"Suitcase killer" Heather Mack pleaded guilty to conspiring to murder her socialite mother Sheila von Wiese-Mack at a luxury 5-star resort in Bali in 2014, finally ending a horror case that has dragged on for almost eight years.
Mack, 27, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to kill a US national in federal court in Illinois on Friday morning to access a $1.5m trust fund with her then-boyfriend Tommy Schaefer. The pair compared themselves to Bonnie and Clyde and planned murder in chilling text chats.
During the brief hearing, she told US District Judge Matthew Kelley, "I plead guilty."
Under the deal, prosecutors recommend a maximum sentence of 28 years in prison, taking into account her seven years in Indonesian prison. After doing time in Indonesia and the US, she might be released in 2042 if convicted to 28 years. She turns 46. Stella, her Bali prison-born daughter, will grow up.
Judge Kelley cautioned that he might violate the sentencing guidelines, which involve a life sentence.
“I must decide,” he said. Mack cannot appeal under the contract. Mack told the judge earlier that she was hospitalized "a few times" for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder as a child.
Von Wiese-Mack's siblings praised the plea offer and told reporters they hoped the judge would accept the prosecution's arrangement with Mack after meeting their "mastermind" murderous niece in court.
After the brief hearing, William Wiese and Debbi Curran expressed relief that Mack had finally accepted some culpability in the horrible crime and criticized the "corruption" of the court proceedings in Indonesia, where she was released after seven years.
“After almost nine years, we are very glad that the mastermind of Sheila’s murder accepted her guilt today,” they stated.
We will speak for our sister Sheila throughout the sentence process to secure justice. The Indonesian corruption that obstructed fair justice eight years ago has been heartbreaking.
“Thanks to the great work of the US Attorney’s Office and FBI, we are optimistic for a sentence that more adequately reflects the horrible and premeditated crime.”
Mack has spent practically all of her adult life in prison since her August 2014 Bali arrest.
Mack, 18, and Schaefer, 21, killed von Wiese-Mack, 62, at the 5-star St. Regis resort in Bali on August 12, 2014.
Mack allegedly covered Schaefer's mother's mouth while beating her. They put her body in a suitcase, called a cab, and put it in the trunk. After failing to check out of the luxurious resort with her mother's credit card, the pair escaped, leaving the bloodstained bag behind. They were detained at a cheap hotel for murder.
Mack, the daughter of socialite von Wiese-Mack and famous musician James L. Mack, was pregnant with Schaefer's child at the time of the murder.
Prosecutors discovered that she had flew her lover away on a $12,000 business-class ticket hours earlier using her mother's credit card. After arriving, surveillance footage showed the group bickering in the hotel lobby. Schaefer arrived 12 hours after von Wiese-Mack died.
“I know what I can manage... Witches make humans tick. I know her ticks. So much with her... I know her habits, what she does, and when. escaping prison... Watching for years... I know what I control from monitoring her routine. Im sneaky. Smart and watching, trust Bonnie. Mack responded, "Don't make everyone other mistake and underestimate me," according to US court records.
Mack's mother was abused dozens of times, according to Oak Park Police records.
Mack broke her mother's arm, bit, and struck her in at least 35 police confrontations between 2008 and 2013. Von Wiese-Mack told a detective in 2013 that Mack might kill her, little over a year before her death.
Mack and Schaefer were both convicted of premeditated murder in Indonesia in 2015 and narrowly spared the firing squad. Mack received 10 years in jail and Schaefer 18 years.
Mack gave birth to Stella in March 2015 while in prison, raising her for two years before international custody disputes.
After it was revealed that he had taught the two killers alternative murder tactics, Schaefer's cousin Ryan Bibbs, then 24, was convicted of conspiracy to kill von Wiese-Mack and sentenced to nine years in prison in 2017.
After serving seven years in Bali, Mack was freed in October 2021 and reunited with her six-year-old daughter Stella.
Her liberation was brief.
Five days later, the 26-year-old was deported from Indonesia and apprehended by FBI officials at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.
She was accused on two charges of conspiracy to kill abroad and one count of obstruction of justice. Schaefer's 2017 indictment accused her with the same crimes.
Since then, she has been in Illinois awaiting trial, claiming she served her time in Indonesia.
Mack changed her plea earlier this month, preventing the matter from going to trial in Chicago on August 1.
Mack told The New York Post last week: “I have done nearly 10 years in prison. "I thought I had done my time, so I was gung-ho for trial," she added.
After sitting so long, I know what to do. I'm okay being a felon in America. From the US government's standpoint, I wouldn't be a criminal if I didn't plead guilty and they didn't indict me.
