'Suitcase Killer' deported from Bali after 11 years

2026-02-26 08:23:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Indonesia has deported an American man who spent 11 years in prison for the high-profile "suitcase murder" of his girlfriend's mother on the resort island of Bali.

In 2014, Tommy Schaefer was on holiday in Bali with his then-girlfriend Heather Mack and her mother Sheila von Wiese-Mack. The couple plotted to kill Wiese-Mack, allegedly to gain access to a $1.5m (£1.17m) trust fund. Her body was later found stuffed inside a suitcase.

Schaefer was released from a Bali prison on Tuesday morning after receiving amnesty for good behavior. But the 33-year-old still faces federal charges in the U.S. and is scheduled to appear in court in Chicago on Thursday, according to reports. Shortly before boarding his flight back to the U.S. on Tuesday evening, Schaefer apologized for his actions.

"I'm sorry. I'm always sorry. I'm always sorry. I got myself into this situation, but I take full responsibility for everything I did and I hope Sheila's family finds peace," Schaefer said.

In 2015, a court in Indonesia sentenced Schaefer to 18 years in prison and Mack to 10 years for what the presiding judge called a sadistic murder. Prosecutors had said Mack, who was 18 at the time of the killing and pregnant, covered her mother's mouth while Schaefer hit her over the head with a fruit bowl. The body was stuffed into a suitcase and left in the trunk of a taxi, prosecutors said. The driver later called police.

The couple were later discovered staying at another hotel in Bali. Schaefer, then 21, told the court he had been defending himself after Wiese-Mack became angry after learning her daughter was pregnant.

The Bali court heard that Mack was given a shorter sentence because of her lesser role and because she gave birth to a child during the trial. She was also released early and deported in 2021. She was arrested immediately upon arrival in the US and charged with conspiracy to murder an American citizen and obstruction of justice, and was ultimately sentenced to 26 years in prison.

Mack initially pleaded not guilty to US charges of conspiracy to murder an American citizen, but changed her plea after prosecutors offered to seek a shorter sentence./ CNA, translated by BBC