American Woman Convicted of Killing Mother in Indonesia Headed Back to U.S - Newsweek

An American woman who was convicted of helping kill her mother in Bali is returning to the U.S. after spending seven years in an Indonesian prison.

Heather Mack, 26, of Chicago and who was 19 at the time of her mother's death, was seen on a hotel surveillance camera having a heated argument with her then-boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, moments before the killing, Bali police reported at the time.

Schaefer testified in court that Mack's mother, wealthy socialite Sheila von Wiese-Mack, found out that Mack was pregnant and insulted the couple, leading to an altercation in which von Wiese-Mack strangled Schaefer. Schaefer then hit her several times with a fruit bowl.

The prosecution said Mack was involved by helping stuff her mother's body into a suitcase. Her mother's body was found in the suitcase at St. Regis Bali resort in 2014.

Photographs of the suitcase emerged and caught national and international attention as the suitcase seemed too small to fit a human body.

Mack was released from prison Friday and escorted to Jakarta to head back to Chicago. She was sentenced to 10 years but secured release on good behavior. Schaefer remains in prison on an 18-year sentence.

For more reporting form the Associated Press, see below.

Heather Mack of Chicago, center, is mobbed by reporters as she arrives in the courtroom for her sentencing hearing at a district court in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, on April 21, 2015. Mack was en route Tuesday to the United States after serving seven years of a 10-year sentence for her role in her mother's death. Firdia Lisnawat/AP Photo

Mack's and Schaefer's daughter, Stella Schaefer, was born shortly before they were convicted in 2015. Under Indonesian law, she was allowed to live with her mother in her cell in Kerobokan female prison until she turned 2, when Mack gave custody of her young daughter to an Australian woman until her release from prison.

Until she was freed Friday, Mack had not seen her daughter for about 20 months because authorities halted prison visits during the coronavirus pandemic.

Her attorney, Yulius Benyamin Seran, said earlier that Mack had asked for the girl, who is now 6, to remain with her foster family to avoid media attention in the U.S. Indonesian officials refused.

"Minors must be accompanied by their mothers when their mothers are deported. There is no policy that allows a mother to leave her underage child here," said Amrizal, chief of the Bali immigration office.

Mack's sentence was shortened by a total of 34 months due to reductions that are often granted to prisoners on major holidays because of good conduct.

After her release, Mack stayed at an immigration detention center for four days while waiting for her flight tickets and travel documents to be ready.

She was tightly escorted by immigration officers to Bali's airport for the flight to Jakarta. Jamaruli Manihuruk, chief of the Bali regional office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, said his office has asked the central government to ban Mack from Indonesia for life.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiYWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lm5ld3N3ZWVrLmNvbS9hbWVyaWNhbi13b21hbi1jb252aWN0ZWQta2lsbGluZy1tb3RoZXItaW5kb25lc2lhLWhlYWRlZC1iYWNrLXVzLTE2NDUxMDLSAWdodHRwczovL3d3dy5uZXdzd2Vlay5jb20vYW1lcmljYW4td29tYW4tY29udmljdGVkLWtpbGxpbmctbW90aGVyLWluZG9uZXNpYS1oZWFkZWQtYmFjay11cy0xNjQ1MTAyP2FtcD0x?oc=5

2021-11-02 17:34:23Z