationships over the next six months.”
Published 16:27 27 May 2026 GMT
Messages sent by the young woman at the center of the new Netflix crime documentary, The Crash, to the mother of her boyfriend, whom she has been convicted of killing, have been revealed.
Mackenzie Shirilla, 21, is currently serving two sentences of 15 years to life imprisonment after she was convicted of killing two young men intentionally in a car crash.
In July 2022, she drove her Toyota Camry into the Plidco Building in Ohio at upwards of 100 mph, as, according to the court, part of a premeditated murder plan prompted by a highly toxic, volatile relationship with her boyfriend.
Her boyfriend of four years, Dominic Russo, 20, and his friend Davion Flanagan, 19, were declared dead at the scene.
At the time of the crash, it was treated as an accident, but prosecutors argued that it was a failed murder-suicide attempt triggered by a toxic, on-and-off relationship between Shirilla and Russo.
Allegedly, after surviving the crash, Shirilla told police and other officials that she had no memory of what had happened.
Shirilla was arrested four months later and convicted of murder, aggravated vehicular homicide, and several other offenses in August 2023.
According to a 2024 Ohio Court of Appeals opinion upholding Shirilla's conviction obtained by PEOPLE, Shirilla texted Russo’s mother, Christine Russo, at some point in the months following the fatal crash. In the messages, Shirilla claimed that she still had no memory of the fateful night and was considering undergoing hypnosis to recover her memories.
She wrote: “I remember turning onto the street, and then my vision fades to black.
“It really kills me not to be able to remember anything. I promise you I would tell you. I’ve been asking my therapist why I don’t remember, and she said it’s because of trauma. I’m gonna try to get myself hypnotized and make myself remember.”
Christine Russo allegedly told investigators that her son’s relationship had been strained in the six months prior to the crash. Recalling frequent arguments between the young couple, she said that Shirilla had become “possessive” of Dominic.
Also, in the weeks running up to the crash, a friend of the Russo family testified that he witnessed Shirilla threaten to crash her car with Dominic.
However, in the recent Netflix documentary, Shirilla’s parents, Natalie and Steve, disputed this claim and said that texts from Shirilla to Christine proved Dominic was the one who made the alleged threat.
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