American Man Deported After 11 Years for Murder in Bali

JAKARTA, Indonesia – An American man has been released and deported by Indonesia after serving 11 years for the premeditated murder of his then-girlfriend’s mother on Bali, a popular tourist destination.

Tommy Schaefer received an 18-year prison sentence for the murder of Sheila von Wiese-Mack, 62, during a luxurious vacation in Bali back in 2014. This case has been referred to as the “suitcase murders.”

Schaefer was sent back to the United States from Bali International Airport on Tuesday evening after completing his prison term and benefiting from several pardons due to good behavior, as indicated by the Director of the Bali Regional Immigration Office, Felucia Senki Ratna.

In August 2014, the severely beaten body of von Wiese-Mack, a wealthy socialite from Chicago, was discovered in the trunk of a taxi outside the luxurious St. Regis Bali resort.

At the time of the murder, Heather Mack, who was nearly 19 years old and several weeks pregnant, and her boyfriend, Schaefer, aged 21, were apprehended the following day after the discovery of the bodies.

Heather Mack had previously served seven years of a 10-year sentence for aiding and abetting the crime and was deported in October 2021. In January 2024, she was sentenced to 26 years in prison in Chicago after admitting to her involvement in the murder and the act of concealing her mother’s body in a suitcase during their vacation.