US: Daughter jailed for 26 years over mother's 'suitcase' murder
A woman in the United States (US) was handed a 26-year jail sentence on Wednesday (local time), almost a decade after she helped bludgeon her mother to death in Indonesia's Bali. US District Judge Matthew Kennelly reportedly sentenced 28-year-old Heather Mack for plotting to kill Sheila von Wiese-Mack in 2014 with her then-boyfriend Tommy Schaefer to secure a $1.5 million trust fund.
Background of the crime and conviction
Mack reached a plea deal with prosecutors in federal court in the country's Illinois district, pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to kill an American. Under the terms of the deal, prosecutors recommended that Mack face a maximum 28-year sentence, considering the seven years she had already served in an Indonesian jail. However, the charge carried a maximum penalty of life in prison, and the judge alluded to the fact that he couldn't ignore the prosecutors' request.
Details on judge's verdict on murder case
While handing down the sentence on Wednesday, the US district judge said, "Ms. Von Wiese could have been the worst parent in the history of humanity. She didn't deserve to die." On top of this, Judge Kennelly also ordered the convict to pay around $260,000 in restitution to her mother's estate, with a further penalty of $50,000.
Know about Mack's conviction in Indonesia
Mack was convicted in Indonesia in 2015 for crimes related to the murder, and she spent seven years in prison there. She was discharged and deported to the US to face federal charges in 2021. The 28-year-old will get credit for the time she has spent in jail in Chicago since November 2021, but not for the years she spent imprisoned in Indonesia.
Recalling Bali 'suitcase' murder case
As per prosecutors, Mack, arranged for her then-boyfriend to travel to Bali in August 2014 using her mother's credit card. After Schaefer arrived there, the couple exchanged text messages about how and when to murder Von Wiese. Schaefer went to a hotel room where the victim was staying and beat her to death while Mack was present. The couple fled the hotel by stuffing her dead body inside a suitcase and then left it in a taxi.
What victim's autospy report revealed
According to court documents, a post-mortem report confirmed that Von Wiese's cause of death was from blunt force of blows that fractured her jawbone and nasal bone. Prosecutors also alleged that the victim had suspected that Mack, nicknamed the "suitcase killer," would kill her someday. Police reports detailed a history of episodes in which the convict attacked her mother.
