Heather Mack.Photo: Agung Parameswara/Getty
Heather Mackintends to plead guilty in the U.S. to federal conspiracy charges in connection to the high-profile 2014 death of her mother during a luxury vacation in Bali, her attorney said, according to reports.
Dubbed the “suitcase killer,” in 2015, Mack and her now-former boyfriend Tommy Schaefer were found guilty in Indonesia of killing her mother, 62-year-old Chicago socialite Sheila von Wiese-Mack, at an upscale hotel in Bali in 2014.
The pair then stuffed her body into a suitcase they left in a taxi.
At the couple’s trial, Schaefer confessed to the killing and admitted to hitting von Wiese-Mack repeatedly with a metal fruit bowl.
In 2017, while Mack and Schaefer were still in prison in Indonesia, they were charged in U.S. Federal Court in Chicago with conspiring to kill Mack’s mother.
In 2021, after serving nearly seven years of her sentence, Mack was approved for early release from Indonesia’s Kerobokan Prison due to good behavior, Mack’s U.S.-based attorney, Vanessa Favia,told PEOPLE at the time.The BBC reportssentence reductions are common in Indonesia.
Heather Mack.AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati
Her attorney, Michael Leonard, said her defense team has been in talks with federal prosecutors “over the last several weeks,” theAssociated Pressreports.
“We anticipate that the parties will be in a position to enter a written plea agreement, and proceed with a change of plea hearing on June 15,” Leonard said in an email to the Associated Press.
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TheNew York Postalso reported that she plans to plead guilty.
TheChicago TribuneandChicago Sun-Timesreported that prosecutors said they believed Mack would plead guilty but were still negotiating with the defense team, according to the Associated Press.
Before Mack left Indonesia, her Indonesia-based attorney, Yulius Benyamin Seran told PEOPLE in an email that she was looking forward to returning home.
“Heather already completed her sentence and now starts her new life,” Seran wrote.
“She learned a lot about life inside prison and she will dedicate her life for her daughter Stella,” he wrote. “From Bali, I wish [the] Chicago government protects [the] innocent child Stella and guarantees Stella gets her right to …. normal life” like every child.
Cab Driver Notified Police of Grisly Discovery
At the couple’s trial in Indonesia, Schaefer confessed to the killing.
After the slaying, the couple stuffed von Wiese-Mack’s body in a suitcase and, hours later, placed the suitcase in the trunk of a taxi outside the St. Regis Bali Resort. Then, they fled.
The driver notified police after he spotted blood leaking from the luggage.
Mack’s Lawyer Says U.S. Charges Amount to ‘Double Jeopardy’
Mack gave birth to her daughter in 2015, while behind bars. The girl was allowed to live with Mack in prison until she turned 2. Mack turned Stella over to a woman living in Bali who befriended Mack after her arrest.
Mack’s attorney Brian Claypool said in a 2021 statement to PEOPLE that he will argue that U.S. authorities “will be guilty of engineering a double jeopardy case” and plans to fight the charges.
Three-Count Federal Indictment
The federal indictment filed in 2017 charges Mack and Schaefer with three counts.
Besides being charged with conspiring to kill von Wiese-Mack, they face an obstruction of justice charge, theChicago Sun-Timesand the Associated Press report.
source: people.com
