When Sheila Wiese-Mack booked holiday to one of the most luxurious destinations in the world with her teenage daughter Heather, she envisioned a relaxing break which would strengthen their bond.

But the trip to Bali, ended in tragedy for the 62-year-old American mother, who was brutally murdered when her 18-year-old pregnant daughter conspired with her boyfriend to get rid of her in order to inherit a $1.5 million fortune.

A Channel 5 documentary which aired on Tuesday retells the grisly tale of how Sheila’s body was discovered stuffed into a suitcase in the boot of a taxi after being slain by Heather and her boyfriend Tommy Schaefer, 21.   

In the months leading up to her death, Sheila and Heather’s relationship had been strained and marred by conflict, with tension between the pair often breaking out into violence. 

The teen had enjoyed an extremely privileged upbringing in Chicago, attending the very best private schools, taking extravagant holidays and given enough toys to fill a mansion. 

But when Heather’s father died suddenly in 2006, her already distant relationship with her mother fractured irreparably and the two argued almost daily as the teen became more and more unruly.

Desperately hoping to restore their shattered bond, Sheila decided to book the pair a holiday at a luxury resort in Bali. What she didn’t know was that Heather was pregnant with Tommy’s child and had abruptly invited him on the trip.

Her plans for to the two to reconnect were quickly snubbed when Sheila discovered that her daughter had paid $12,000 using her mother’s credit card to fly her boyfriend first-class to the same destination. 

Sadly, confronting her daughter over the credit card bill would be one of the last things Sheila ever did. 

A new Channel 5 documentary, which aired on Tuesday, has recounted the horrifying tale of how 18-year-old Heather Mack and her boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, 21, killed her mother in cold blood while holidaying at a luxury hotel in Bali. (Heather pictured with Shelia)

Her plans for the two to reconnect were quickly snubbed when Sheila made the discovery that her daughter had paid $12,000 using her mother’s credit card to fly her boyfriend first-class to Bali (Heather pictured with Tommy Schaefer)

Just eight days into the trip of a lifetime, Indonesian police discovered Shelia’s body in an abandoned suitcase outside St Regis resort in Bali.

CCTV footage brought police straight to Heather before she and Tommy were arrested and eventually sentenced to jail time in a Balinese court. When Heather was freed in 2021 and returned to the US, she was arrested, charged and jailed once more.

Speaking on the documentary, Elliot Jacobson, a friend of Sheila’s, described the late mother as ‘friendly and warm’.

‘She liked putting on parties, her whole thing in life was to bring people together,’ he recalled fondly.

It was at one of Shelia’s parties that the late mother met James Mack, a wealthy musician, who would go on to father Heather.

Just eight days into their holiday, Indonesian police discovered Shelia’s body in an abandoned suitcase outside St Regis resort in Bali

Heather pictured during her trial in Bali in 2015

The documentary described how the loved-up couple – who appeared on the face of it a ‘perfect match’ – each met heartbreaking fates.

Despite James being 22-years older than Sheila, their romance blossomed and they decided to move into together at the musician’s home in Oak Park, Chicago.

In 1995, the two welcomed their first child, Heather, who became the apple of her father’s eye due to their shared passion for the arts.

The family were known for enjoying the finer things in life and enjoyed several extravagant holidays a year. 

In the documentary, family friends explained how Heather’s bedroom was piled sky-high with toys, and that would always be the first to get her hands on the latest gadgets.

But things took a painful turn for family when in 2001, James cut foot on a pool ladder and became so ill that he had to be hospitalised.

His foot became infected and James was left having to use a wheelchair. He blamed the doctor on the ship for not treating his wounds properly and after much legal dispute, was eventually awarded $1.5 million in compensation for his medical bills. 

Then in 2006, James tragically died while the trio were holidaying in Greece, leaving his grief stricken wife Shelia to raise their 10-year-old daughter alone.

In 2014, Heather Mack was sentenced to 26-years in prison for brutally murdering her mother and stuffing her corpse into a suitcase

By the time she became a teenager, Heather had become increasingly unruly. She began stealing, partying and even grew violent, with the police having been called to the family home 80 times in the lead up to Shelia’s murder (pictured as a teenager)

Speaking on the documentary, Elliot Jacobson, a friend of Sheila’s, described the late mother as ‘friendly and warm’

It was at this point that Heather’s relationship with her mother broke down, with the two ‘disagreeing on just about everything’.

By the time she reached her teenage years, Heather had become increasingly unruly. She began stealing, partying and even grew violent, with the police called to the family home 80 times in the lead up to Shelia’s murder.

As the rift between the mother and daughter grew, Heather became increasingly violent and in 2011, police were called to the house suspecting she had broken her mother’s arm. 

Juvenile records obtained by Chicago Tribune showed that Heather had been arrested in December 2011 on domestic battery, aggravated battery and battery charges involving violence against her mother.

‘Heather was just mauling her mom,’ a family friend recalled.

She was arrested three times to attacking her mother, but Sheila, ever the doting mother, chose not to press charges on each occasion. 

Heather dropped out of high school two years early and ended up spending time in two different facilities for juveniles, with authorities suspecting she was suffering mental health problems. 

Juvenile records obtained by Chicago Tribune showed that Heather had been arrested in December 2011 on domestic battery, aggravated battery and battery charges involving violence against her Shelia (pictured in prison in 2015)

At this stage, the teenager had developed a regular drinking habit and was often out partying with friends until the early hours, despite being underage. 

It was during this raucous period that she met Tommy Schaefer, a 21-year-old aspiring rap artist who came from a notably less affluent background than Heather.

It is understood that over the course of their relationship, Heather had two abortions. 