She added: "I might become a police officer and work for the government." I could carry a gun in public.” Schaefer is serving an 18-year term in Indonesia before facing US allegations.
Mack, 27, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to kill a US national in federal court in Illinois on Friday morning to access a $1.5m trust fund with her then-boyfriend Tommy Schaefer. The pair compared themselves to Bonnie and Clyde and planned murder in chilling text chats.
During the brief hearing, she told US District Judge Matthew Kelley, "I plead guilty."
Under the deal, prosecutors recommend a maximum sentence of 28 years in prison, taking into account her seven years in Indonesian prison. After doing time in Indonesia and the US, she might be released in 2042 if convicted to 28 years. She turns 46. Stella, her Bali prison-born daughter, will grow up.
Judge Kelley cautioned that he might violate the sentencing guidelines, which involve a life sentence.
“I must decide,” he said. Mack cannot appeal under the contract. Mack told the judge earlier that she was hospitalized "a few times" for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder as a child.
Von Wiese-Mack's siblings praised the plea offer and told reporters they hoped the judge would accept the prosecution's arrangement with Mack after meeting their "mastermind" murderous niece in court.
After the brief hearing, William Wiese and Debbi Curran expressed relief that Mack had finally accepted some culpability in the horrible crime and criticized the "corruption" of the court proceedings in Indonesia, where she was released after seven years.
“After almost nine years, we are very glad that the mastermind of Sheila’s murder accepted her guilt today,” they stated.
We will speak for our sister Sheila throughout the sentence process to secure justice. The Indonesian corruption that obstructed fair justice eight years ago has been heartbreaking.
“Thanks to the great work of the US Attorney’s Office and FBI, we are optimistic for a sentence that more adequately reflects the horrible and premeditated crime.”
Mack has spent practically all of her adult life in prison since her August 2014 Bali arrest.
Mack, 18, and Schaefer, 21, killed von Wiese-Mack, 62, at the 5-star St. Regis resort in Bali on August 12, 2014.
Mack allegedly covered Schaefer's mother's mouth while beating her. They put her body in a suitcase, called a cab, and put it in the trunk. After failing to check out of the luxurious resort with her mother's credit card, the pair escaped, leaving the bloodstained bag behind. They were detained at a cheap hotel for murder.
Mack, the daughter of socialite von Wiese-Mack and famous musician James L. Mack, was pregnant with Schaefer's child at the time of the murder.
Prosecutors discovered that she had flew her lover away on a $12,000 business-class ticket hours earlier using her mother's credit card. After arriving, surveillance footage showed the group bickering in the hotel lobby. Schaefer arrived 12 hours after von Wiese-Mack died.
“I know what I can manage... Witches make humans tick. I know her ticks. So much with her... I know her habits, what she does, and when. escaping prison... Watching for years... I know what I control from monitoring her routine. Im sneaky. Smart and watching, trust Bonnie. Mack responded, "Don't make everyone other mistake and underestimate me," according to US court records.
Mack's mother was abused dozens of times, according to Oak Park Police records.
Mack broke her mother's arm, bit, and struck her in at least 35 police confrontations between 2008 and 2013. Von Wiese-Mack told a detective in 2013 that Mack might kill her, little over a year before her death.
Mack and Schaefer were both convicted of premeditated murder in Indonesia in 2015 and narrowly spared the firing squad. Mack received 10 years in jail and Schaefer 18 years.
Mack gave birth to Stella in March 2015 while in prison, raising her for two years before international custody disputes.
After it was revealed that he had taught the two killers alternative murder tactics, Schaefer's cousin Ryan Bibbs, then 24, was convicted of conspiracy to kill von Wiese-Mack and sentenced to nine years in prison in 2017.
After serving seven years in Bali, Mack was freed in October 2021 and reunited with her six-year-old daughter Stella.
Her liberation was brief.
Five days later, the 26-year-old was deported from Indonesia and apprehended by FBI officials at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.
She was accused on two charges of conspiracy to kill abroad and one count of obstruction of justice. Schaefer's 2017 indictment accused her with the same crimes.
Since then, she has been in Illinois awaiting trial, claiming she served her time in Indonesia.
Mack changed her plea earlier this month, preventing the matter from going to trial in Chicago on August 1.
Mack told The New York Post last week: “I have done nearly 10 years in prison. "I thought I had done my time, so I was gung-ho for trial," she added.
After sitting so long, I know what to do. I'm okay being a felon in America. From the US government's standpoint, I wouldn't be a criminal if I didn't plead guilty and they didn't indict me.
She added: "I might become a police officer and work for the government." I could carry a gun in public.” Schaefer is serving an 18-year term in Indonesia before facing US allegations.
