Defense lawyers argue Bali suitcase murder charges unclear

DENPASAR, Indonesia – Lawyers for an American couple accused of murdering the woman’s mother and stuffing her body in a suitcase on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali said on Wednesday, January 21, the charges were unclear and inaccurate.

Heather Mack, who is pregnant, and Tommy Schaefer could face the death penalty if found guilty of the premeditated murder of Sheila von Wiese Mack, 62, whose body was found in the case in the boot of a taxi in August. (READ: US teen held in Bali suitcase killing ‘assaulted’ in custody)

Lawyer Ni Kadek Sri Novi Wirani told the Denpasar district court the charges were “unclear and vague”.

“There was no eyewitness who could explain how the incident took place, while the victim herself is dead and so was unable to provide testimony,” she added. (READ: Indonesian police test mental health of US teen in Bali murder)

Prosecutors had alleged that Schaefer had “blindly hit” Von Wiese Mack with a bowl in a fit of rage after she directed a racial slur at him during an argument. Schaefer is black.

He then continued hitting her face on the bed “until she stopped moving”, they said.

The indictment said that 19-year-old Heather Mack hid in the bathroom during the attack before the couple stuffed the victim’s body in a suitcase.

Mack and Schaefer, who went on trial separately, refused to speak to reporters after the trial. The next hearing will be on January 28.

The victim and the suspects are from the Chicago area.

Suitcase murder

The body of von Wiese Mack was found on August 12, stuffed into a suitcase in the boot of a taxi in front of the five-star St. Regis hotel in the upscale Nusa Dua resort area of Bali.

The victim was half naked, had several wounds to her head, and appeared to have put up a struggle, a doctor said.

She had been staying in the hotel with her daughter, Mack, and her daughter’s boyfriend, Schaefer, local police chief Djoko Hari Utomo told reporters.

Mack and her daughter stayed in the hotel together for several days before the boyfriend joined them on August 11, Utomo said. Mack was recorded on CCTV arguing with Schaefer in the hotel lobby the same night, he said.

The next day, the couple were checking out and sent several suitcases down to a taxi, allegedly including the one that contained the victim.

The body was discovered when the couple failed to show up at the waiting taxi, Utomo said. They were seen on CCTV leaving the hotel via a stretch of beach at the back of the property, instead of the main entrance.

Police launched a hunt and the pair were found sleeping at a hotel in the tourist area of Legian, north of Nusa Dua, early Wednesday, Utomo told Agence France-Presse. – Rappler.com