Mackenzie Shirilla posts bizarre photoshoot from prison as she faces new legal setback
Mackenzie Shirilla has revealed a new update in her case as her social media page posted a new glamorous snap of herself behind bars.
Again, Shirilla is reported to have attempted to petition her case to the Ohio Supreme Court as the 22-year-old's family says she was ‘wrongfully convicted’ in 2023.
Currently, she is staying in the Ohio Reformatory for Women after being sentenced for murdering her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, 20, and their friend, Davion Flanagan, 19.
Shirilla was found guilty of intentionally crashing a car into a building at approximately 100mph just shy of her 18th birthday, and is serving two concurrent sentences of 15 years to life.
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But while she’s been locked up, Shirilla has been seemingly making the most of her time there, and hosting photoshoots for herself.
On Monday, Shirilla's Instagram page was updated with a new selfie of the inmate, showcasing her with polished brows and seemingly, a face full of makeup.
There, the caption noted how she had lost her latest attempt at freedom, claiming: “Mackenzie is trying to do better every day and holding on to hope. Her post conviction relief was denied due to a deadline technicality.”
It went on to blame her legal counsel, writing: “The decision has nothing to do with the contents of it, it was unable to even be reviewed. Her appellate lawyer missed a deadline by filing it one day late due to a leap year, which also makes HIM ineffective assistance of council.
"Mackenzie and her family (along with everyone’s help) will respectfully continue to do everything they can so that the merits of the brief can be heard, just as anyone else would do in their position."
It went on to plead that everyone ‘keep sharing everything you can and please sign and share this petition for a fair re-trial'.
It concluded: “We ALL deserve fair representation and once you review her case you’ll agree she did not get that. Please click, sign, and share the petition in her bio. - Mackenzie Shirilla’s Support Team #freemackenzie #mackenzieshirilla #wrongfullyconvicted #thecrash.”
Just one day after the post went live, her attorneys then filed a motion for the Ohio Supreme Court to reconsider denying her post-conviction relief petition in light of the technicality.
Shirilla has attempted to appeal her murder case a total of three times, twice in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court and once in the Eighth District Court of Appeals.
However, all have been denied by the Supreme Court.
Shirilla will not be eligible for parole until she is 33 years old in 2037.
Mackenzie Shirilla timeline
17 July 2022 - Mackenzie Shirilla and her boyfriend Dominic Russo get into an argument. A friend allegedly overhears Shirilla tell him: “I will crash this car right now.”
31 July 2022 - Shirilla is driving Russo, 20, and their friend Davion Flanagan, 19, from Russo’s home to a friend’s house. At around 5.30am, she crashes the car into a Plidco Building in Strongsville, Ohio, travelling at 100mph without braking. Police arrive on the scene 45 minutes later. Russo and Flanagan are pronounced dead and Shirilla is transported to MetroHealth Medical Center.
August 2022 - 200 people attend a vigil for Russo and Flanagan. Shirilla remains in critical condition. When a detective visits her in hospital, she is said to be speaking a ‘unique language’ similar to pig Latin.
October 2022 - Shirilla attends a Halloween party wearing fancy dress which resembles a corpse, which Davion’s father considers in very poor taste. He says in Netflix’s The Crash: “Dressing up as corpses three months after she killed two people, it just sickened us to the very core.”
4 November 2022 - Shirilla is arrested and faces 18 charges, including two counts of aggravated murder. She also faces charges for allegedly breaking into the Columbia Church of God in Columbia Station days before the crash, along with drug possession charges.
7 August 2023 - Shirilla’s trial begins. Her defence team argue she may have passed out at the time of the crash due to postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), but no medical records or expert testimony confirms the diagnosis.
14 August 2023 - Shirilla is found guilty on all counts. Judge Nancy Margaret Russo calls her ‘hell on wheels’, and the court concludes she intentionally crashed the car in a premeditated act.
23 August 2023 - Shirilla is sentenced to two concurrent 15 years to life sentences. Her legal team later lose an appeal and relief petition. She remains incarcerated in the Ohio Reformatory for Women.
22 May 2025 - Shirilla’s parents insist that she’s innocent. Her father Steve tells WKYC: “Show me one piece of evidence - one - that says she did this on purpose. Show it to me, then she's right where she belongs and she's guilty of it. But there isn't any.” Her mother Natalie claims there are texts in which Shirilla says Russo was ‘trying to end her life’.
15 May 2026 - Netflix’s The Crash premieres. In it, Shirilla insists she is ‘not a murderer’ and has no memory of the crash, continuing to blame POTS.
18 May 2026 - Steve Shirilla is placed on administrative leave from his job as an art and digital media teacher at Mary Queen of Peace School in Cleveland following allegations he had ‘demonstrated poor judgement’. Viewers of Netflix’s documentary objected to his attitude towards Shirilla’s marijuana use and his dismissal of claims she told a classmate to end their life.
23 June 2026 - The Ohio Supreme Court declines to review Shirilla’s appeal case. Her lawyers missed the deadline for a post-conviction review by one day because 2024 was a leap year, and the court upheld an earlier decision that Shirilla’s conviction therefore could not be challenged.
September 2037 - This is when Shirilla will be eligible for parole
Topics: Mackenzie Shirilla, Netflix, Crime, US News
Britt Jones