We begin this investigation in Bali, a place long associated with tranquility and escape.

Warm evenings. White sand beaches stretching into clear, glistening water.

Five-star resorts and a culture built on hospitality and beauty.

Bali is marketed as a sanctuary — somewhere people go to heal, reconnect, and leave their problems behind.

But geography does not erase conflict. Distance does not protect people from the ones closest to them.

In August 2014, inside one of Bali’s most exclusive resorts, a family vacation ended in a crime so disturbing it would echo across continents, courtrooms, and nearly a decade of legal battles.

On the morning of August 12, 2014, a taxi driver waited outside the St. Regis Bali Resort.

A young couple had placed a suitcase in his trunk and returned inside, saying they would be back shortly.

More than an hour passed. Frustrated, the driver stepped out, opened the trunk — and recoiled.

Blood was seeping from the sides of the suitcase.

He drove directly to a police station and reported what he had found.

Inside the case was the battered body of a woman believed to be in her late 50s or early 60s. She had suffered repeated blunt-force trauma to the head.

Her arms bore defensive wounds. Several fingers were broken.

The blows themselves were not immediately fatal.

Instead, injuries to her face caused her airway to collapse. She suffocated.

Through luggage tags and hotel records, Indonesian authorities quickly identified the victim as Sheila Von Wiese‑Mack, a wealthy socialite from Oak Park, Illinois.

She had been staying at the St. Regis with her teenage daughter, Heather.

The pair had flown to Bali on August 2 and checked into the resort on August 9 — just three days before the suitcase was discovered.

Hotel staff told police that Heather had checked out abruptly and never reported her mother missing.

Staff also described frequent, loud arguments between mother and daughter in public areas of the resort.

Authorities traced passport records. Heather had not gone to the airport.

Her passport, they learned, had been secured by Sheila for safekeeping.

Investigators needed to locate Heather immediately.

Sheila Von Wiese‑Mack was well known in Chicago social circles.

A close friend, Elliot Jacobson, described her as someone who loved old wine, old books, and old friends.

She traveled often, hosted generously, and made others feel welcome. “Her home was your home,” he said.

Sheila had been married to acclaimed jazz and classical composer James Mack, a prolific musician credited on more than 60 albums.

Their life together was comfortable, cultured, and deeply connected to the arts.

When their only child Heather was born, the family felt complete.

“She was doted on,” Sheila’s sister Debbie said. “First and only child. Every wall was covered in photos of Heather. She was the apple of their eye.”

Heather described herself as a “daddy’s girl.” She shared her father’s love of music, theater, and ballet.

Everything changed in 2006.

While on a cruise, James Mack became seriously ill.

An infection spread to his spinal cord, leaving him wheelchair‑bound. Years later, at age 76, he was diagnosed with colon cancer.

The family traveled to Greece for rest and recovery.

While Sheila was out, James was alone in the hotel room with Heather when he suddenly stopped breathing.

A pulmonary embolism — a blood clot in the lung — killed him almost instantly.

Heather was ten years old.

From that point forward, the relationship between mother and daughter deteriorated.

Heather blamed Sheila for the trip. She said her father never wanted to go. Grief manifested as rage.

By middle school, Heather was defiant, volatile, and increasingly out of control.

She skipped school. Stole her mother’s car. Took money. Associated with older crowds.

She dropped out of school, experienced multiple pregnancies, and was repeatedly arrested for underage drinking.

Police records would later show 86 calls to Sheila’s home.

“She would bite, hit, shove,” Debbie recalled. “Once she pushed Sheila so hard she fell and broke her arm.”

Yet Sheila never pressed charges.

“She lost her husband,” Debbie said. “She couldn’t lose her daughter too.”

Heather later claimed Sheila was jealous of her relationship with her father.

She accused her mother of alcoholism, drug abuse, and mental illness — allegations never substantiated by those who knew Sheila.

In an email to a friend, Sheila wrote:

“Heather was violent today and left. Very scary for me. I’m always worried about her.

The psych facility wanted to admit her immediately, but she wouldn’t comply.

I am really scared of what she may do next.”

By age 18, Heather met 21‑year‑old Tommy Schaefer, an aspiring rapper. They became inseparable.

Sheila disapproved. Tommy openly disliked her.

Shortly before his death, James Mack amended his will, leaving Heather assets totaling more than $11 million, including a $1.5 million trust — assets Heather would inherit only if Sheila was no longer alive.

To Heather and Tommy, Sheila stood between them and freedom, money, and independence.

Their messages were violent.

They called themselves Bonnie and Clyde.

Despite everything, Sheila continued to support her daughter financially and emotionally — trips, cars, clothing, opportunities.

Which brings the story back to Bali.

Sheila believed the trip might help repair their relationship. A ten‑night stay at a five‑star resort.

Business‑class flights. Photos from the journey showed smiles, arms around each other, apparent harmony.

Behind the scenes, hotel staff saw escalating tension.

Unknown to Sheila, Tommy had booked a $12,000 flight to Bali using a credit card Heather had stolen from her mother.

On August 11, police tracked Heather and Tommy to a nearby motel. They had checked in under their real names, using Sheila’s card.

At 8 a.m., officers posing as housekeeping knocked on the door. When Tommy opened it, police entered and arrested both.

They claimed masked robbers killed Sheila. Security footage and key‑card access quickly disproved that account.

Text messages revealed months of planning. Six months before the murder, Tommy wrote to a cousin that Heather asked him to find someone to kill her mother for $50,000.

On August 8, Sheila emailed a friend:

“Heather ran off. I discovered she fraudulently signed my name at a clinic for prescription painkillers. I am more frightened than ever.”

The night of the killing, Sheila tried to pull Heather back to the room.

Texts between Heather and Tommy escalated. Heather wrote that she had been “watching” her mother’s habits for years.

Tommy used a heavy glass fruit bowl with a metal handle.

Heather covered Sheila’s mouth as Tommy struck her at least 12 times.

They stuffed her body into a suitcase.

CCTV captured them wheeling it through the hotel.

The case became an international media storm.

In Indonesia, there are no juries. Judges weigh actions and intent. Both were convicted. Heather received 10 years. Tommy received 18.

Heather gave birth to a daughter, Stella, during incarceration.

Life inside Kerobokan Prison was lax. Heather posted videos smoking, dancing, and partying.

Over time, her stories changed. In one interview she admitted wanting her mother dead. In another she blamed Tommy. Sheila’s family rejected her claims.

In 2021, Heather was released early and deported to the U.S.

She was arrested upon arrival at O’Hare Airport and charged federally with conspiracy to commit murder abroad.

In January 2024, she was sentenced to nearly 26 years in U.S. prison.

Tommy remains incarcerated in Indonesia, with potential U.S. charges pending.

Stella now lives with extended family in Colorado.

What happened inside that hotel room unfolded in minutes. The consequences will last a lifetime.