An intended peaceful family vacation took a dark turn when a violent altercation erupted between a mother and her teenage daughter. Heather Mack, living a lavish life as the daughter of a famous jazz musician and a wealthy mother, often indulged in extravagant trips to picturesque locations.
During a holiday in Bali, Indonesia, with her mother Sheila von Wiese-Mack and then-boyfriend Tommy Schaefer, a brutal act unfolded. Schaefer mercilessly killed Mack’s mother by bludgeoning her to death with a fruit bowl, then disposing of her body in a suitcase in a taxi trunk.
Mack claimed that the murder occurred after a heated argument between her mother and Schaefer regarding her pregnancy. Allegedly, racist remarks from her mother triggered Schaefer to commit the crime using the fruit bowl’s metal handle. Mack disclosed that the murder had been planned during their time in Chicago, citing her mother’s racism as a motive.
Although Mack accused her mother of being an abusive alcoholic who inflicted harm on her, family friends contradicted these claims, stating that Mack was the aggressor in their relationship. Schaefer defended his actions in court, asserting that he acted in self-defense when Sheila attacked him due to their relationship objections.
Mack, pregnant at the time of the incident, received a 10-year prison sentence for being an accessory to murder at 19. She gave birth in prison and raised her daughter there until the child turned two, after which she was cared for by a Bali foster family. Schaefer, convicted of premeditated murder in 2014, is serving an 18-year prison term.
Mack, now 25, was released from Bali prison in 2021 but was rearrested in the US for undisclosed reasons.