How Mackenzie Shirilla was able to take viral prison selfie with 'lip filler' from prison

Mackenzie Shirilla posed for a new selfie, sparking a conversation about whether she’s been able to gain access to cosmetic enhancements whilst serving her life sentences.

The 21-year-old is behind bars at the Ohio Reformatory for Women and serving two concurrent sentences of 15 years to life for the 2022 murder of her then-boyfriend Dominic Russo and his friend Davion Flanagan.

Shirilla was convicted after it was determined she had crashed her Toyota Camry into a brick wall at speeds of 100mph on purpose.

But since her incarceration, Shirilla has been fighting her case, which hasn’t been going well for her.

In an update on one of those appeals, Shirilla’s team took to her official Instagram account, stating she is ‘trying to do better every day and holding out hope’.

But it wasn’t her message that caused a stir – it was her image.

Many on X questioned how she was able to take the image, how she was able to gain access to what looks like makeup, maybe even false eyelashes, and even speculation about her using ‘lip filler’.

One wrote: "How in the hell does this girl have a phone, makeup done, laid edges, flat-ironed hair, AND the audacity to take selfies knowing she murdered two innocent guys?? While in JAIL??? What the actual f**k is going on."

Another said: “just found out it’s actually a constitutional right to continue getting lip fillers in prison.”

Someone else asked: "How does she have a phone in jail?"

So, what is the truth?

How she took her selfie could be down to a number of reasons.

It could be that she took it during a relative’s visit, using their mobile phone.

A prison guard could have taken the image of her, or she could have possession of a contraband phone – which is illegal and can be a punishable offense.

As for her appearance...Ohio rules explain inmates may wear 'a reasonable amount of makeup', though 'staff may require an inmate to remove make-up if in the judgment of a supervisor any significant change in physical appearance has taken place'.

Considering it has been documented that Shirilla now works as a kitchen assistant and uses her pay to keep her commissary fund full – meaning she has the cash to spend on things she can bring into the prison, like makeup.

There’s also the option that someone bought her some things via Jail Exchange, a website where you can buy inmates hygiene products, apparel, and snacks and more.

As for the ‘fillers’ speculation, according to the US Department of Justice, it’s not actually true that they have to maintain filers of inmates who like plump lips.

Per its rules, ‘The Bureau of Prisons does not ordinarily perform plastic surgery on inmates to correct preexisting disfigurements (including tattoos) on any part of the body.’

However, if it is a ‘presently medically necessary standard of treatment’, then the inmate can have the injections performed.

Shirilla’s lips could look more plump than her trial days due to things like lip plumping lip gloss, overlining them with lip liner, or even using filters on apps to achieve a different look.

But it’s unlikely to be filler.

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