Table of Biography
Heather Mack is an American heiress and criminal. Heather Mack killed her mother Sheila von Wiese while on holiday in Bali, Indonesia, in August 2014.
Early Life and Childhood
Heather Mack was born Lois Heather Mack in the year 1995 in Chicago, Illinois, US. Her age might be 27 or 28 years old. However, there is no exact information about her birthdate.
She was born to her father James L. Mack and her mother Sheila von Wiese. Her father was a popular musician and composer and her mother was a housewife. Likewise, she holds American nationality but her ethnicity is not available.
Education
As for her academic qualifications, she is a graduate student. She completed her graduation from Oak Park and River Forest High School in Oak Park, Illinois.
Heather Mack – Death of her Father
In 2001, the Mack took a trip to the Mediterranean with Royal Caribbean. James L. Mack was partially paralyzed as a result of a foot injury he had during the voyage that did not receive the proper medical attention from the ship’s doctor. He challenged Royal Caribbean, claiming that he was partially paralyzed and required a bottle to urinate, but the matter didn’t get resolved for several years.
Police were called to the Mack home in 2004 after complaints that Heather’s mother would turn off the lights and appear to be away from the house, denying James’ prior partners’ children access to their father. The Mack visited Greece for a holiday in 2006. On August 6, while on vacation, James L. Mack passed away from an embolism in his lungs in his hotel room.
In 2011, a deal was made to resolve the 2001 case. Sheila Mack was given $340,667 after legal fees, and James Mack’s estate received $500,000 in total. A Cook County, Illinois judge granted Sheila Mack $500,000 even though James L. Mack had a will that directed his whole inheritance to Heather Mack and was dated just five days before he passed away. There isn’t a transcript for this case.
Relationship between Heather and her Mother
A mother and daughter reportedly resulted in police calls to the Mack residence between January 2004 and June 2013, with 86 reports of theft and domestic violence involved. Heather broke her mother’s ankle when she punched it in January 2010.
Additionally, her daughter was charged with stealing $1000. Heather cracked her mother’s arm in February 2011 and then cut the phone wire to stop her from dialing 911. Heather reacted against her mother in July 2011.
From 2010 until 2014, Heather went to Oak Park and River Forest High School. Heather started dating Tommy Schaefer. Tommy is a homeless rapper also known as Tommy EXX when she was a senior at Oak Park.
Because Heather’s mother didn’t like the connection, she sold their home and moved Heather and herself to Gold Coast, Chicago. Despite this, Heather had a child with Tommy. At the time Sheila booked their final trip to Bali, where she was still awaiting blood work to determine if Heather was truly pregnant.
Murder
Sheila and Heather flew first class to Bali and landed at the St. Regis Hotel in Nusa Dua in August 2014. To get her boyfriend Tommy a business class ticket to Bali, Heather used her mother’s credit card.
Sheila and Schaefer were seen arguing in the hotel Warrior on the evening of August 7, 2014, according to surveillance footage from St. Regis. Shortly after, Sheila Von Wiese Mack’s body was packed into a suitcase by Heather and Tommy Schaeffer after Sheila was fatally injured by Tommy Schaeffer in the room while using a metallic blunt instrument.
Caption: Heather Mack was accused of her mother’s death
Source: NBC News
The body-containing suitcase was then put in the trunk of a taxi outside St. Regis by the two. A security officer discovered blood outside the luggage after the pair left and told the cab driver to go to the police station because the couple still hadn’t returned. Both Mack and Schaeffer were taken into custody at a nearby hotel when police discovered the body inside the suitcase. The couple claimed to authorities that Sheila was murdered by thieves while they managed to leave.
Heather Mack – Trial
Both Heather Mack and Schaeffer were regarded as prisoners on August 15, 2014. It was initially believed that Mack’s pregnancy was a scam to have her returned home on August 20 when a urine test revealed that she was pregnant. Schaeffer confessed to killing Sheila on September 19 and Heather confessed to helping him pack the body into the suitcase.
Sheila Von Wiese Mack allegedly tried to harm their unborn child, so Schaeffer held her for 30 seconds before claiming that he had killed her. In April 2015, Heather Mack and Tommy Schaeffer received prison terms of 10 and 18 years, respectively. Heather was given a light sentence throughout the sentencing process, according to the judges.
Caption: Heather Mack was taken to prison
Source: BBC
Robert Bibbs, Tommy Schaefer’s cousin, was arrested in Chicago on September 23, 2015, and charged with conspiring to help Mack and Schaefer kill Mack’s mother. On June 2nd, 2017, he was found guilty on one count of conspiring to murder a foreigner and given a 9-year prison term. According to the plea agreement, Bibbs knew that Heather had paid Tommy $50,000 to kill her mother. He also allegedly gave Schaefer advice on how to carry out the murder and encouraged him to do so.
Trust Fund Lawsuits
Heather Mack was the receiver of a $1.6 million trust fund left to her by her mother. The trust fund was set up to provide tiny annual payments to Mack until she was 30 and then to pay the remaining balance.
Initial approval for up to $150,000 in legal costs, along with smaller payments for food and other expenses, was given during the court process. The trust fund’s final disposition was decided in a 2018 settlement in Heather’s daughter’s favor.
2021: release from prison
Heather Mack was released from jail on October 29, 2021, after serving a total of 34 months of her sentence in recovery, including a six-month Independence Day remission that was granted by President Joko Widodo in August 2021. Mack claimed that Indonesia was safer than Chicago and that she wanted to stay there with her daughter.
Heather was arrested upon entering the country on suspicion of obstruction and conspiracy. The first day of her federal trial is July 31, 2023.
Caption: Heather Mack with her boyfriend
Source: People