Sheila did not approve of the romance and believed Tommy to be a bad influence, even making the decision to move homes in the hopes that she could distance the pair from each other.

But Sheila’s desperate efforts proved fruitless. Just weeks into the move, Heather was arrested after the police were called to a house where she and her friends were drinking while underage.

In a last ditch effort to repair ties, Sheila decided to book the holiday at the renowned luxury St Regis hotel at Nusa Dua, Bali, in the desperate hope that the trip would help them to reconnect. 

What Sheila didn’t know was that Heather was pregnant with Tommy’s child at the time – despite numerous efforts to keep the couple apart. 

And just eight days into their trip, Shelia’s body was discovered in a suitcase in positioned outside the Balinese resort.

The last remaining CCTV footage of Shelia showed her walking up to the front desk  where she discovered that there was two rooms booked under her name – and that one of them was assigned to Tommy Schaefer.

In a last ditch effort to repair ties, Shelia decided to book the two a holiday at the renowned luxury St Regis hotel at Nusa Dua, Bali, in the desperate hope that the trip would help them to reconnect

Heather Mack pictured with her daughter Stella, who was born while she was in custody awaiting trial for helping to murder her mother 

Sheila checked her bank details and was horrified to learn her daughter had booked Tommy a $12,000 first class flight to Bali. However, when the furious mother confronted her daughter, the disagreement ended in tragedy.

On the evening of 12 August, the couple brutally murdered the 62-year-old in her hotel room. 

Prior to the killing, the couple  texted each other affectionately and even referring to themselves as ‘Bonnie and Clyde’, while they waited for Shelia to fall asleep.

The two even began speaking in code, writing ‘it’s time to say hi’ as code for, ‘it’s time to kill Sheila’ – but quickly moved to just using plain English to detail their plans for the murder. 

Shelia’s cause of death was asphyxiation from drowning in her own blood. It is believed that Tommy hit her over the head with a fruit bowl while Heather held her hand over her mouth.

After police discovered the suitcase containing Shelia’s body, they swiftly descended on the hotel where they found a gruesome, bloody scene in the hotel room. 

After realising that Heather and Tommy had left their passports in the room, a nation wide search was launched to find the fugitives.

While in prison, the two told authorities that they have been the victims of a brutal attack by a masked gang – but that Shelia hadn’t managed to escape (Tommy pictured in court in 2015)

They were quickly discovered in a hotel room nearby, having used Shelia’s credit card to make the booking. 

While in prison, the two told authorities that they had been the victims of a brutal attack by a masked gang – but that Sheila hadn’t managed to escape.

But CCTV footage revealed Heather and Sheila having an argument in the lobby of the hotel.

Further footage of the pair roaming the hotel before and after Sheila’s murder only added to to the mounting evidence against the couple.

When questioned by police, Tommy said he had only come to Bali to break the news of Heather’s pregnancy to her mother, but that the plan had gone wrong and Sheila had flown off the handle and threatened to cut the baby out of her daughter’s body.

He claimed Sheila grabbed him around the throat and that he had only acted out of self-defence. 

But their story didn’t fly, and on 19 September 2014, Tommy admitted to helping Heather kill her mother before stuffing the body into a suitcase.

Heather and Tommy were charged with premeditated murder on 14 January 2015 and three months later in April, Heather was given a 10-year prison sentence for being an accessory to her mother’s murder.

When questioned by police, Tommy said he had only come to Bali to break the news of Heather’s pregnancy to her mother, but that the plan had gone wrong and Shelia had flown off the handle and threatened to cut the baby out there and then

Meanwhile, Tommy was given 18 years behind bars for the gruesome killing. 

Judges said then-19-year-old Heather was given leniency due to the fact that she had given birth to their daughter, Stella, while in custody. 

In line with prison laws in Indonesia, Heather was able to keep Stella for up to two years with her while she remained in custody.

After the two years ended, Heather was still able to see her daughter and was given frequent access to Stella. Meanwhile, her relationship with Tommy ended a year after the trial. 

Back home in the United States, their sentences were seen an extremely lenient given the cold and calculated nature of the murder.

Sheila’s family members grew further enraged after pictures and videos of Heather from inside the prison were released in which she was dancing and having fun while living under what appeared to be lax rules.

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Additionally, while in prison, Heather gave multiple interviews with various faculties of the media where she attempted to tarnish her mother’s reputation, alleging on more than one occasion that her mother had multiple personality disorder and had been addicted to drugs and alcohol. 

She continued the media offence, launching a tirade of claims against her mother, who she even said was racist towards her.

The smear campaign left her remaining family members shattered, with friends and family back home insisting Sheila had never been violent towards her daughter other than in self-defence.

Heather served seven years of prison sentence in Indonesia before returning to her home in the USA in 2021 when she was 26 years old.

However, she was re-arrested as soon as she stepped back onto US soil and was charged with conspiracy to kill.  

In September 2015, it had emerged that Tommy’s cousin, Robert Bibbs, had been arrested in Chicago in connection with conspiracy to murder. 

It was revealed that Tommy had sought his advice with the promise that he would be paid $50,000 from Sheila’s $1.5 million trust fund.

As a result, Robert was sentenced to nine years in prison on 2 June 2017 on one count of conspiracy to commit foreign murder. It was Robert’s conviction that led to Heather’s eventual arrest when she returned to the US.

Heather was was due to stand trial in July 2023 but ended up pleading guilty just one month before. She was then sentenced in January 2024 to 26 years imprisonment.

Tommy is continuing to serve his 18-year sentence in Indonesia and will be subject to a similar charge to Heather when he is finally able to head back to to the US.

After a lengthy custody battle, their daughter Stella has now been placed in the care of a relative.