American woman accused of killing mother on Bali vacation, hiding body in suitcase pleads guilty
An Indonesian court convicted Mack of helping cover her mother's mouth while her boyfriend beat her to death with a fruit bowl in a Bali hotel.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The American woman accused of killing her mother in Bali and stuffing the remains in a suitcase has pleaded guilty.
Heather Mack, 27, in court on Friday changed her plea to "guilty" regarding the nearly decade-old murder case.
Asked by U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kennelly whether she intended to give up her right to remain silent, Mack responded, "Yes."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She then pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to kill a US citizen.
Heather Mack of Chicago, Ill., center, is mobbed by reporters as she arrives in the courtroom for her sentencing hearing at a district court in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, April 21, 2015. The Chicago woman facing federal conspiracy charges in the 2014 killing of her mother during a luxury vacation in Bali plans to plead guilty, her attorney said Thursday, June 1, 2023. ((AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati, File))
Mack's sentencing date has been set for Dec. 18. Because of her guilty plea, she faces a reduced maximum sentence of 28 years in prison.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Mack was convicted by an Indonesian court in 2015 as an accessory in the murder of her mother, Sheila von Wiese-Mack.
Prosecutors said Von Wiese-Mack was bludgeoned with a fruit bowl by Mack's then-boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, while Mack covered her mother's mouth as Schaefer beat her to death.
FBI ARRESTS 'SUITCASE KILLER' HEATHER MACK AT CHICAGO AIRPORT AFTER RETURN FROM BALI
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Wiese-Mack’s body was found stuffed in a suitcase outside the St. Regis Bali Resort on Aug. 12, 2014.
Mack was arrested alongside Shaefer — both were found guilty of the murder in Bali court and sentenced to prison. In 2021, Mack was released after serving seven years of her ten-year sentence. She was met by U.S. officials upon re-entry and arrested.
Heather Mack of Chicago, Ill., center, is escorted by police officers as she arrives in the courtroom for her sentencing hearing at a district court in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
Mack and Schaefer were indicted in the Northern District of Illinois with one count of conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, one count of conspiracy to commit foreign murder of a U.S. national, and one count of obstruction.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Schaefer remains imprisoned in Indonesia.
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Heather Mack was 18 years old and pregnant with Schaefer's child at the time of the murder.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News Digital's Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.