Mackenzie Shirilla’s mom is sharing insight about the convicted killer’s life behind bars.
The 21-year-old is currently serving two concurrent 15-to-life sentences in prison for murdering her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and their friend, Davion Flanagan, in a car crash back in 2022. And while locked up, Natalie Shirilla told DailyMail.com over the weekend that her daughter has been looking healthier than ever before after gaining weight:
“She’s actually gained a little bit of weight, she looks healthier.”
Related: Mackenzie Shirilla Wants To Do WHAT If She’s Ever Released From Prison?!
Although Mackenzie is doing “physically better,” her mom claimed that “she’s still mentally struggling.” Natalie added:
“She’s struggling, they all are. It’s very hard and challenging in there.”
What Natalie isn’t worried about, however, is Mackenzie getting bullied behind bars. She said her daughter knows how to stand up for herself if that ever happens:
“I think some people get targeted at times but it’s not something she talks about. She’s not afraid to stand up for herself. We talk about how to navigate through those situations. But from what I can see, the women really take care of each other in there.”
Natalie also shared that Mackenzie is trying to stay as busy as possible in prison:
“She paints, she draws, she’s very talented. She listens to music or watches movies. They have tablets that have controlled apps. They can’t access the Internet but they can watch movies or listen to music. They also have a gym and can take fitness classes.”
According to Us Weekly, a prison spokesperson confirmed Mackenzie also took on a job as a food service worker. This came after Makenzie complained during a phone call between her and Natalie about being bored and feeling like time moved so slowly in prison:
“Like it’s only 3:30, how is it only 3:30? For real I did not even know it was 3:30 I thought it was like 5. It’s 3:30.”
Well, it sounds like Mackenzie figured out something to do with all that free time… and when she’s not breaking the prison rules! Mackenzie has been hit with roughly 36 misconduct tickets for breaking the rules, including some for having sexually explicit video calls with an ex-inmate. Addressing the incidents, Natalie said:
“A lot of the tickets she got were for stuff she wouldn’t even know were rules. I mean, she’s in her 20s so…. I don’t know about that one. All I can say is Mackenzie is not violent or aggressive.”
That doesn’t change the fact that Mackenzie broke the rules, which won’t help her get out of jail anytime soon! Reactions, Perezcious readers? Tell us in the comments (below).
[Image via Mackenzie Shirilla/Instagram, Ohio Reformatory for Women]