The American woman accused of participating in her mother’s murder and hiding the body in a suitcase during a Bali vacation has pleaded guilty in a Chicago federal court.
Heather Mack, aiming to avoid a life sentence, admitted to conspiring with her then-boyfriend to kill her mother, Sheila von Wiese-Mack, in order to gain access to a $1.5 million trust fund.
According to prosecutors, Mack, who was 18 and pregnant at the time, covered her mother’s mouth while her boyfriend attacked her violently with a fruit bowl in a hotel room.
This significant turn of events has captured global attention, partly due to the chilling photographs of the suitcase, which appeared too small to contain an adult’s body.
At the hearing, the now 27-year-old Mack appeared composed, dressed in an orange prison uniform, as she responded to the judge’s inquiries.
Under the plea agreement, two additional charges against Mack will be dropped, while the final sentencing decision rests with the judge.
Meanwhile, Mack’s former boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, has already been convicted of murder and is serving an 18-year prison sentence in Indonesia. He also faces charges in the United States.
The sentencing is scheduled for December 18.
