A Chicago court is set to sentence Heather Mack, an American woman who admitted to her involvement in the murder of her mother during a luxury vacation in Bali. Prosecutors are urging a 28-year prison term, considerably longer than what the defense is likely to propose. The government is also seeking five years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and restitution of $262,708.
Heather Mack pleaded guilty in June to conspiring with her then-boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, to kill her mother, Sheila von Wiese-Mack, in 2014, aiming to gain access to a $1.5 million trust fund. Prosecutors revealed that Mack, then 18 and pregnant, assisted in silencing her mother while Schaefer attacked Wiese-Mack with a fruit bowl in a hotel room.
Evidence suggests that the duo had been planning the murder for months, with video footage capturing their attempts to transport the victim's body in a small suitcase into an Indonesian taxi.
Mack, who lived with her mother in Oak Park, served seven years of her 10-year Indonesian sentence for being an accessory to the murder before being deported in 2021. She was promptly arrested upon arrival at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.
Mack's lawyers are seeking a 15-year prison term, accounting for her time served in Indonesia. The defense argues that incarcerating her for an extended period is unnecessary, citing the cost to taxpayers. Mack's then-6-year-old daughter, who was with her during the arrest, has been with a relative following a custody dispute.
The plea agreement outlines a maximum sentence of 28 years, with two other charges against Mack expected to be dropped. Meanwhile, Schaefer, already serving an 18-year sentence in Indonesia, faces charges in the same US. indictment.
