Heather Mack and boyfriend Tommy Schaefer have been found guilty by a panel of judges in an Indonesian court for the premeditated murder of Oak Park resident Sheila von Wiese-Mack, which occurred Aug. 12 of last year in Bali, according to the Associated Press.
The Denpasar District Court ruled that Mack, 19, will serve 10 years in prison for the crime because she recently gave birth. “Her newborn baby badly needs a mother’s love and breastfeeding,” the verdict read.
Schaefer, 21, was found guilty of beating von Wiese-Mack to death and will serve 18 years in prison, according to the Associated Press.
Michael Elkin, one of Mack’s attorneys released a statement directly from his client following the verdict. Mack reportedly prayed, “Dear God, I know you don’t hear from me quite often, and I sometimes have acted like a jerk, but please have mercy on my soul and that of my daughter Stella, as I miss my mother and father so very much. Amen.”
Mack and Schaefer are both alums of Oak Park River Forest High School.
They should be given 25 years each without parole and no special living conditions, sadistic murder in Bali is cheap
American lives must be worth less than Balian lives in Bali. It’s the only explanation for such a light sentence.