Chicago Man Who Aided 'Suitcase Killer' Sentenced To Nine Years: Police

OAK PARK, IL — A Chicago man has been sentenced to nine years in a federal prison for aiding Heather Mack in the 2014 murder of her mother in Bali. Robert Ryan Justin Bibbs, also known as Ryan Bibbs, 26, admitted that he advised Tommy Schaefer, his cousin, and Mack on how to kill Mack's mother, Sheila A. Von Wiese, 62. Von Wiese was bludgeoned to death and her remains were placed in a suitcase at St. Regis Resort in Bali on August 12, 2014.

Police said that in his plea agreement, Bibbs admitted that he knew of the pair's plan to kill Von Wiese. He allegedly gave Schaefer advice on how to carry out the murder in hopes that Schaefer would give him part of the inheritance Mack hoped to cash in on.

Bibbs pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit the foreign murder of a U.S. national. U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer handed down a sentence of nine years in a federal court in Chicago Thursday.

Bibbs and Schaefer exchanged several text messages regarding the murder plot while Schaefer and Mack were staying with Von Wiese in Bali. The plea agreement states that Schaefer sent a text message to Bibbs saying, "She wants me to right now… While she snoozing." According to the plea agreement, Bibbs responded with a text saying, "Go sit on her face wit a pillow then." Other texts indicate that Bibbs encouraged Schaefer to kill Von Wiese, but to do so carefully, the plea agreement states.

According to Bibbs' plea agreement, Schaefer then bludgeoned Von Wiese to death in their hotel room and Schaefer and Mack then placed Von Wiese's body in a suitcase. They placed the suitcase in a taxi before fleeing. The pair was arrested by police in Indonesia the following day.

In 2015, Schaefer and Mack were convicted. Experts speculate that Mack and Schaefer got a much lighter sentence than they would have in the U.S. Mack was sentenced to 10 years in an Indonesian prison and Schaefer was sentenced to 18 years.

Related: Oak Park 'Suitcase Killer' Sentence May Have Been Much Longer If Convicted In U.S.

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