An Illinois woman has been handed a hard-hitting 26-year sentence for plotting the murder of her mother during a 2014 vacation in Bali, Indonesia. Heather L. Mack, 28, admitted to conspiring with her boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, to carry out the grisly killing, as detailed in a plea agreement. The duo's sinister plan unfolded while Mack and her mother were on holiday, using the mother’s credit card to bankroll Schaefer's travel to join them.
The criminal couple exchanged cold-blooded text messages to meticulously plan the murder, discussing the best methods to permanently silence Mack's mother. According to a Justice Department statement, on August 12, 2014, Schaefer entered the hotel room and, with Mack as a horrific spectator, savagely beat the victim to death. The pair then attempted to hastily dispose of the body in a suitcase, which they tried, but failed, to transport from the scene in a taxi. Their escape went awry when the taxi driver declined the fare, leaving them to flee and the suitcase with its gruesome contents abandoned.
Nicole M. Argentieri, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, did not mince words in her description of the crime. “Heather Mack planned to violently murder her own mother while on vacation in Bali,” she said. “In Bali, Mack stood by while her mother was savagely beaten to death and then callously and unsuccessfully tried to dispose of her mother’s body." Argentieri further underscored the sentence's significance in holding Mack accountable for the “heinous crime."
Acting U.S. Attorney Morris Pasqual for the Northern District of Illinois pointed to international cooperation in bringing Mack to justice. “The successful prosecution of the defendant’s heinous crime was the result of exhaustive investigative work by law enforcement in the United States and Indonesia,” he stated. The importance of the sentence was driven home as a stark warning that the U.S. justice system will relentlessly pursue and punish those who harm American citizens, no matter where the crime occurs.
In a chilling reminder of federal capabilities and resolve, FBI Assistant Director Michael Nordwall emphasized, “The sentencing demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to investigating violent crime—no matter how long or how far it takes us.” Meanwhile, Special Agent in Charge Robert W. “Wes” Wheeler Jr. from the FBI Chicago Field Office echoed the sentiment of unyielding dedication to justice for Americans abroad.
Previously, Mack and Schaefer faced the bar of Indonesian justice in 2015, with Mack serving seven years of a 10-year sentence, while Schaefer remains incarcerated on an 18-year sentence. Following her early release, Mack was arrested on U.S. federal charges as soon as she set foot on American soil in November 2021. Schaefer is also indicted in the U.S., with his charges still hanging in the balance.
