American jailed over suitcase murder deported from Bali
#Tommy Schaefer #Bali suitcase murder #Sheila von Wiese-Mack #Heather Mack #deportation #murder conviction #trust fund #federal charges
📌 Key Takeaways
- American Tommy Schaefer deported from Bali after serving 11 years for murder
- Victim was Chicago socialite found stuffed in suitcase at luxury resort
- Couple murdered for victim's $1.5 million trust fund
- Schaefer now facing federal charges in the US
📖 Full Retelling
American Tommy Schaefer was freed and deported from Bali on Tuesday, February 26, 2026, after serving 11 years in prison for the premeditated murder of his then-girlfriend's mother in the infamous 2014 'suitcase murder' case. Schaefer, originally sentenced to 18 years, received several remissions for good behavior before being released by Indonesian authorities. The victim, 62-year-old Chicago socialite Sheila von Wiese-Mack, was found battered and stuffed in a suitcase in the trunk of a taxi at a luxury resort on the Indonesian island. The brutal murder occurred during a family vacation when Schaefer and his then-girlfriend Heather Mack, who was a few weeks pregnant at the time, conspired to kill von Wiese-Mack to gain access to her $1.5 million trust fund. According to court testimony, Mack covered her mother's mouth while Schaefer assaulted her with a fruit bowl. The couple was arrested by Balinese police the day after the body was discovered. Mack, who was 18 at the time of the murder, served seven years of her 10-year prison sentence in Indonesia before being deported in October 2021. Following his deportation, Schaefer was transported to Illinois by the US Marshals Service and arrived on Wednesday, February 27, 2026. He is scheduled to make an initial court appearance in Chicago on Thursday, February 28, facing federal charges including conspiracy to kill someone in a foreign country, conspiracy to commit murder, and tampering with a victim. In January 2024, Mack was also sentenced to 26 years in prison in Chicago after pleading guilty to her role in her mother's murder and the subsequent concealment of her body in the suitcase.
🏷️ Themes
International crime, Legal proceedings, Murder case
📚 Related People & Topics
Heather Mack
American criminal (born 1995)
Heather Lois Mack (born October 11, 1995) is an American heiress convicted of murdering her mother, Sheila von Wiese, while on vacation in Bali, Indonesia, in August 2014. The murder was widely publicized internationally because Mack and her boyfriend stuffed von Wiese-Mack's body in a suitcase. She...
Entity Intersection Graph
No entity connections available yet for this article.
Original Source
American jailed over suitcase murder deported from Bali Tommy Schaefer spent 11 years in prison for the premeditated murder of his then-girlfriend's mother in Bali. Thursday 26 February 2026 10:45, UK Why you can trust Sky News Indonesia has freed and deported an American man after he spent 11 years in jail for the premeditated murder of his then-girlfriend's mother, in a case known as the Bali "suitcase murder". Tommy Schaefer was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the 2014 murder of Sheila von Wiese-Mack, the mother of Heather Mack, during a holiday on the island. The battered body of the Chicago socialite was found in a suitcase in the boot of a taxi at a luxury resort. The couple were trying to gain access to a $1.5m (£1.1m) trust fund, prosecutors have said. Mack, who was a few weeks pregnant at the time of the attack, told the court in 2015 her mother objected to her relationship with Schaefer. She covered her 62-year-old mother's mouth while Schaefer used a fruit bowl for the assault. Read more from Sky News: Cubans shot on speedboat during 'terrorist infiltration' attempt Meet the kids who want a social media ban Police in Bali arrested Mack, nearly 19 at the time, and the then-21-year-old Schaefer a day later. Schaefer was deported back to the US from Bali International Airport on Tuesday after serving his sentence and receiving a number of remissions for good behaviour, said Felucia Sengky Ratna, head of the Bali Regional Office of the directorate general of immigration. Get Sky News on WhatsApp Follow our channel and never miss an update. Tap here to follow He was in custody and arrived in Illinois on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the US Marshals Service, which transports federal prisoners, confirmed. Schaefer was scheduled to make an initial court appearance in Chicago on Thursday morning on federal charges of conspiracy to kill someone in a foreign country, conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with a victim. Mack served seven years of a 10-year pr...
Read full article at source