The Chicago couple accused in the slaying of Sheila von Wiese-Mack have been found guilty of premeditated murder in an Indonesian court, the Associated Press reports.
Tommy Schaefer, 21, was sentenced to 18 years in prison, while Heather Mack, 19, von Wiese-Mack’s daughter, was sentenced to 10 years for the murder, which took place during a vacation the trio took last August. Von Wiese-Mack’s body was found stuffed inside a suitcase at the St. Regis Bali Resort in Bali.
Schaefer claimed during the trial that he had hit von Wiese-Mack over the head with a metal fruit bowl after she became angry upon learning about her daughter’s pregnancy. According to AP, however, it was Mack’s pregnancy that prompted the three-judge panel to be lenient with the new mother.
The couple was tried separately in the same court with the same judges and prosecutors, AP notes. Although premeditated murder can lead to the death penalty, prosecutors sought an 18-year sentence for Schaefer and a 15-year sentence for Mack.
One judge said that although Schaefer’s actions were sadistic, his sense of remorse during the trial helped him avoid a heavier sentence.
Read more at the New York Post.