In a dramatic turn of events, an American man who spent over a decade behind bars in Indonesia for a notorious crime is now back on U.S. soil, facing additional charges. After serving 11 years in an Indonesian prison for the premeditated murder of his girlfriend’s mother in Bali, Tommy Schaefer was deported to the United States, where legal troubles await him.
Schaefer, who arrived in the U.S. earlier this week, was originally sentenced to 18 years for the 2014 killing of Sheila von Wiese-Mack. The heinous murder took place during what was supposed to be a luxurious vacation, but turned into a deadly plot fueled by greed. Prosecutors revealed that Schaefer and his then-girlfriend, Heather Mack, were motivated by the prospect of accessing a $1.5 million trust fund linked to von Wiese-Mack, as reported by The Associated Press.
The gruesome discovery of the 62-year-old victim’s body inside a suitcase shocked the world. It was found in the trunk of a taxi parked at Bali’s upscale St. Regis Resort in August 2014. At the time, Mack, who was nearly 19 and pregnant, allegedly assisted Schaefer, then 21, in the murder. The AP noted that Mack allegedly muffled her mother while Schaefer struck her with a fruit bowl. The couple was apprehended shortly after the body was discovered.
Accompanying the account of their arrest, an image captures a somber Schaefer in the courtroom during his trial in Denpasar, Bali, on January 21, 2015. It serves as a stark reminder of the crime that captivated international attention. (Photo by Firdia Lisnawati, File/AP Photo)
The plot thickened in 2017 when a U.S. District Court in Chicago indicted Schaefer and Mack on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and obstruction of justice. Though the indictment remained sealed until November 2021, Mack was arrested upon her return to the United States after serving seven years of a 10-year sentence in Bali for her role in the murder.
The U.S. District Court in Chicago charged Schafer and Mack with conspiracy to commit murder and obstruction of justice in 2017. The charges were listed in an indictment that remained sealed until Nov. 3, 2021, when Mack was arrested upon her return to the U.S. She had served seven years of a 10-year sentence in Bali for helping kill her mother, according to the AP.
In January 2024, Mack, who pleaded guilty on June 16, 2023, was sentenced to 26 years in prison in Chicago for her role in the murder.
In this March 12, 2015, file photo, Heather Mack, left, and her boyfriend Tommy Schaefer, both from Chicago, Ill., enter the courtroom prior to the start of their trial hearing at the district court in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. (Firdia Lisnawati, File/AP Photo)
“Heather Mack planned to violently murder her own mother while on vacation in Bali,” then-Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said in a 2024 statement. “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. This significant sentence holds the defendant to account for this heinous crime.”
On Tuesday, April 21, 2015, Heather Mack, of Chicago, Ill., center, is mobbed by reporters as he arrives in the courtroom for her sentencing hearing at a district court in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati, File)
It is unclear who will represent Schaefer in his U.S. case, as his former attorney, listed in court records as Thomas Durkin, died last year, the AP reported. Schaefer is reportedly expected to make his initial court appearance in Chicago on Thursday.
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