The Chicago woman convicted of murdering her mother at a Bali hotel and stuffing her body in a suitcase will be released from prison later this year, according to her attorney.
Heather Mack's United States-based attorney Vanessa Favia confirmed earlier reports that her client will be released from prison in October.
Mack, 25, was in the seventh year of a 10-year prison sentence handed down after she was convicted of killing her mother Sheila von Wiese-Mack in 2014. Mack’s then-boyfriend Tommy Schaeffer was also convicted in the case, and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
In the 2014 attack, Schaefer admitted to repeatedly striking the 62-year-old von Wiese-Mack with a fruit bowl. He claimed self-defense in the case. Mack, who was pregnant at the time of the murder, was convicted of assisting Schaefer.
After the murder, the couple stuffed Mack inside of a suitcase, then left the suitcase inside of a taxi, according to authorities.
In a 2019 interview, Mack told The Daily Mail that she wanted to remain in Indonesia after her release to care for her 6-year-old daughter, whom she gave birth to in prison in 2015.
According to Favia, Mack is "seriously" considering returning to Chicago with her daughter, but hasn't made any final determinations. Meanwhile, the Indonesian government has indicated that it will deport Mack back to the United States once she is released, according to the Daily Mail.
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Mack had previously expressed hesitation about returning to the Chicago area.
"I am fearful and nervous of returning to Chicago," she told the New York Post. "I'm not worried about the idea that people cannot understand the tragedy for my sake. But I'm nervous for Stella."
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Mack has previously said she would consider allowing her daughter to remain in the care of her foster family, whom she has lived with since she was two years old.
Mack's attorney says that she's "nervous and excited" about getting out of prison.
"She's definitely more mature now, and being a mother has changed her drastically," Favia said. "I think she's going to come back with a new lease on life and definitely (be) a better person all around."
Bill Wiese, Mack's uncle and the brother of Sheila von Wiese-Mack, said that he has not had any personal contact with his niece, nor does he wish to.
"I believe Heather’s original 10 year sentence was a travesty of justice and likely influenced by the outrageously large amount ($150,000) that the Chicago Judge ordered to be sent to Indonesia for her defense," he said in a statement.
Wiese said that he wouldn't be surprised if Indonesian officials accepted money in return for a reduced sentence in the case.
