The opinions expressed in the following episode do not necessarily reflect those of the minds of madness podcast.

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On August 12, 2014, at a luxurious resort in Bali, a couple loaded a suitcase into the back of a waiting taxi,

they told the driver they'd be back shortly, they'd just need you to finish checking out,

but after waiting two whole hours, they never returned. When hotel security popped the trunk of the cab to remove the suitcase,

they noticed something smeared on the abandoned luggage, what appeared to be blood.

When it was later opened by police, a shocking and gruesome discovery would be revealed.

Join me now as we take a look into a family vacation meant to be a trip of a lifetime, a trip to a beautiful destination, a luxurious resort.

Most of all, a trip meant to mend the sacred bond between a mother and daughter.

You'll hear how a family vacation turned into a horrific tragedy with many being left to wonder what was fact from fiction.

Bali, one of the most sought after tourist destinations on the planet, especially for anyone eager to soak up the sunshine.

Every year, Bali welcomes millions of foreigners, mostly during its high seasons in July and August, and the summer of 2014 was no different.

The tropical Indonesian island had been bustling with tourists, including Sheila von Weissmack, an 18-year-old daughter Heather.

On August 4, they checked into the rooms at the St. Regis after taking a business class flight from Chicago, the beginning of what was supposed to be a much need to get away.

But this wasn't just any family vacation, the trip was meant to be a reset, a fresh start between a mother and daughter whose relationship had reached a complete breaking point.

Missing from the picture was Sheila's husband and Heather's father, James Mack, who passed away eight years earlier when Heather was only 10, an incredible loss that affected them both deeply in different ways.

When Sheila first met James, there had been an instant connection.

Although Sheila had been used to being around, fascinating and wonderful people throughout her life, James was special. 22 years of senior, by the time they met, James was already a legend in the Chicago music scene, accomplishing pretty much everything.

James not only wrote music, he produced it, arranged it, composed it, and was an expert musician, finding massive success, arranging horn sections for pop, R&B, and solo artists for major record labels like Brenzwick, Chess, Capital in Columbia, as well as collaborating with many notable musicians and producing over 60 albums.

But even with all this commercial success, James Hart was in teaching music, and for 30 years, he served at Washington College in Chicago as chairman of the Department of Music.

When Sheila met James, there very different lives in the world seemed to complement each other.

Sheila had always had an insatiable curiosity for the world, and had lived a fascinating life herself. After graduating from Simmons College in Boston in political science, she went on to meet prominent figures in the world of politics and the arts, becoming a researcher for the powerful US Senator Ted Kennedy, affording her the privilege of meeting and rubbing shoulders with other political figures as well.

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