Heather Mack, also known as the “Suitcase Killer,” has been given a 26-year prison sentence for the murder of her mother in Bali.

This is a disturbing instance that has extended across two separate continents and continued for nearly eight years.

After much deliberation, a resolution has been made in the case of Chicago resident Heather Mack, who is facing sentencing for her involvement in her mother’s brutal murder in 2014.

Mack, who was 18 and pregnant at the time, and her boyfriend Tommy Schaefer, who was 21, became known as the “Suitcase killer” after they brutally killed Mack’s socialite mother Sheila von Weise-Mack, who was 62 years old. They then placed her body in a suitcase while they were vacationing at a luxurious 5-star resort in Bali.

Mack, who had spent seven years imprisoned in Indonesia for murder, was sent back to the United States where she was immediately apprehended and faced new accusations of plotting a murder in November of 2021.

Mack, who is now 28 years old, spent many years struggling to secure her freedom. She held her mother responsible for the senseless murder that took place. Finally, in June, she admitted her guilt in a federal court in Illinois and was charged with one count of conspiring to kill an American citizen.

On January 17th, Mack will discover her outcome during her sentencing.

Mack is contemplating her future after her mother’s tragic murder, which continues to shock and appall the nation. This case involves a twisted Bonnie and Clyde fantasy, the discovery of her mother’s body in a suitcase, and the birth of a baby while in prison.

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In August 2014, affluent socialite Sheila von Wiese-Mack brought her 18-year-old daughter Heather Mack, who was going through a difficult time, on a trip to the luxurious St. Regis hotel in Bali.

Upon reaching the lavish resort, Mack utilized her mother’s credit card to purchase a business-class ticket worth $12,000 for Schaefer to accompany them. They also booked a one-night stay at the hotel.

During the early morning hours of August 12, 2014, shortly after Schaefer’s arrival, Mack, von Wiese-Mack, and Schaefer were caught on hotel surveillance camera footage having a dispute in the hotel lobby.

At some point after this, Schaefer used the metal handle of a fruit stand to fatally strike von Wiese-Mack.

Schaefer and Mack proceeded to place her body in a suitcase and then transported it to the hotel lobby.

They called for a taxi, placed the suitcase in the car’s trunk, and attempted to complete the check-out process at the high-end resort.

However, von Weise-Mack had instructed the hotel to not allow her daughter to use her credit card. As a result, they were unable to do so and left the area.

The cab driver, wary of the bloody suitcase covered in hotel linens, contacted the authorities. The police then made a disturbing revelation about its contents.

The pair was quickly located at a low-cost hotel and taken into custody for the alleged crime of murder.

After the killing, Heather Mack and Tommy Schaefer were taken into custody in Bali.

While in custody, their narratives were altered multiple times.

At first, they reportedly claimed to Indonesian authorities that Sheila von Wiese-Mack was murdered by thieves.

According to Indonesian authorities, Schaefer admitted to killing von Wiese-Mack and Mack admitted to assisting in placing her mother’s body in a suitcase. However, Mack later recanted her statement.

Schaefer later gave testimony during the trial stating that he murdered the 62-year-old after she physically assaulted him upon learning that her daughter was pregnant. Meanwhile, Mack was reportedly driven by a desire to break free from her overbearing mother.

Both Mack and Schaefer were accused of premeditated murder and were at risk of receiving the death penalty through execution by firing squad.

Although Schaefer eventually admitted guilt, Mack did not plead guilty.

In March of 2015, while her trial was ongoing, Mack welcomed her daughter Stella into the world. For the first two years of Stella’s life, Mack raised her in prison until she was entrusted to the care of an Australian woman living in Indonesia, whom Mack had formed a friendship with while behind bars.

Both Mack and Schaefer were found guilty of planning and carrying out a murder. Due to the prosecution’s request, the death penalty was not considered and Mack received a 10-year prison sentence, while Schaefer received a sentence of 18 years in April 2015.

In 2017, Ryan Bibbs, Schaefer’s 24-year-old cousin, was found guilty of conspiring to murder von Wiese-Mack. He was sentenced to nine years in prison after it was discovered that he had instructed the two killers in various methods of murder.

The narrative of Mack’s account shifted once more after she seemingly admitted to being the sole perpetrator of her mother’s murder in a YouTube video from her prison cell. However, her legal representatives later retracted this confession, claiming that Schaefer had forced her to make it.

A woman from Chicago who assisted her boyfriend in murdering her mother and hiding the body in a suitcase during their vacation at a high-end resort in Bali nearly ten years ago is now appealing for mercy.

Heather Mack, aged 28, gained notoriety as the “suitcase killer” when she and her then-21-year-old boyfriend Tommy Schaefer killed her wealthy mother Sheila von Wiese-Mack, aged 62, and hid her body in a suitcase.

Mack spent seven years in a prison in Indonesia for a murder conviction. She was then sent back to the US, where she was detained and faced new accusations of plotting to commit murder in November 2021.

