‘Suitcase killer’ Heather Mack sentenced to 26 years for mother’s Bali murder: Updates
Mack, now 28, appeared in federal court in Illinois, where she was given a 26-year prison sentence for the Bali murder of Sheila von Wiese-Mack
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“Suitcase killer” Heather Mack was back in court in Illinois on Wednesday to be sentenced over the 2014 murder of her mother at a luxury Bali resort.
Mack, 28, was sentenced to 26 years in prison.
In the courtroom, she was confronted by her family members who told the judge she should not be granted any leniency over Sheila von Wiese-Mack’s murder.
Prosecutors sought a 28-year sentence while Mack’s attorneys are asking for 15 years with credit for seven years spent in an Indonesian prison.
The tragic case began in August 2014 when Illinois socialite von Wiese-Mack, 62, took her then-18-year-old pregnant daughter on vacation to the St. Regis resort.
Mack’s boyfriend Tommy Schaefer, 21, flew out to the island and the pair bludgeoned von Wiese-Mack to death, stuffed her body in a suitcase and left it in the trunk of a taxi.
Both Mack and Schaefer were convicted of murder in Indonesia in 2015.
Mack served 7 years in prison before being deported and arrested as soon as she stepped foot on US soil.
After two years in federal prison awaiting trial, Mack reached a plea deal in June, pleading guilty to conspiracy to kill a US national.
Body in a suitcase, Bonnie and Clyde fantasy and baby born in Bali prison: The chilling case of Heather Mack- ‘Suitcase killer’ Heather Mack pleads for leniency in US over mother’s Bali murder
Heather Mack’s mother told police she feared her daughter would kill her. They were powerless to prevent it
‘Suitcase killer’ Heather Mack is sentenced to 26 years in US prison for Bali murder
ICYMI: ‘Suitcase killer’ Heather Mack pleads guilty to conspiracy to murder
“Suitcase killer” Heather Mack is facing up to 28 years in US prison after she pleaded guilty to conspiring to murder her socialite mother Sheila von Wiese-Mack at a luxury 5-star resort in Bali back in 2014 – finally bringing some sort of conclusion to a horror case that has rumbled on for almost eight years.
Mack reached a plea deal with prosecutors in federal court in Illinois in June, pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to kill a US national so that she and her then-boyfriend Tommy Schaefer could gain access to a $1.5m trust fund.
“I plead guilty, your honor,” she told US District Judge Matthew Kelley during the short hearing.
Under the terms of the agreement, prosecutors recommend that she faces a maximum sentence of 28 years in prison, with consideration given to the seven years that she’s already served in Indonesian jail.
If she is sentenced to 28 years, she could be eligible for release in 2042 – taking into account the time served in Indonesia and behind bars in the US. She will be 46 years old.
Catch up here:
‘Suitcase killer’ Heather Mack pleads guilty to conspiracy to murder socialite mother
On 12 August 2014, Mack and her then-boyfriend Tommy Schaefer bludgeoned Sheila von Wiese-Mack to death with the metal handle of a fruit stand and shoved her body in a suitcase at the luxury 5-star St. Regis resort in Bali
Murder of Sheila von Wiese-Mack came after years of domestic abuse
Heather Mack was the daughter of socialite Sheila von Wiese-Mack and famed musician James L Mack and had a privileged upbringing in the Oak Park suburb of Chicago.
But, following Mack’s 2006 death, von Wiese-Mack called the police to their home dozens of times due to incidents of domestic violence.
Oak Park Police records reveal at least 35 interactions with officers since 2008 including accusations that Mack broke her mother’s arm, bit and punched her.
In 2013 – just over one year before her murder – von Wiese-Mack confided in a detective that she feared Mack was going to kill her.
But friends later said, despite being fearful of what her daughter might do, she decided to take her on holiday with her in the summer of 2014. This trip ended up being the last von Wiese-Mack would ever take.
What are the terms of Heather Mack’s plea deal?
In June, Heather Mack reached a plea deal with prosecutors in federal court in Illinois, pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to kill a US national so that she and her then-boyfriend Tommy Schaefer could gain access to a $1.5m trust fund.
“I plead guilty, your honor,” she told US District Judge Matthew Kelley during the short hearing.
Under the terms of the agreement, prosecutors recommend that she faces a maximum sentence of 28 years in prison, with consideration given to the seven years that she’s already served in Indonesian jail.
