A Chicago court is set to sentence Heather Mack, an American woman who admitted to her involvement in the murder of her mother during a luxury vacation in Bali. Prosecutors are urging a 28-year prison term, considerably longer than what the defense is likely to propose. The government is also seeking five years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and restitution of $262,708.
American Woman Who Killed, Stuffed Her Mother Into Suitcase In Bali, Is To Be Sentenced
An American woman who pleaded guilty to helping kill her own mother and stuffing the body in a suitcase during a luxury vacation in Bali is scheduled to be sentenced in Chicago on Wednesday.
Heather Mack pleaded guilty in June to conspiring with her then-boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, to kill her mother, Sheila von Wiese-Mack, in 2014, aiming to gain access to a $1.5 million trust fund. Prosecutors revealed that Mack, then 18 and pregnant, assisted in silencing her mother while Schaefer attacked Wiese-Mack with a fruit bowl in a hotel room.
Evidence suggests that the duo had been planning the murder for months, with video footage capturing their attempts to transport the victim's body in a small suitcase into an Indonesian taxi.
Mack, who lived with her mother in Oak Park, served seven years of her 10-year Indonesian sentence for being an accessory to the murder before being deported in 2021. She was promptly arrested upon arrival at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.
Mack's lawyers are seeking a 15-year prison term, accounting for her time served in Indonesia. The defense argues that incarcerating her for an extended period is unnecessary, citing the cost to taxpayers. Mack's then-6-year-old daughter, who was with her during the arrest, has been with a relative following a custody dispute.
The plea agreement outlines a maximum sentence of 28 years, with two other charges against Mack expected to be dropped. Meanwhile, Schaefer, already serving an 18-year sentence in Indonesia, faces charges in the same US. indictment.
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