American who spent 11 years in prison for Bali "suitcase murder" is freed
#Bali suitcase murder #Tommy Schaefer #Sheila von Wiese-Mack #Heather Mack #Indonesia deportation #premeditated murder #Chicago socialite
📌 Key Takeaways
- Tommy Schaefer freed after 11 years in Indonesian prison for Bali suitcase murder
- Wealthy Chicago socialite Sheila von Wiese-Mack found battered in taxi trunk at upscale resort
- Heather Mack served 7 years in Bali and received 26 years in US for mother's murder
- Case described as brutal and premeditated with defendant showing little remorse
📖 Full Retelling
American Tommy Schaefer was freed and deported by Indonesian authorities on February 25, 2026, after serving 11 years of his 18-year prison sentence for the premeditated murder of his then-girlfriend's mother, wealthy Chicago socialite Sheila von Wiese-Mack, on the tourist island of Bali in August 2014, a case internationally known as the 'suitcase murder.' The badly battered body of the 62-year-old von Wiese-Mack was discovered inside the trunk of a taxi parked at the upscale St. Regis Bali Resort, where the mother and daughter were staying during a luxury vacation. At the time of the killing, Heather Mack, who was almost 19 and a few weeks pregnant, and her then-21-year-old boyfriend Schaefer were arrested on the island a day after the body was found. Mack served seven years of a 10-year prison sentence in Bali for her role in the murder before being deported to the United States in October 2021, where she received an additional 26-year prison sentence in January 2024 after pleading guilty to helping kill her mother and stuffing her body in a suitcase. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennely described the crime as 'brutal and premeditated' during sentencing, noting that despite Mack's apology, prosecutors argued she showed little remorse and attempted to profit from the crime by seeking media deals.
🏷️ Themes
International Crime, Justice System, Family Violence
📚 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...
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Original Source
Crime American who spent 11 years in prison for notorious "suitcase murder" in Bali is freed and deported by Indonesia Updated on: February 25, 2026 / 6:34 AM EST / CBS/AP Add CBS News on Google Indonesia freed and deported an American man Tuesday after he spent 11 years in prison for the premeditated murder of his then-girlfriend's mother on the tourist island of Bali. 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 luxury vacation in a case also known as the Bali "suitcase murder." Schaefer was deported back to the United States from Bali International Airport on Tuesday evening after serving his sentence and receiving a number of remissions for good behavior, said Felucia Sengky Ratna, head of the Bali Regional Office of the Directorate General of Immigration, in a statement. The badly battered body of the 62-year-old von Wiese-Mack, a wealthy Chicago socialite, was found inside the trunk of a taxi parked at the upscale St. Regis Bali Resort in August 2014. Heather Mack, who was almost 19 and a few weeks pregnant at the time of the killing, and her then-21-year-old boyfriend, Schaefer, were arrested on the island a day after the body was found. Mack served seven years of a 10-year prison sentence in Bali for helping to kill her mother and was deported in October 2021. She was also sentenced to 26 years in prison in Chicago in January 2024, after she pleaded guilty to helping kill her mother and stuffing the body in a suitcase during their vacation, CBS News Chicago reported. "This was a brutal and premeditated crime," U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly said in handing down the sentence. Before she was sentenced, Mack apologized for killing her mother, saying there was "No excuse for trying to harm her." While her own defense attorneys had argued Mack suffered emotional and physical abuse from her mother for years before the murder, she said, "It does not matter what my relatio...
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