Oak Park "Suitcase Killer" Sentence May Have Been Much Longer if Convicted in U.S.

OAK PARK, IL — Federal prosecutors have implied that Heather Mack would have been sentenced more harshly if she had been convicted in the United States for her involvement in the murder of her mother, Chicago Sun-Times reported. In 2015, Heather Mack, 21, also known as the "suitcase killer" was sentenced to 10 years in a Bali prison for allegedly helping her then-boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, 23, plot to kill her mother, Sheila von Weise-Mack, 62, to receive a $1 million inheritance. Mack reportedly suggested placing her mother's remains in a suitcase.

Both Mack and Schaefer initially faced death by a firing squad after von Weise-Mack's body was found, half-clothed in a suitcase in Bali in 2014. During the time of Mack's sentencing in Indonesia, though, judges reportedly considered the well-being of Mack's baby. Baby Stella was fathered by Schaefer and was born shortly before the conviction. Schaefer received a sentence of 18 years for his role in the murder. The baby was just four weeks old at the time of Mack and Schaefer's conviction. The verdict was lenient for this reason, according to officials and read, "Her newborn baby badly needs a mother’s love and breastfeeding."

The recent memos from U.S. federal prosecutors suggest the couple may not have gotten off so easily if the crime, which occurred while the family was vacationing in Bali, had taken place on U.S. soil. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, prosecutors added a memo in the sentencing of accused accomplice and Schaefer's cousin, Robert Bibbs. The memorandum suggested the convicted lovers, graduates of Oak Park-River Forest High School, would have received at least 24 years in prison.

Mack also alleged that she may face criminal charges in the United States, but former federal prosecutor Jeffrey Cramer told Sun-Times that it's unlikely U.S. federal prosecutors would pursue murder charges against Mack and Schaefer.