A judge sentenced an American woman who assisted her boyfriend in murdering her mother in Bali last year to 10 years in jail, officials say.
CNN reports that an Indonesian court found 19-year-old Chicago native Heather Mack guilty of helping 21-year-old Tommy Schaefer murder her mother, Sheila von Wiese-Mack, in August. CNN adds that Wiese-Mack's battered body was discovered inside of a suitcase that Mack and Schaefer had placed inside of a taxi outside of the resort they were staying at. The cab driver called police after they told him they'd return shortly, but did not. According to CNN, they were arrested the next morning at a hotel roughly nine miles away. An autopsy showed that her death was caused by blunt force trauma.
CNN reports that Schaefer, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison, told the court that he was defending himself from Wiese-Mack:
He told the court that he acted in self-defense when his girlfriend's mother started strangling him during an argument in the Bali hotel room.
She squeezed my neck for about 20 to 30 seconds. I couldn't breathe. I had blood going to my head and my eyes were so watery, Schaefer told the court.
He said he reached for a nearby bowl before she could. I couldn't see for a moment because my eyes were so watery and I was distraught, I was in a state of mind, I had no idea what was happening. I was almost about to black out. And I grabbed it and I started swinging, he told the court.
Furthermore, Mack—who just gave birth to her daughter two weeks ago—alleged that her mother threatened to murder their unborn child. However, prosecutors claimed that they murdered Wiese-Mack because she was not in favor of their relationship. Lastly, CNN notes that Mack will be permitted to keep her daughter in an Indonesia prison for two years before suggesting someone to care for her.
[via CNN]
