Mackenzie Shirilla, currently serving time behind bars, has become a subject of interest following revelations from her alleged former girlfriend. The latter disclosed some intriguing aspects of Shirilla’s life in prison, including the nickname she has earned among fellow inmates.
Shyann Topping allegedly began a brief romance with Shirilla just weeks before her own release from prison, according to an account she shared in a series of TikToks.
Initially, Shirilla caught the attention of Topping, her ex-girlfriend, when she was spotted walking with a friend at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in 2023. Despite noticing her presence, Topping refrained from approaching Shirilla at first. However, fate intervened, and through a mutual acquaintance, the two women eventually met and formed a close bond. Topping recounted that Shirilla took meticulous care of her appearance, a detail that stood out even in the confines of prison life.
Though Topping noticed Shirilla walking around the track with a friend not long after she had arrived at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in 2023, she had initially steered clear of her.
In a series of posts, Topping revealed that Shirilla was particular about her diet, claiming, “I don’t eat prison food.” Instead, she relied on cooking daily with supplies bought from the commissary, a habit that Topping mentioned was quite costly.
But eventually the two were introduced through a mutual acquaintance and quickly hit it off. According to Topping, despite being behind bars, Shirilla took great care to maintain her appearance.
The living conditions at the prison varied, with Shirilla residing in a distinct “cottage” known for housing “lifers” or privileged inmates. This facility boasted amenities such as flat-screen TVs, communal couches, and individual rooms with doors that could be closed, as described by Topping in her TikTok revelations. Despite these separate living arrangements, Shirilla and Topping managed to maintain their connection through frequent visits to the prison yard, where they met several times a day.
She also alleged in the series of posts that Shirilla told her, “I don’t eat prison food,” and cooked everyday using items she’d purchased from the commissary, a strategy that Topping said would cost “a lot of money.”
The two inmates lived in separate “cottages” or buildings on the prison grounds. Shirilla, who worked in maintenance at the time, lived in one that Topping described as being for “lifers or like really privileged inmates,” which had flat screen tvs, couches in a common area and rooms where you could close your door, she explained in the TikTok post. Although they were unable to go into each other’s cottages, they would connect during multiple trips to the prison yard each day.
What is Mackenzie Shirilla’s Nickname in Prison?
Initially, as the two were getting to know each other, Topping told People there were false rumors floating around prison that Topping was serving time for trafficking children and she was eager to clear up the misconception. As she explained on TikTok, the rumor was the result of mistaken identity after another prisoner had a similar name.
“I gave her my ID card so she could look and see what [my real] charges were,” Topping told the outlet, “and she was like, ‘Oh, it’s okay, don’t take it personally.’”
Then, Shirilla allegedly laughed and went on to explain that others behind bars called her “Shirilla the Killa.”
What Has Mackenzie Shirilla Said About The Fatal Crash While Behind Bars?
Shirilla is serving a sentence of 15 years to life after prosecutors said she intentionally drove her car at speeds reaching 100 mph into a brick wall, killing boyfriend Dominic Russo and their friend Davion Flanagan.
Investigators charged her with murder after finding evidence to suggest Shirilla had pressed the accelerator “to its full extent” and never applied the brakes, according to a statement from the Cuyahuga County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney.
According to Topping, Shirilla, whose story is chronicled in Netflix’s The Crash, opened up about the fatal wreck but insisted—as she did in court—that she had no memory of the incident and claimed that it happened as the result of a medical emergency.
“She never really made light of what happened,” Topping told People. “And she would talk about Dom and Davey a lot in a loving, regarding way.”
Topping added on TikTok that Shirilla was convinced her murder convictions would be overturned on appeal.
“She was telling me how she was working on an appeal. She’s going home, like she’s going to be home. I’ll meet her,” Topping remembered. “We’re going to talk when we got home. We’re going to continue this outside when…she got home.”
At the time, Topping told People, “I honestly believed maybe she’s not guilty because of the limited information she had.”
“When I left prison I did not view Mackenzie as the monster she [is now being] portrayed as,” Topping explained. “When I first got out I was like, ‘Oh, they don’t know what this girl’s been through.’”
But after Topping was released from prison and began to research the case herself, her view changed.
”I just realized that maybe she is not a good person,” she told People, “that maybe she was just showing me what I wanted to see because she found me attractive.”
Shirilla’s chances at an appeal were squashed in March by the Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals, who ruled that her appeal had been filed one day past the jurisdictional deadline, according to Court TV.
She won’t be eligible for parole until 2037, according to jail records reviewed by Oxygen.