HomeAUAmerican's Unbelievable 11-Year Ordeal: Released After Infamous Bali 'Suitcase Murder

American’s Unbelievable 11-Year Ordeal: Released After Infamous Bali ‘Suitcase Murder

Share and Follow

Tommy Schaefer received an 18-year prison sentence for the murder of Sheila von Wiese-Mack, a wealthy socialite from Chicago, during a lavish holiday in 2014.

This incident gained notoriety as the Bali “suitcase murder” because von Wiese-Mack’s beaten body was discovered in a suitcase placed in the trunk of a taxi at a high-end resort.

The badly beaten body of wealthy Chicago socialite Sheila von Wiese-Mack, was found in a suitcase.
The badly beaten body of wealthy Chicago socialite Sheila von Wiese-Mack, was found in a suitcase. (Supplied)

Prosecutors revealed that the couple plotted to access a $1.5 million trust fund, with Heather Mack allegedly holding her 62-year-old mother’s mouth shut while Schaefer fatally struck her with a fruit bowl.

Police in Bali arrested Mack, nearly 19 at the time and a few weeks pregnant, and the then-21-year-old Schaefer a day later.

After serving his term and earning several sentence reductions for good behavior, Schaefer was deported to the United States, as confirmed by Felucia Sengky Ratna, head of the Bali Regional Office of the Directorate General of Immigration.

Tommy Schaefer has now returned to the United States, but faces another legal battle in Chicago.
Tommy Schaefer has now returned to the United States, but faces another legal battle in Chicago. (AP)

A representative from the US Marshals Service, which is responsible for the transport of federal inmates, verified that Schaefer was now in custody and had arrived in Illinois on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT). The FBI managed his transfer.

Schaefer is still on the hook for federal charges back home, however.

He was scheduled to make an initial court appearance in Chicago on federal charges of conspiracy to kill someone in a foreign country, conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with a victim.
Heather Mack, left, and her boyfriend Tommy Schaefer. Heather was jailed for over 20 years when she returned to the United States,
Heather Mack, left, and her boyfriend Tommy Schaefer. Heather was jailed for over 20 years when she returned to the United States, (AP)
Schaefer’s lawyer in the US case, Chicago-based Thomas Durkin, died last year. Court records showed a new attorney, Matthew Madden, also of Chicago, is now representing him. Madden did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Mack served seven years of a 10-year prison sentence in Bali for helping to kill her mother and was deported in October 2021.

She was also sentenced to 26 years in prison in Chicago in January 2024, after she pleaded guilty to helping kill her mother and stuffing the body in the suitcase.

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.

Share and Follow