NOTORIUS BALI SUITCASE KILLER KILLS U.S. GIRLFRIEND'S MOM WITH FRUIT BOWL, STUFFS HER IN LUGGAGE, WALKS FREE TO ENJOY LIFE?
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace
iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline
4.2 • 8.1K Ratings
🗓️ 26 April 2026
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A family vacation to Bali turns deadly. Sheila von Wiese-Mack found bludgeoned to death inside a suitcase. The socialite's 25-year-old daughter Heather Mack and her 21-year-old then-boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer charged and convicted by an Indonesian court. Police say Schaefer bludgeoned von Wiese-Mack with a bowl and then he and Mack stuffed her body into a suitcase and attempted to flee the scene. Heather Mack was pregnant at the time and gave birth to a daughter in prison. After serving seven years in Indonesia for her role in the 2014 murder, Mack was released from the Indonesian prison and returned to the United States, where she pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to kill a U.S. national and was sentenced to 26 years in prison in June 2023. Schaefer was sentenced in Indonesia to 18 years in prison, but after receiving time off for good behaviour, he has been released from a Bali jail.
The 33-year-old still faces US federal charges. He has pled not guilty to conspiracy to kill someone in a foreign country, conspiracy to commit murder and obstruction of justice. He says, despite a judge's warning, he intends to represent himself. A trial date has been set for January 2027. If convicted, Schaefer faces a possible life sentence.
Joining Nancy Grace Today:
- Wendy Patrick - California prosecutor, author “Red Flags” www.wendypatrickphd.com 'Today with Dr. Wendy' on KCBQ in San Diego
- Dr. Jorey Krawczyn - Police Psychologist, Adjunct Faculty with Saint Leo University; Research Consultant with Blue Wall Institute, Author: Operation S.O.S. - Practical Recommendations to Help “Stop Officer Suicide” (October 2021) bw-institute.com
- Sheryl McCollum - Forensic Expert & Cold Case Investigative Research Institute Founder, ColdCaseCrimes.org
- Joe Scott Morgan - Professor of Forensics Jacksonville State University, Author, "Blood Beneath My Feet", Featured on "The Piketon Massacre: Return to Pike County" on iHeartRadio
- Kristy Mazurek - Emmy Award-winning Investigative Reporter, President of Successful Strategies PR and Crisis Communications Firm
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:03.4 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:05.7 | Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. |
| 0:11.7 | Do you remember the evil daughter, Heather Mack? |
| 0:16.2 | Heather Mack had police called multiple times. |
| 0:20.3 | I'm talking a dozen times to her mom's upscale home because she was beating and terrorizing her mother |
| 0:27.2 | that fed her with a silver spoon gave her every advantage possible. |
| 0:32.2 | Yes, her, Heather Mack. |
| 0:34.6 | Her mother was found contorted, squashed into a suitcase oozing blood in Bali at a taxi stand. Needless to say, dead. |
| 0:48.0 | But Heather Mack didn't murder her own mother all by herself. She had her lover helper, the infamous Bali suitcase killer |
| 0:58.0 | who killed his American girlfriend, Heather Mack's mother with a fruit bowl and stuffed her inside |
| 1:03.9 | a suitcase. Why? So the two of them, minions from hell, could get a hold of mom's $2 million trust fund, |
| 1:12.8 | he has walked free. |
| 1:15.6 | And he says he plans to enjoy life. |
| 1:22.6 | You know, I'm always surprised. |
| 1:26.9 | You'd think by now I would be a completely jaded heart of stone, but I'm always surprised. |
| 1:36.0 | I'm Nancy Grace. This is crime stories. I want to thank you for being with us. |
| 1:41.8 | His name is Tommy Schaefer, |
| 1:44.5 | and he just walked out of Corobican Prison, about 12 p.m., |
| 1:50.8 | after just about half of the sentence to which he was sentenced |
| 1:59.3 | for the brutal murder of his then-girlfriend, Heather |
| 2:04.0 | Mack's mother. I'm just, I'm just, I'm disgusted. As he walked out of prison, he |
... |
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