GUILTY Bali - Sheila von Wiese Mack, 62, found dead in suitcase, 12 Aug 2014 #3

[Quester]

That's why I wonder if Heather charged the ticket unbeknownst to Mom and had lead Tommy to believe that SWM would be picking up his tab, hence the heated discussion in the lobby.

Jumping off ...

AND ... ??? A few days before TS's arrival, I wonder if HM's "what it do" [finger snap snap - my addition] post was following a disappointing discussion with Mom about fessing up that TS was on his way to Bali [probably w/o mentioning that SWM had unknowingly paid for his ticket], wanting to have TS bunk in their room for a couple of days or use some inheritance money to pay for TS' room until SWM & HM's scheduled return to the USA??? To which Mom probably firmly said out of the question ???

AND ... wonder if TS & HM just planned to leave [with SWM's money, credit cards and jewelry] for further travel after "the gang" attacked ???

All speculation and all :notgood:

 

[gracehatter]

I think I recall reading that HM's testimony played a large part in the lawsuit against the cruise line and that it was very hard on her. That seemed slightly odd to me: if the issue is the quality of availability of medical treatment, how relevant is the testimony of the child? Perhaps it was just to tug at the judge/jury's heart strings.

Her testimony was used to establish the loss of enjoyment of life damages.

 

[Quester]

I wonder if donated money from the care site has since been used to pay TS' unpaid hotel bill???

* * *

ETA: I also wonder if SWM once again caved to HM's ?tantrum? / ?badgering? / ?threatening? in the early morning hours and went to the hotel lobby at 3:48am, when she was captured on CCTV, to secure room #616 for TS with her credit card???

* * *

Where was the trio from just after midnight when the argument in the lobby about who would pay for TS' room was caught on CCTV and the 3:48am CCTV viewing of SWM in the hotel lobby?

Did TS camp out in SWM's room until SWM ultimately caved and then secured his room???

Were they, or some of them, in the bar? What's the drinking age on Bali? TIA

 

[FormerOakParker]

I think I recall reading that HM's testimony played a large part in the lawsuit against the cruise line and that it was very hard on her. That seemed slightly odd to me: if the issue is the quality of availability of medical treatment, how relevant is the testimony of the child? Perhaps it was just to tug at the judge/jury's heart strings.

It would be interesting to know exactly why the $500K was awarded to SWM. I wonder if it was because the court didn't think Heather was stable enoughy to be in control of the money when she turned 18.

According to this site, HM missed 36 days of school for "court" during what I believe is her sophomore at OPRF, and had a tough time catching up at school. May have fueled her hatred toward SvWM.

http://new.spring.me/#!/user/heaathermack/timeline/responses

 

[quesarita]

IMO, I still feel it's not likely that Tommy's ticket was purchased with Sheila's cc without her knowledge during or following the party at the Conrad Hotel which WAS purchased with her cc (and without her knowledge). I say this because whenever I've reported cards lost or stolen, the company asks me to confirm all recent (and some not so recent) transactions. As to whether Sheila would have only checked this one card and not looked into unauthorized transactions on OTHER cards she owned, I think she was smarter than that. Just my opinion., but there's never been any reportage that her card was used to buy his ticket without her knowledge.

 

[ajaylee]

I wonder how HM got her money when she wasn't stealing from her mother. Was she on an allowance? I thought that just before the trip she had been living in a hotel (not necessarily the one she was partying in). TS had short video clips of another hotel besides the one where the police were called.

I was surprised that HM and TS were able to check into the budget Bali hotel with no passport(s) and her mother's credit card. No wonder the hotel was suspicious. Even hostels will usually want a copy of each guest's passport.

 

[Kamille]

Her testimony was used to establish the loss of enjoyment of life damages.

That's always bugged me too. She was 6 when her father was injured. What would she remember about the loss of enjoyment with her father? Who remembers much prior to age 6? To her, the years from the time he was injured (2001) to the time he died (2006) were just normal years with her aging father IMO. I'm sure it was the lawyers who thought it was a good idea for her to get up on a stand and cry about how much she missed out on because of her father's injury but how would she have known? Could be another reason why she resented her mother. She put on a show so that they could win this lawsuit and so she felt entitled to the money?

