A federal judge sentenced Heather Mack to 26 years in federal prison Wednesday for her role in her mother’s 2014 murder in a Bali hotel, multiple news outlets reported—a case that has become widely known as the “suitcase” murder.
Mack pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to commit murder for her role in her ... [+]
Judge Matthew Kennelly, senior judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, issued the sentence—which gave Mack credit for two years spent awaiting trial in Chicago, the Associated Press reported.
Prosecutors initially recommended a 28-year sentence with five years of supervised release and more than $500,000 in fines, according to AP.
Mack pleaded guilty last summer to one count of conspiring to commit murder, NBC News reported, after being arrested in 2021 and accused of helping her boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, kill her mother, Sheila von Wiese-Mack, and stuff her body into a suitcase at the St. Regis Bali Resort in 2014.
The Illinois Attorney General’s Office and Leonard Trial Lawyers, the firm representing Mack, did not immediately respond to Forbes’ requests for comment.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
US woman gets 26 years in prison for helping kill her mother in Bali and stuffing body in a suitcase (AP)