Served Over 7 Years Locally, Then Imprisoned Again in the US
Famous for the 2014 'Bali Murder Case'
Heather Mac (28), an American woman who served about seven years in prison for killing her mother and disposing of the body in Indonesia 10 years ago with her boyfriend, was sentenced to prison again under U.S. law after returning to the country.
On the 17th (local time), foreign media including the AP reported that the U.S. District Court in Chicago sentenced Heather Mac to 26 years in prison. Mac is accused of killing her biological mother Sheila Von Weiss-Mac (then 62) and disposing of the body in the famous Indonesian resort area of Bali in 2014. The court also ordered Heather to return $260,000 (about 350 million KRW) of her mother’s assets and pay a fine of $50,000 (about 67 million KRW).
In her final statement in court, Heather said, "Only after giving birth to and raising a daughter did I realize the love my mother gave me. I have grown a lot over the past 10 years," expressing longing for the mother she killed and remorse toward her remaining family members.
Heather Mac and her boyfriend (left), who killed and abandoned her mother. The victim, mother Sheila Von Wiss-Mac [Image source=OakPark.com]
However, Heather’s younger brother Bill Weiss criticized her as a "monster skilled in lying," and insisted, "The court should not be deceived by Mac’s calculated false statements and must ensure she pays a sufficient price for her crimes."
The case became famous as the so-called "Bali suitcase murder case." In August 2014, Heather traveled with her boyfriend Tommy Schaefer (30) and her mother to the luxurious resort "St. Regis" in Bali. The two are accused of killing and disposing of the mother’s body at the resort. Immediately after the incident, Heather claimed her mother was kidnapped and then killed, but eventually admitted to the murder charge.
Heather Mac, the accomplice in the Bali suitcase murder case and the victim's only daughter [Photo by AP Yonhap News]
At the time, Heather testified to the authorities that her mother, upon learning of Heather’s pregnancy, pressured her to have an abortion, and that Schaefer committed the murder impulsively.
The Indonesian local court sentenced Schaefer to 18 years and Heather to 10 years in prison in 2015. Mac was paroled after serving 7 years and 2 months and was repatriated to the U.S. in November 2021. Heather’s legal team argued that under the principle of double jeopardy, the U.S. court could not punish Heather again, but the U.S. federal prosecutors countered that the principle does not apply because she was punished in a country other than the U.S. and the charges differ.
Ultimately, Heather was arrested upon repatriation to the U.S. and detained at the Chicago federal prison, admitting to the charges in June last year. The U.S. prosecution sought the maximum sentence of 28 years under sentencing guidelines, but the court sentenced her to 26 years in prison.
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