If she is sentenced to 28 years, she could be eligible for release in 2042 – taking into account the time served in Indonesia and behind bars in the US. She will be 46 years old.
Sheila von Wiese-Mack’s family released statement on plea deal
The devastated family of murdered socialite Sheila von Wiese-Mack issued a statement after Heather Mack reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors back in June.
William Wiese and Debbi Curran, von Wiese-Mack’s siblings, said:
“After almost nine years, we are very relieved that the mastermind of Sheila’s murder admitted her guilt today.
“We will continue to be our sister Sheila’s voice throughout the sentencing process to ensure that real justice is achieved.
“It has been devastating to witness the corruption in Indonesia which prevented true justice from being obtained eight years ago.
“Thanks to the incredible efforts of the US Attorney’s Office and FBI, we are hopeful for a sentence that more appropriately reflects the heinous and premeditated nature of the crime.”
Who were Heather Mack’s accomplices?
Tommy Schaefer
Heather Mack’s boyfriend Tommy Schaefer flew out to Bali in August 2014 where the couple then murdered her mother Sheila von Wiese-Mack in the luxury hotel room.
Schaefer and Mack then stuffed her body into a suitcase.
He was arrested charged with premeditated murder alongside Mack.
He pleaded guilty and avoided the death penalty by firing squad.
Schaefer was sentenced to 18 years in April 2015.
He is still behind bars in Indonesia before he too will face charges on US soil.
Ryan Bibbs
In 2017, Schaefer’s cousin Ryan Bibbs, then 24, was also convicted of conspiracy to kill von Wiese-Mack, after it emerged that he had coached the two killers in different murder methods.
He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit the foreign murder of a US national and was sentenced to nine years in US federal prison.
Heather Mack sentencing hearing under way
Heather Mack has entered the courtroom in Chicago to be sentenced over the murder of her mother.
Dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit and wearing glasses, she appeared to acknowledge someone in the gallery as she entered.
Sheila von Wiese-Mack’s family and Tommy Schaefer’s mother are present in the courtroom.
Sheila von Wiese-Mack’s brother speaks in court
The first person to speak in the courtroom is Sheila von Wiese-Mack’s brother – Heather Mack’s uncle – Bill Wiese.
Note: Von Wiese-Mack’s family welcomed the plea deal being reached last year.
Heather Mack branded a ‘monster’ by uncle
Heather Mack has been branded a “monster” and a “master manipulator” by her uncle in the courtroom.
Sheila von Wiese-Mack’s brother Bill Wiese addressed his niece at the sentencing hearing.
“Heather, your brutal actions killed my sister, Sheila, on August 12 2014,” he said, reportedThe Chicago Sun-Times.
Mr Wiese said the pain she had inflicted on the family was “sickening”.
“Heather is a master manipulator. She always knows exactly what she is doing,” he said.
Family says Heather Mack should spend life behind bars
Heather Mack’s uncle went on to say that he wants her to spend the rest of her life behind bars.
“If it were up to me, Heather would spend the rest of her life behind bars. She has lied so many times about her life and her mother’s murder that I’ve stopped counting,” Bill Wiese told the court.
Mr Wiese said that his niece should not be given credit for pleading guilty now after spending years lying about her murder.
He also said that she should not be “allowed to parent” Stella – Mack and Tommy Schaefer’s daughter who was born in a Bali prison.
Note: Under the terms of the plea deal, she faces up to 28 years. Prosecutors are seeking the full 28 years, while Mack’s legal team is asking for 15 years including 7 years time served in Indonesia.
What happened to Stella?
In March 2015, in the middle of her trial in Indonesia, Heather Mack gave birth to her baby with Tommy Schaefer.
The little girl, Stella, was raised in prison for the first two years of her life.
Then she was placed in the care of an Australian woman living in Indonesia who Mack had befriended behind bars.
When Mack was released from prison in Bali in October 2021, she was briefly reunited with Stella, then six.
But when the mother and daughter flew back to the US, Mack was arrested at the airport.
A custody battle then ensued over the care of little Stella.
She was initially placed in the care of Chicago attorney Vanessa Favia while several relatives and friends battled in the courts for guardianship of her.
In November 2022, Stella was then placed in the care of von Wiese-Mack’s niece Lisa Hellman in Colorado – against Mack’s wishes. Ms Hellman continues to care for Stella, now eight.