US Couple Convicted, Sentenced in Indonesia Killing
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iStock/Thinkstock(BALI, Indonesia) — An Indonesian court convicted a U.S. couple in the killing of the woman’s mother and sentenced each of them to more than a decade behind bars.
The Denpasar District Court ruled Tuesday that Tommy Schaefer, 21, was guilty in the beating death of Sheila von Wiese-Mack in a hotel room on the resort island of Bali, and sentenced him to an 18-year term. Schaefer’s girlfriend, Heather Mack, 19, was sentenced to 10 years in connection with the Aug. 12 murder.
At the time of the Chicago couple’s arrest, Heather Mack claimed an armed gang killed her mother, and that she and Schaefer managed to escape after being kidnapped by the same gang. But investigators alleged that surveillance video showed the mother and daughter arguing in the hours before von Wiese-Mack died.
An autopsy found that the victim died of asphyxiation after her nose was broken by a blunt blow. Other bones were broken in her head and face, and wounds on her hands indicate she tried to defend herself, Indonesian authorities say.
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