'I never saw her cry': Ex-inmate who knew Mackenzie Shirilla in prison slams 'bozo' parents and questions POTS diagnosis
'She walks around thinking she's going to get out'
Mackenzie Shirilla said she had “excessive” remorse in The Crash. However, according to a woman who claims to have been in prison with her, she never saw her cry.
The new true crime documentary revolves around Shirilla, a 17-year-old (now 20) who murdered her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and his friend, Davion Flanagan, in a car crash.
She maintains that her actions weren’t intentional. Her parents, Steve and Natalie (who have been widely criticised), have vowed to fight against her conviction. They even claim to have “ironclad evidence” that disputes what was said in her trial.
Viewers have been digging into the case and even unearthing “triggering” phone calls. Now, a woman has stepped forward with her own experience of Shirilla.
Woman who was in prison with Mackenzie Shirilla praises The Crash
In a TikTok that’s been viewed over 21 million times, a woman named Kat discusses what she noticed about Shirilla when she was in prison.
At the start of the video, Kat shows her admission record to the Ohio Reformatory for Women, the same prison where Shirilla remains incarcerated.
@boujeebehindbars My take on The Crash from someone that was inside with Mackenzie Shirilla. #fyp #prison #netflix #mackenzieshirilla #truecrime
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“Foremost, I wanna shout out Netflix for making it and filming it in a way that is very, very evident to make Mackenzie and her family look like complete dumbasses,” she said.
According to Kat, “the Mackenzie that came onto Netflix was not the same Mackenzie that I witnessed in prison”, accusing her of “thriving for fame”. Kat also believes Shirilla appeared in the documentary believing it’d boost her chances of an appeal.
“Mackenzie Shirilla did not walk around that prison yard with an ounce of remorse,” she alleges. Instead, as per Kat’s alleged observations, she never cried. “She walks around thinking she’s gonna get out,” Kat says.
“Her family enables her”
Kat also takes aim at Shirilla’s parents, accusing them of “enabling her”.
“Mackenzie was… full-fledged old enough to know what she did, but her bozo-ass parents fed into this 100%. And in prison, Mackenzie’s crazy mother was funding her prison lifestyle and making it as comfortable as possible,” Kat rants.
As Kat says in the TikTok, Mackenzie reportedly hasn’t gone wanting for much behind bars. Her family enables her like no other. They see no wrong. They’re delusional, and Mackenzie has to get it from them,” Kat continues.
“I can say this as a mom myself, the mothers of [Russo and Flanagan], like, refuse to be on any of these [documentaries].
“But Mackenzie’s mother never turns an eye to a chance to be on social media, on a podcast, on a documentary when it comes to Shrilla, because she could care less about those victims.”
Ex-inmate doubts Mackenzie Shirilla’s POTS diagnosis
In The Crash, Shirilla claims she may have suffered a “medical emergency” connected to her 2017 POTS diagnosis when she was in the car with Russo and Flanagan.
What is POTS? It stands for postural tachycardia syndrome. It can cause your “heart rate to increase very quickly after getting up from sitting or lying down, often making you feel dizzy or lightheaded,” according to the NHS.
While there isn’t a go-to prescribed treatment, there are medicines that can help people control their symptoms. However, according to Kat, she never saw Shirilla go for a blood pressure check or take medication.
@boujeebehindbars Replying to @B L #fyp #truecrime #prison #thecrash #mackenzieshirilla @Netflix
“In fact, Mackenzie Shirilla would go out in 100-degree heat waves with baby oil on her and sit in the prison yard and tan,” Kat alleges.
“So let’s just get that understood. The girl does not have any medical issues.”
Kat, who spent 18 months in prison for leading the police on a high-speed chase, doesn’t believe Shirilla will be released after her first 15 years.
“She’s not gonna get parole on that first time,” Kat says. She also suspects that the moment in The Crash where Shirilla can be seen checking what she’s saying with her lawyer could be her downfall.
“You’re just trying to get out, and you’re not going to. It’s ridiculous,” Kat adds.
As it stands, Shirilla’s first parole hearing is scheduled for 2038. All of her appeals have been unsuccessful thus far.
