Tommy Schaefer was arrested on federal charges in the 2014 Bali suitcase murder
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A Chicago man convicted of murdering his girlfriend’s mother in 2014 in Bali was arrested at an international airport on a flight to the US to face charges of conspiracy to commit murder.
The Justice Department said Tommy Schaefer, 32, of Chicago, is charged in the Northern District of Illinois with three counts of conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country, conspiracy to commit the murder of a US alien and obstruction.
Prosecutors say Schaefer conspired with his girlfriend, Heather Mack, to kill her mother, Sheila von Wiese-Mack, while on a trip to Bali, Indonesia in 2014.
Court filings say Mack arranged Schaefer’s trip to Bali as part of the scheme. In the days leading up to the attack, Schaefer exchanged text messages with his cousin, Ryan Bibbs, about the execution method.
Tommy Schaefer of Chicago, Ill., and his girlfriend Heather Mack, accused of killing Mack’s mother Sheila von Wiese-Mack, whose body was later found in a suitcase in Bali, Indonesia. (Firdia Lisnawati, File/AP Photo)
Bibbs pleaded guilty in December 2016 to conspiracy to murder a foreign national after admitting he advised Schaefer to commit the murder. Court records show that Mack also asked Bibbs if he knew someone who would kill his mother for money.
Authorities say Schaefer and Mack discussed the timing and details of the murder before carrying it out on Aug. 12, 2014, inside von Wiese-Mack’s hotel room. After that, the investigators said they hid his body in a suitcase and put it in the boot of a taxi.
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In this April 21, 2015 photo, Heather Mack of Chicago, Ill., center, is mobbed by reporters as she arrives in court for her sentencing hearing at the district court in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati, File)
Prosecutors said the motive was financial, saying the couple wanted access to a $1.5 million trust fund, according to the Associated Press. In August 2014, von Wiese-Mack’s body was found inside a suitcase in the trunk of a taxi parked in St. Regis Bali Resort.
Mack was 19 years old and several weeks pregnant at the time of the murder, and Schaefer was 21 years old, the AP reported. Prosecutors said Mack covered her mother’s mouth when Schaefer hit her with a bowl of fruit. They were arrested a day after the body was found.
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In this March 12, 2015 photo, Heather Mack, and her boyfriend Tommy Schaefer, both of Chicago, Ill., accused of murdering Mack’s mother Sheila von Wiese-Mack whose body was found in a suitcase, enter the courtroom before the start of their trial at the district court in Denpasar, Indonesia. (Firdia Lisnawati, File/AP Photo)
The following year, both were convicted in Indonesia in connection with the murder. Mack received a 10-year prison sentence. After his release he returned to the United States, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder an American citizen and was sentenced in June 2023 to 26 years in federal prison.
Schaefer was sentenced in Indonesia to 18 years in prison. He was sent back to the United States after serving his time, Indonesian officials humbled by his release and good behavior.
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If convicted of the federal charges, Schaefer faces up to life in prison on the first two counts, up to 20 years on the obstruction charge and up to $250,000 in fines.
Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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