Female “suitcase killer” and felon sentenced from Indonesia to US

Public opinion on the beautiful island of Bali, Indonesia, was shocked by a particularly serious case involving an American citizen in August 2014.

Accordingly, Bali authorities identified the American couple, Heather Mack (19 years old) and her boyfriend Tommy Schaefer (21 years old), as the ones who brutally murdered Sheila von Wiese Mack (62 years old). The victim was Heather Mack's biological mother, who was pregnant at the time.

Sources said that because she was unhappy with her daughter's "premarital affair", Ms. Sheila von Wiese Mack had arguments with the couple.

Angry, the couple then murdered Ms. Sheila von Wiese Mack right at the 5-star St. Regis hotel on the tourist island of Bali. After committing the crime, the couple stuffed the victim's body into a suitcase to hide the evidence.

Nữ “sát thủ vali” và trọng tội nhận án từ Indonesia đến Mỹ - Ảnh 1.

Heather Mack surrounded by media as she appeared in court in Bali, Indonesia on April 21, 2015. Photo: AP

"Heather Mack played a supporting role in helping her boyfriend murder her biological mother, Sheila von Wiese Mack," Bali police said at the time. "After murdering her biological mother, Heather Mack sat on the suitcase to flatten it so her boyfriend could zip it up, before disposing of the body."

The couple's actions left the body of victim Sheila von Wiese Mack severely disfigured. That's when Heather Mack was nicknamed the "suitcase killer."

About a year after the heinous crime, the American couple were put on trial in a Bali court. Heather Mack was sentenced to 10 years in prison, while Tommy Schaefer received 18 years.

Due to good behavior, the "suitcase killer" only had to serve 7 years and 2 months in prison, was released early, and was immediately deported from Indonesia in 2021.

Nữ “sát thủ vali” và trọng tội nhận án từ Indonesia đến Mỹ - Ảnh 2.

Heather Mack holding her baby is escorted to court by Bali police, Indonesia. Photo: AP

Upon returning home, the Illinois-born woman was immediately arrested by US authorities for an investigation into the attempted murder of her mother, involving her cousin Robert Ryan Bibbs. This man is said to have "advised" Heather Mack to kill Sheila von Wiese Mack and was sentenced to 9 years in prison in 2017.

The US Department of Justice announced on June 16 (local time) that Heather Mack, 27, has now pleaded guilty to the murder of her biological mother Sheila von Wiese Mack. "Your Honor, I plead guilty to the murder of Ms. Sheila von Wiese Mack while on a trip to Indonesia," Heather Mack said during the trial on June 16.

If convicted at her trial scheduled for December, she faces an additional 28 years in prison in the US.

US law does not allow for “double imprisonment” of a person in the same case for the same crime. This means that a US court will not sentence Heather Mack for the acts for which she was tried and sentenced in Indonesia.

Source