According to prosecutors, Mack, who was 18 years old and pregnant at the time, held her mother’s mouth shut in a hotel room while Tommy Schaefer used a fruit bowl to hit Wiese-Mack.

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In October 2021, Heather Mack was freed from jail in Bali where she had been incarcerated for seven years. She was released three years ahead of schedule for displaying good behavior. She was briefly reunited with her daughter Stella, who was six at the time, and they planned to start a fresh life together.

However, her recently gained liberty did not last long.

After five days, the 26-year-old at the time was sent back to the US from the Indonesian island and was immediately taken into custody upon arrival on American land.

After arriving at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, the convicted murderer and her young daughter were captured in photos being greeted by FBI agents. She was then promptly placed into the custody of US federal authorities.

She was charged with two counts of plotting to commit murder in a foreign country and one count of obstructing justice. The charge was filed in 2017 but was kept confidential while she was in prison in Indonesia. Schaefer was also accused of the same charges in the indictment.

A dispute over the custody of young Stella ensued.

Initially, Chicago attorney Vanessa Favia took care of her while her relatives and friends fought for guardianship in court. However, in November 2022, Stella was placed under the care of Lisa Hellman, Von Weise-Mack’s niece in Colorado, despite Mack’s objections.

Mack spent two years contesting the charges, claiming that her time in prison in Bali was punishment enough for her crime.

In June 2023, she came to an agreement with prosecutors through a plea deal.

Prior to committing the violent homicide, the adolescent couple communicated using aliases of the infamous criminal pair Bonnie and Clyde. These messages, according to prosecutors, detail the planning and scheming involved in the murder of their 62-year-old victim.

The messages, which were disclosed in documents from a US federal court in the early months of this year, involved the couple discussing plans for committing murder, encouraging each other, and discussing their potential wealth once Mack received her mother’s inheritance upon her death.

The day Mack and her mother, von Wiese-Mack, began their journey, Schaefer reportedly messaged his girlfriend, “I am excited to become wealthy… It’s unbelievable, like money controls everything.”

The following day, Mack responded saying, “The trip is going according to plan, baby…have faith.”

Schaefer expressed his confidence in Mack, but also acknowledged that there were factors beyond her control. In response, Mack sent disturbing messages about her mother, whom she referred to as a “witch” and claimed to have been observing.

She identified as “bonnie” from Bonnie and Clyde and warned her boyfriend not to underestimate her.

“I am aware of what I can control … I understand what motivates people … specifically, the individual in question … I am very familiar with her behavior … as I spend a lot of time with her … I am aware of her habits … how she behaves … and her patterns at certain times … it’s like escaping from prison … it takes years of observation … I have been closely observing her routine … and I know what I can manipulate … I am cunning … I am intelligent … and I observe closely … trust me, don’t make the same mistake as others and underestimate me,” she wrote, according to court records.

Additional text conversations showed Schaefer pushing Mack to suffocate her mother until she died.

The initial account of Heather Mack, a teenager from the United States, and her mother Sheila von Wiese-Mack gained public attention when the body of the 62-year-old was discovered inside a suitcase in Indonesia.

However, the narrative actually starts several years prior.

The story of the “Suitcase Killer” is not just a sensational headline, but a heartbreaking tale of a mother who suffered from domestic abuse by her child in their shared home in Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago.

The mistreatment that ultimately led to the event in 2014 where the 18-year-old and her 21-year-old partner violently killed her at a luxury resort in Bali.

According to Rasul Freelain, a former sergeant with the Oak Park Police, he had arrested Mack multiple times for reportedly mistreating her mother. He informed The Independent that he noticed warning signs when he first encountered them in 2010.

He witnessed a common occurrence where a victim of domestic abuse was hesitant to speak up or take action against the perpetrator whom she cared for.

Rachel Sharp from The Independent has reported:

Heather Mack has reached a plea deal in June and prosecutors are now seeking a 28-year prison sentence for her.

The sentencing for the murder of Mack’s mother by her and her then-boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, in Chicago is set for Wednesday, nearly ten years after the crime was committed.

Prosecutors from the Justice Department are aiming for the maximum sentence of 28 years, along with five years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000, and reimbursement of $262,708.

Last week, prosecutors stated that the suggested punishment is appropriate and adequate, but not excessive, in order to administer a fair and fitting penalty for Mack’s atrocious offense.

Mack’s legal team is requesting a 15-year sentence, taking into account the seven years she has already served in an Indonesian prison.

According to her lawyer Michael Leonard, it is unnecessary for taxpayers to spend hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars to imprison Ms. Mack in the BOP for a long time.

Heather Mack is set to go to court for her sentencing at 10am Central Time (11am Eastern Time).

Before Judge Matthew Kennelly in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the 28-year-old will make an appearance.

She could potentially receive a prison sentence of 28 years for being involved in a plot to commit murder.