US woman who killed mom in Bali indicted on US murder charge

CHICAGO – A Chicago pistillate who served much than 7 years successful an Indonesian situation for sidesplitting her parent astatine a luxury edifice connected the land of Bali has been indicted connected execution conspiracy charges successful the United States and taken into national custody.

FBI agents took Heather Mack, 26, into custody connected her accomplishment astatine Chicago's O'Hare International Airport connected Wednesday morning, according to the U.S. Attorney's bureau successful Chicago

Mack has been charged with conspiring to termination her parent Sheila von Wiese-Mack successful a U.S. indictment that was unsealed Wednesday. Also charged is Mack's erstwhile boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, who was besides convicted of execution successful Indonesia and is inactive imprisoned there.

Mack and Schaefer are besides charged with obstruction of justness successful the three-count indictment.

Brian Claypool, Mack’s attorney, said Wednesday that the national charges are “clearly a witch hunt” successful effect to nationalist unit aft Mack’s merchandise from prison.

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Speaking by telephone from California, Claypool said helium volition inquire the tribunal to propulsion retired the caller charges, arguing that conspiracy was included successful the charges that Mack was convicted of successful Indonesia.

“The U.S. authorities had a prime to marque successful 2015,” helium said. “They could person fought to extradite ... and effort her successful the U.S. court. They didn’t bash that.”

Mack's daughter, Stella Schaefer, who is 6 years old, was connected the level with her mother, according to Claypool, who said the small miss was “excited” astir her archetypal travel to the United States. He declined to accidental who took custody of the miss erstwhile FBI agents took Mack distant but said she was not handed implicit to kid protective services. Court records amusement a Cook County probate justice issued an exigency bid Tuesday appointing 1 of Mack’s attorneys, Vanessa Favia, arsenic the girl’s guardian. Favia could not beryllium reached for comment.

Mack's parent said she was aggravated that she was not fixed custody of her granddaughter.

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“The lawyers don't request custody," Kia Walker told reporters astatine the airport. “Stella has household here. She has me. I privation my granddaughter. I privation this craziness to stop.”

According to the indictment, Mack flew from Chicago to Indonesia connected Aug. 2, 2014, and Schaefer arrived connected a formation from Chicago 8 days later. On Aug. 11, Schaefer communicated successful messages with Robert Ryan Justin Bibbs successful Chicago astir “different ways to termination Von Weise." The adjacent day, according to the indictment, Schaefer and Mack exchanged messages astir “how and erstwhile to termination Von Weise.”

According to the indictment, the 2 killed Von Weise-Mack connected oregon astir that aforesaid day, past stuffed the assemblage into a suitcase and loaded it into the trunk of a taxi cab. It says Mack and Schaefer tried to screen up what they had done by “removing items of covering worn during the killing.”

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Von Weise-Mack's severely beaten assemblage was aboriginal discovered successful the taxi parked astatine the upscale St. Regis Bali Resort.

In 2016, Bibbs, who was identified arsenic a relative of Schaefer, pleaded blameworthy to helping to program the sidesplitting in speech for $50,000 from Mack’s expected inheritance. That relative was sentenced the adjacent twelvemonth to 9 years successful prison. In 2017, the Chicago Tribune reported that tribunal documents revealed the FBI was investigating whether others were progressive successful the the conspiracy.

According to the indictment, the execution “was portion of the conspiracy that Heather L. Mack and Tommy E. Schaefer concealed, misrepresented and hid.”

Mack was astir 19 and a fewer weeks large astatine the clip of the killing. She and Schaefer, past 21, were arrested a time aboriginal astatine a edifice astir 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the St. Regis.

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The sidesplitting generated planetary attention, successful portion due to the fact that the suitcase appeared excessively tiny to clasp an big woman’s body. The mates were convicted successful 2015; Mack was sentenced to 10 years successful prison and Schaefer received an 18-year sentence.

Indonesian officials announced successful August that Mack would beryllium released successful October. She was freed from situation connected Friday and deported to the United States this week.

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