The Sheila von Wiese-Mack suitcase murder trial ended in Indonesia this week when a court found U.S. couple Heather Mack and Tommy Schaefer guilty of the gruesome killing.
The victim's daughter, 19-year-old Heather Mack, recently gave birth and was given a lenient sentence of 10 years in prison, while her boyfriend, 21-year-old Schaefer, was
sentenced to 18 years, The Associated Press reported.
Schaefer was found guilty of beating von Wiese-Mack to death in a hotel room at the St. Regis Bali Resort where they were vacationing. The three-judge panel also found that Mack had helped in the murder.
Schaefer argued that he acted in self-defense after von Wiese-Mack attacked him in objection to his relationship with
Mack and her pregnancy, Reuters reported.
A judge called his actions “sadistic,” but he was also granted leniency because of his polite behavior in court, and remorse during the trial. Mack was given leniency because she has a newborn baby to care for, and baby Stella will be allowed to live with her in prison.
"Although I do take full responsibility for my actions, I am not a murderer," Schaefer told Reuters.
Bali police conducted a four-month investigation with help from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Mack’s relationship with her mother, a prominent Chicago socialite, was strained, and police often
visited their Oak Park mansion, WLS-TV reported.
"It was clear to many of us that she was a troubled kid and the thing is, she graduated from troubled kid to criminal and then from criminal to convicted murderer," family friend Elliott Jacobson said, according to the station.
Mack was accused of helping Schaefer stuff her mother’s body in a suitcase by
sitting on it so he could close it, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Von Wiese-Mack, 62, was the widow of jazz and classical composer James L. Mack, who died in 2006.
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