American Sentenced to Prison Freed After 11 Years in Indonesia

A man convicted for a brutal murder on Indonesia’s tourist island of Bali was finally released and deported back to his home country after serving nearly a decade behind bars. Tommy Schaefer, an American citizen now 53 years old, was freed from prison and sent back to the United States at Bali International Airport Tuesday evening.

The crime that brought him here occurred in August 2014 when Sheila von Wiese-Mack, the mother of Heather Mack, a then-18-year-old pregnant teenager, was found dead inside the trunk of a taxi. The body had been stuffed into the vehicle during their luxurious vacation at the St. Regis Bali Resort.

Schaefer, who was 27 years old at the time and nearly seven years younger than von Wiese-Mack, pleaded guilty to aiding in her mother’s murder, which he committed premeditatively. He served a 10-year sentence in Indonesia for his part in the crime before being released. His release comes on the heels of Heather Mack, also sentenced in Indonesia after pleading guilty to helping kill her own mother, who was deported back home earlier this year.

Tommy Schaefer’s journey began with his arrest alongside Heather Mack and their subsequent conviction. The couple had been arrested only one day after the body was discovered by police. Both received lengthy prison sentences: Schaefer served 18 years in prison for premeditated murder, while Heather Mack received a 10-year sentence.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly said during sentencing, “This was a brutal and premeditated crime.” Despite his defense team arguing that Heather Mack had endured significant abuse from her mother before the act, she maintained, “It does not matter what my relationship with my mother was like.”

Prosecutors counterargued by saying that Mack displayed little remorse for her actions. They also pointed out that the teenager’s future earnings could potentially offset any restitution awarded to the victim’s estate if Mack chose to profit from the media attention generated by her crime.

For now, Schaefer returns home to face his family and life outside prison walls, while Heather Mack continues down a path shaped by her own actions. Her case has become legendary in Indonesian circles for its brutality and high-profile nature, with many seeing it as emblematic of the dangers tourists sometimes encounter on vacation destinations worldwide.

The end.