‘Suitcase killer’ Heather Mack in court for sentencing in mother’s Bali slaying: Live

A statement from Lisa Hellmann – who is Sheila von Wiese-Mack’s niece – is now being read to the court by relative Carolyn Wiese.

Ms Hellman was granted guardianship of Stella in 2022 and continues to care for the eight-year-old now.

Heather Mack mouthed “I love you” at her family as they sobbed in the courtroom and called for her to get the harshest possible sentence.

Sheila von Wiese-Mack’s sister spoke of the trauma every time she sees a suitcase, after her sibling’s body was stuffed inside one and dumped in a taxi in Bali.

In the statement, Ms Curran said that von Wiese-Mack was a “warrior mom” who had her “head and face bludgeoned and her bloody body stuffed into a suitcase.”

“Whenever I travel or simply see a suitcase [she said she sees] “horrific images” [in her mind] “that are impossible to erase during the day or night,” she said.

Von Wiese-Mack’s family members sobbed loudly in the court as the statement was read.

Next to speak is Heather Mack’s cousin Lindsay Lococo, who is reading a statement to the court on behalf of her mother – Heather von Wiese-Mack’s sister – Debbi Curran.

In March 2015, in the middle of her trial in Indonesia, Heather Mack gave birth to her baby with Tommy Schaefer.

The little girl, Stella, was raised in prison for the first two years of her life.

Then she was placed in the care of an Australian woman living in Indonesia who Mack had befriended behind bars.

When Mack was released from prison in Bali in October 2021, she was briefly reunited with Stella, then six.

But when the mother and daughter flew back to the US, Mack was arrested at the airport.

A custody battle then ensued over the care of little Stella.

She was initially placed in the care of Chicago attorney Vanessa Favia while several relatives and friends battled in the courts for guardianship of her.

In November 2022, Stella was then placed in the care of von Wiese-Mack’s niece Lisa Hellman in Colorado – against Mack’s wishes. Ms Hellman continues to care for Stella, now eight.

Heather Mack’s uncle went on to say that he wants her to spend the rest of her life behind bars.

“If it were up to me, Heather would spend the rest of her life behind bars. She has lied so many times about her life and her mother’s murder that I’ve stopped counting,” Bill Wiese told the court.

Mr Wiese said that his niece should not be given credit for pleading guilty now after spending years lying about her murder.

He also said that she should not be “allowed to parent” Stella – Mack and Tommy Schaefer’s daughter who was born in a Bali prison.

Note: Under the terms of the plea deal, she faces up to 28 years. Prosecutors are seeking the full 28 years, while Mack’s legal team is asking for 15 years including 7 years time served in Indonesia.

Heather Mack has been branded a “monster” and a “master manipulator” by her uncle in the courtroom.

Sheila von Wiese-Mack’s brother Bill Wiese addressed his niece at the sentencing hearing.

“Heather, your brutal actions killed my sister, Sheila, on August 12 2014,” he said, reportedThe Chicago Sun-Times.

Mr Wiese said the pain she had inflicted on the family was “sickening”.

“Heather is a master manipulator. She always knows exactly what she is doing,” he said.

The first person to speak in the courtroom is Sheila von Wiese-Mack’s brother – Heather Mack’s uncle – Bill Wiese.

Note: Von Wiese-Mack’s family welcomed the plea deal being reached last year.

Heather Mack has entered the courtroom in Chicago to be sentenced over the murder of her mother.

Dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit and wearing glasses, she appeared to acknowledge someone in the gallery as she entered.

Sheila von Wiese-Mack’s family and Tommy Schaefer’s mother are present in the courtroom.

Tommy Schaefer

Heather Mack’s boyfriend Tommy Schaefer flew out to Bali in August 2014 where the couple then murdered her mother Sheila von Wiese-Mack in the luxury hotel room.

Schaefer and Mack then stuffed her body into a suitcase.

He was arrested charged with premeditated murder alongside Mack.

He pleaded guilty and avoided the death penalty by firing squad.

Schaefer was sentenced to 18 years in April 2015.

He is still behind bars in Indonesia before he too will face charges on US soil.

Ryan Bibbs

In 2017, Schaefer’s cousin Ryan Bibbs, then 24, was also convicted of conspiracy to kill von Wiese-Mack, after it emerged that he had coached the two killers in different murder methods.

He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit the foreign murder of a US national and was sentenced to nine years in US federal prison.