Episode 500: The Bali Suitcase Murder

Apr 21

In August 2014, 19 year old Heather Mack was on vacation with her mother, Sheila von Weise in Bali, Indonesia. Little did Sheila know, Heather had purchased her boyfriend, 21 year old Tommy Schaefer, a plane ticket to Bali. When Schaefer arrived, the couple executed a plan they had been concocting: they were going to kill Heather’s mother to get her inheritance. After brutally murdering Sheila, they placed her body in a suitcase to try to conceal the crime, leading to this becoming infamously known as the Bali Suitcase Murder.

Sources for this episode:

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/tommy-schaefer-returned-chicago-face-federal-charges-2014-murder-us-citizen-bali-indonesia

https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/woman-sentenced-conspiracy-murder-her-mother

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxg2r11g35o

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/01/18/heather-mack-prison-sentence-suitcase-killer-bali/

https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/25/asia/bali-suitcase-murder-american-freed-hnk

https://www.npr.org/2024/01/17/1225256289/bali-suitcase-murder-sentencing-heather-mack

https://www.aetv.com/articles/heather-mack-tommy-schaefer-bali-suitcase-murder-chicago-trial

https://news.wttw.com/2026/02/26/man-accused-heather-mack-bali-suitcase-murder-pleads-not-guilty-intends-represent

https://people.com/crime/bali-suitcase-murder-heather-mack-found-guilty-sentenced-to-10-years/

https://people.com/bali-suitcase-killer-convicted-murdering-girlfriend-mom-out-prison-11914111

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/heather-mack-murder-tommy-schaefer-bali-mother-suitcase-b2928388.html