Heather Mack, Chicago woman who helped kill mom and stuff body in suitcase in Bali, is sentenced

CHICAGO (TCD) -- A federal judge sentenced Heather Mack to 26 years in prison for conspiring with her then-boyfriend to kill her mother and leaving her body in a suitcase while on vacation in Bali.

The Associated Press reports prosecutors argued prior to the hearing that Mack should serve 28 years behind bars after she pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy to commit the murder of her mother, Sheila von Wiese.

Mack reportedly tearfully apologized to her family at the sentencing hearing, and said, "There’s no excuse for trying to harm her. I miss and love my mother."

The Justice Department said Mack and von Wiese traveled to Bali together on Aug. 2, 2014. While there, Mack used her mother's credit card to pay for her boyfriend at the time, Tommy Schaefer, to fly down to the Indonesian province on Aug. 10, 2014. When he arrived, they discussed ways and devised a plan to kill von Wiese.

On Aug. 12, 2014, Schaefer beat von Wiese to death with a fruit bowl in her hotel room. According to The Associated Press, Mack covered von Wiese's mouth as Schaefer killed her. After von Wiese died, they stuffed her body in a suitcase and tried putting the luggage in a taxi. The taxi driver would not accept their fare, so Mack and Schaefer got out of the cab and left the suitcase inside.

Indonesian police arrested Mack and Schaefer at a different hotel the next day.

Schaefer and Mack faced criminal charges in Indonesia and were convicted. Mack was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but was released after seven. She was arrested in Chicago in November 2021 for one count of conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, one count of conspiracy to commit foreign murder of a U.S. national, and one count of obstruction.

Schaefer is currently serving 18 years in prison overseas, but he is also named in the same indictment.

The Associated Press reports Judge Matthew Kennelly is ordering Mack to pay $262,708 in restitution and a $50,000 fine.

He said at the hearing Wednesday, "This was a brutal, premeditated crime."

Watch Crime Watch Daily's coverage of the Heather Mack investigation below.

MORE:

• US woman gets 26 years in prison for helping kill her mother in Bali and stuffing body in a suitcase - The Associated Press
• Woman Pleads Guilty to Murder Conspiracy, 6/16/2023 - Department of Justice
• Heather Mack pleads guilty to planning to kill her mom in Bali and leaving her body in suitcase, 6/16/2023 - TCD
• Heather Mack arrested in Chicago after being jailed in Bali for allegedly killing mom, stuffing body in suitcase, 11/3/2021 - TCD