‘Hell on Wheels’ killer Mackenzie Shirilla confessed to her fellow inmates that she purposefully killed her boyfriend and friend despite her public pleas of innocence, a former prisoner has revealed.
Anastasia, 30, a former inmate at the Ohio Reformatory for Women, told the Daily Mail that she was deeply disturbed by her time there with Shirilla after the then-18-year-old was locked up for double murder.
Shirilla was found guilty of intentionally crashing her car into a building in 2022, killing her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, 20, and their friend, Davion Flanagan, 18.
In the years since, she has insisted that the tragedy was an accident, including claiming in a Netflix documentary that she ‘passed out’ due to Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), a blood pressure condition. Shirilla claimed to have been unconscious while the Toyota Camry she was driving turned a corner and slammed into a wall.
But Anastasia, who did not provide her last name, said the killer gave a very different account to her fellow inmates, alleging that she crashed the car because ‘Dom had to die’.
‘She said she was suicidal, but she almost looked as though she was enjoying (telling the story) – like she was amused by it,’ the 27-year-old said.
The ex-inmate said Shirilla was an avid user of K2 – a synthetic drug made from smoking paper sprayed with chemicals – and said Shirilla even tried to blame Satan for her antics during another unhinged rant.
‘She said the devil made her do it,’ Anastasia recalled. ‘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.’
Former Ohio prison inmate Anastasia, 30, who was locked up with Mackenzie Shirilla, revealed the notorious ‘Hell on Wheels’ killer confessed to her fellow inmates that she purposefully killed her boyfriend and friend, despite her public pleas of innocence
Shirilla was found guilty of intentionally crashing her car into a building in 2022, killing her boyfriend and friend, and she is serving a 15-years-to-life sentence at the Ohio Reformatory for Women
Shirilla’s fellow inmates say she enjoys her ‘notoriety’ behind bars as she serves her sentences for the murders of Dominic Russo (above together) and Davion Flanagan
Anastasia, who shares her prison experiences on TikTok since being released in 2024, said many prisoners at the Ohio Reformatory for Women keep scrapbooks during their time behind bars, which they typically fill with photographs of loved ones.
But Anastasia said Shirilla’s scrapbook featured only pictures of herself, as well as a snap of a brick wall with the word ‘BOOM’ on it in an apparent warped joke about the deadly crash.
‘She didn’t have any pictures of Dom or Davion,’ she added. ‘I felt like that was cold.’
She said Shirilla’s antics behind bars stunned other inmates, including her cellmate, Jalisa Roberts – who was convicted of murdering a man when she was just 16 – and said despite her new claims she suffered POTS, they ‘never heard of that’.
‘I never saw her pass out,’ she said, countering the narrative she tried to use on the Netflix documentary, The Crash, about her case.
The account comes after another former inmate, Kat, told the Daily Mail earlier this year that Shirilla ‘showed no remorse’ and ‘walked around like she was famous’ in prison.
She added that Shirilla became a prolific lesbian behind bars, and would ‘walk around with hickeys on her neck’ while enjoying romances with other ‘lifers’ – inmates who, like Shirilla, are serving life sentences.
In prison disciplinary records obtained by the Daily Mail, it is revealed that Shirilla has been punished a number of times by prison officials for her lesbian antics, including having cyber sex with another woman while using her prison-issued tablet computer.
Anastasia (right) said Shirilla’s antics behind bars stunned others, including her cellmate, Jalisa Roberts (left), who was convicted of murdering a man when she was just 16. Center, Bryanna Houston
The obliterated ruins of the Toyota Camry that Mackenzie Shirilla drove into a wall at 100mph. She maintains she suffered a medical emergency – but was sentenced for murder
Shirilla with Russo, whom she murdered by slamming a car into a wall. She maintains her innocence and is now said to be a lesbian bully behind bars
Davion Flanagan was also murdered by Shirilla in the horror crash
Among a total of 36 disciplinary reports, an incident in September last year allegedly saw Shirilla caught exposing her breasts on a video call.
The visitor then displayed a sex toy on camera and undressed, while using the toy as she spoke to the convicted killer.
The report shows that Shirilla admitted to the incident and pleaded guilty, and a 60-day ban on video calls was imposed. The report adds that there were at least seven previous calls between Shirilla and the visitor.
Other disciplinary reports included Shirilla being caught with a long list of contraband items, such as a ‘large stack of Monopoly money’, bottles of paint, charms to make jewelry and craft supplies, in September 2024.
The next month, Shirilla was also caught with altered prison clothes, a fan she stole from another inmate and four naked magazine pictures – which she pleaded guilty to having.
Records show Shirilla repeatedly frustrated prison guards with her antics, including taking other inmates’ medications, six counts of contraband, four counts of disobeying a direct order, seven counts of ‘being out of place’ in the facility, and four counts of violating prison rules.
Her fellow inmates Anastasia and Kat both told the Daily Mail that Shirilla was known for frequently having new clothes, shoes and make-up in prison, which they said was funded by her parents, who support her pleas of innocence.
A former inmate who gave her name as Kat (above) told the Daily Mail that Shirilla acts like a ‘mean girl’ behind bars and gained a reputation as a prolific lesbian
Shirilla with two other inmates at the Ohio Reformatory for Women. She is said to have developed a taste for other ‘lifers’ like her
Shirilla has shared smiling selfies of herself with other inmates behind bars
In the years since the tragedy, Shirilla has insisted that it was an accident, including claiming in Netflix documentary The Crash that she ‘passed out’ due to Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), a blood pressure condition
In images of Shirilla in prison that have emerged online, she appears to be making the most of her time behind bars, with photos sent to family and friends showing her posing for selfies with a full face of immaculately applied make-up.
It comes as Shirilla maintains that she is innocent of murder. She said in a jailhouse message to the Daily Mail earlier this year that she is the victim of a ‘wrongful conviction’.
In a recent court filing, Shirilla’s attorneys requested the Ohio Supreme Court review their rejection of her appeal, which was dismissed because it was filed after a deadline.
In a statement to WKYC, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley said he remains confident in the conviction.
‘Prosecutor O’Malley believes without question Mackenzie Shirilla is guilty of murder,’ the office said. ‘We are confident that any court that reviews this case will come to the same conclusion.’
With her appeal for a new trial denied in March, the now-21-year-old will not face the possibility of parole until 2037.
Shirilla during her arrest, months after the crash that killed two and left her severely injured
Meanwhile, the family of Russo says his killer’s total lack of contrition continues to cause them anguish.
Christine Russo said her brother’s memory has been ‘twisted’ in the public eye, and said ‘not only was his life ended, but my family’s life was destroyed. It’s unfathomable’.
‘The case has tortured our family… her claims of innocence are beyond insulting to us,’ she told the Daily Mail earlier this year.
Christine said her father still ‘wants to know what happened in the car that day’.
‘He wants to know what Dom’s last words were, what was happening… it keeps him up at night and it’s the first thing he thinks of in the morning. If she ever cared about Dom, she would tell the truth and let us rest.’
There is some comfort, at least, for the Russo and Flanagan families in knowing Shirilla will spend the best years of her life trapped behind bars – and that there is no prospect of her re-entering society until the youth she squandered is far behind her.
