Bali murder case may be premeditated - Police
Astro Awani
August 15, 2014 20:17 MYT
August 15, 2014 20:17 MYT
This photo taken on August 12, 2014 shows the suitcase where the body of Sheila von Wiese-Mack was found inside, displayed at a police station in Nusa Dua , Bali. - AFP PHOTO / SONNY TUMBELAKA
Indonesian police has named the daughter of the American woman murdered in Bali, as the prime suspect along with the daughter’s boyfriend.
On Wednesday, Sheila von Wiese-Mack, 62 was discovered bludgeoned to death and her body stuffed into a suitcase. The suitcase was then loaded into a taxi at a resort on the island.
Her daughter Heather Mack, 19, and Tommy Schaefer, 21, has been remanded and might face the death penalty if convicted for murder, under Indonesian law.
Bali police chief, Inspector General Albertus Julius Benny Mokalu said they have concrete evidence to charge both suspects.
“We have CCTV footage, fingerprints and the suitcase as evidence.
“This is a premeditated murder. Why? Because the footage shows them stuffing the body into the suitcase,” he told Australian web portal news.com.au.
In the CCTV footage, the couple was reportedly seen leaving their hotel room to the lobby using the emergency staircase.
They had pre-ordered a taxi and loaded the suitcase into the boot. The couple slipped out the hotel using the back entrance and took another taxi to a different hotel.
After about another hour of waiting, the taxi driver tried to look for the couple and when not found, he tried to unload the suitcase from his car.
According to police, the couple has also used the victim’s credit card to make bookings at the new hotel.
The daughter claimed that she was pregnant and suffered from complications. Hence, she requested to return to the United States to receive treatment.
A police officer escorts suspect Heather Mack, 19, (C) during an investigation at a police office in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on August 13, 2014. - AFP PHOTO / SONNY TUMBELAKA
Police in Chicago are working together with the Indonesian authorities on the case.
A Chicago police spokesman said that it received multiple reports of domestic disturbances on the family since 2004.
The couple was also seen getting into an argument at the hotel lobby over who should pay the hotel bill. They were supposed to check out on Thursday.
Both suspects underwent psychiatric examination on Friday, police said. The daughter also took a pregnancy test to verify her pregnancy claim.
In initial police reports, the daughter said that three unknown men tried to rob her mother at the resort.
Police found blunt force trauma and signs of struggle on the victim's body.