American citizen Tommy Shefer was released and deported from Indonesia on Tuesday after spending 11 years in prison for murder. In 2014 he was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the deliberate killing of the mother of his then-girlfriend, Sheila von Wiese-Mack, during their holiday on the popular resort island of Bali. The crime, committed to gain access to a $1.5 million trust fund, became known in the press as the "suitcase murder." Shefer was granted early release for good behavior and was sent back to the United States.
The body of the 62-year-old Chicago socialite was found in August 2014 in a suitcase in the trunk of a taxi near the upscale St. Regis hotel in Bali. An accomplice in the crime was the victim’s then-nearly 19-year-old daughter, Heather Mack, who was several weeks pregnant by Shefer at the time. According to prosecutors, Mack covered her mother’s mouth while Shefer repeatedly struck her with a heavy fruit bowl. Heather Mack served seven years of a ten-year sentence in Bali, after which she was deported to the U.S., where in January 2024 she received a 26-year prison term.
Despite completing his Indonesian sentence, Tommy Shefer’s legal troubles are far from over. In the U.S. he faces federal charges of conspiracy to commit murder abroad, conspiracy to commit murder, and obstruction of evidence related to the victim. His first appearance on those charges was scheduled to take place in Chicago on Thursday morning. It is currently unclear whether Shefer has an attorney to represent him in the U.S. case, as his previous lawyer died last year.
Whether Shefer has arrived in the United States and is in the custody of U.S. authorities remains unresolved. The U.S. Marshals Service, which handles transport of federal detainees, did not provide an immediate comment to the news agency about the whereabouts of the released offender. Thus, his fate will be decided in a Chicago courtroom. This piece describes events that occurred in Bali and matters related to the Chicago legal proceedings and does not contain information pertaining to Seattle or the state of Washington.
Based on: American is freed after 11 years for Bali ‘suitcase murder’ but a US case awaits