Couple Who Murdered, Stuffed Mom Inside Suitcase Could Face Death By Firing Squad

The body of a vacationing American woman was found battered and stuffed in a suitcase at a Bali, Indonesia, resort Tuesday, authorities said. The remains of Sheila von Wiese Mack, 62, were found outside of the St. Regis Bali Resort in a blood-splattered suitcase that had been put in the trunk of a taxi and abandoned, according to reports.

Heather Mack, 19, and her boyfriend Tommy Schaefer, 21, both from Chicago, were arrested Wednesday in Bali's Kuta area, a day after the body of Sheila von Wiese-Mack was found inside the trunk of a taxi parked in front of the St. Regis Bali Resort. The charges are based on witnesses and crime scene evidence, said Bali deputy police chief Brig. Gen. Gusti Ngurah Raharja Subyakta.

Police said the couple hired the taxi and placed the suitcase inside the trunk. They told the taxi driver that they were going to check out of the hotel and would return. After they didn't show up, hotel security guards who found blood spots on the suitcase suggested the driver take the taxi to the police station, where officers opened the suitcase and discovered the body.

Sheila von Wiese Mack's body was half-clothed, wrapped in a bloody hotel bed sheet and tied up with duct tape. "The victim was found dead with a severe head wound," Djoko Hari Utomo, according to the Denpasar police chief.

Sheila Von Wiese-Mack, also from Chicago, and her daughter arrived at the St. Regis on Saturday, while Schaefer checked in on Monday, police said. Security camera video showed that the victim had an argument with Schaefer on Monday in the hotel's lobby, police said.

Von Wiese-Mack's body was being autopsied at a hospital in Denpasar. Head of Forensics Ida Bagus Putu Alit said there were signs of violence on the body indicating that the victim fought before she died. "We found scars on both forearms and the broken left-hand fingernail," Alit said following an external examination. "That indicated a resistance in a fight."

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Haposan Sihombing, an Indonesian lawyer assigned by police to accompany the couple, said Mack and her mother arrived in Bali on Aug. 4, and stayed first at Simanyak Hotel before moving to the St. Regis on Aug. 9.

"When asked why they left the hotel and moved to Kuta, she did not respond," Sihombing said. "She even told police that three masked men entered their room, making her mother angry and that she asked them out, otherwise she would call the police."

Mack signed investigating documents and a letter of lawyer's assignment after Wednesday's questioning while Schaefer refused, saying he wanted to wait for his lawyer to arrive from America, Sihombing said. "In principle, they did not respond to many questions," Sihombing said. "They were not cooperative."

“This is a premeditated murder. Why? Because the footage shows them stuffing the body into the suitcase,” he told Australian web portal news.com.au.

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In the CCTV footage, the couple was reportedly seen leaving their hotel room to the lobby using the emergency staircase. They had pre-ordered a taxi and loaded the suitcase into the boot. The couple slipped out the hotel using the back entrance and took another taxi to a different hotel.

After about another hour of waiting, the taxi driver tried to look for the couple and when not found, he tried to unload the suitcase from his car. According to police, the couple has also used the victim’s credit card to make bookings at the new hotel.

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In Indonesia, suspects are not charged until the investigation is complete and the trial has begun. “According to the police, yes they will stand trial for murder but due process must be followed first,” Haposan Sihombing, an Indonesian lawyer assigned to the couple, explained to Reuters.

Authorities haven’t yet pressed charges against Mack or Schaefer but have confirmed that they are investigating whether von Wiese-Mack’s killing was premeditated, a crime that comes with a death penalty sentence. “Did they prepare the suitcase before the murder? Did they leave the room to prepare weapons? The investigation still has a long way to go,” said police spokesman Hery Wiyanto, according to Reuters.

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According to Amnesty International, Indonesian death sentences are carried out by firing squad: The prisoner has the choice of standing or sitting, and can decide whether to have their eyes covered by a blindfold or hood. Firing squads are made up of 12 people, three of whose rifles are loaded with live ammunition, while the other nine are loaded with blanks.

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