MOO

 

[Kamille]

I wonder if donated money from the care site has since been used to pay TS' unpaid hotel bill???

* * *

ETA: I also wonder if SWM once again caved to HM's ?tantrum? / ?badgering? / ?threatening? in the early morning hours and went to the hotel lobby at 3:48am, when she was captured on CCTV, to secure room #616 for TS with her credit card???

* * *

Where was the trio from just after midnight when the argument in the lobby about who would pay for TS' room was caught on CCTV and the 3:48am CCTV viewing of SWM in the hotel lobby?

Did TS camp out in SWM's room until SWM ultimately caved and then secured his room???

Were they, or some of them, in the bar? What's the drinking age on Bali? TIA

I too want to know where all of them were and what they were doing from the time TS got there until 8:40am. And how TS managed to secure a room. He may have had his own credit card. With no intention of putting the charge on it.

MOO

 

[Kamille]

IMO, I still feel it's not likely that Tommy's ticket was purchased with Sheila's cc without her knowledge during or following the party at the Conrad Hotel which WAS purchased with her cc (and without her knowledge). I say this because whenever I've reported cards lost or stolen, the company asks me to confirm all recent (and some not so recent) transactions. As to whether Sheila would have only checked this one card and not looked into unauthorized transactions on OTHER cards she owned, I think she was smarter than that. Just my opinion., but there's never been any reportage that her card was used to buy his ticket without her knowledge.

Sadly, I don't think she was that smart. Because it begs the question, how did HM repeatedly get access to money and credit cards that were in the house over the years? HM likely had the CC numbers and expiry dates written down so using them online was no problem. Sheila never seemed to consider those cards "stolen" when HM charged things to them. Never had them cancelled or had the purchases reversed. We still haven't heard whether Sheila ended up paying the bill at the Carlton. Likely she did because there were no theft charges levied against either TS or HM and the police caught them charging to the card red handed. The credit card company would not just reverse the charges in a situation like that.

I don't doubt a charge may have been put on one of SWM's cards for TS's flight either during or after the hotel incident. SWM just never expected it and didn't watch out for it. But you are correct, we have no proof that she wasn't aware TS would show up or when she found out she had "paid for his flight".

MOO

 

[Kamille]

According to this site, HM missed 36 days of school for "court" during what I believe is her sophomore at OPRF, and had a tough time catching up at school. May have fueled her hatred toward SvWM.

http://new.spring.me/#!/user/heaathermack/timeline/responses

Good find FormerOakParker. Lots of posts there that lend to her mindset during that time in her life.

I wonder if the court dates were for the lawsuit, the assault charge or a combination of both?

 

[gracehatter]

That's always bugged me too. She was 6 when her father was injured. What would she remember about the loss of enjoyment with her father? Who remembers much prior to age 6? To her, the years from the time he was injured (2001) to the time he died (2006) were just normal years with her aging father IMO. I'm sure it was the lawyers who thought it was a good idea for her to get up on a stand and cry about how much she missed out on because of her father's injury but how would she have known? Could be another reason why she resented her mother. She put on a show so that they could win this lawsuit and so she felt entitled to the money?

MOO

To prove loss of enjoyment of life damages you show the difference in the quality of life before the accident and after. James Mack spent the remainder of his life in a wheelchair after the cruise ship accident. I know he was wheelchair bound for 3 years. I read parts of her testimony (where I don't recall) and she testified that he taught her how to play soccer, he would take her to park to play ball and how he couldn't do any of that anymore, how if they went downtown for a movie, they would have to drop him off in his chair and then go park and they couldn't have fun like they used to. I doubt the lawyers would coach her, prepping children to testify is not allowed under the rule of ethics and there are serious sanctions for doing so and it would be very easy to spot. Doesn't mean SWM didn't tho. I think she resented Mom because she knew he had left a trust for her benefit alone and when the windfall came the Judge ruled that it was to go SWM as the sole beneficiary and Heather viewed that as her Mom stealing "her" money.

 

[SouthAussie]

I wonder if donated money from the care site has since been used to pay TS' unpaid hotel bill???

* * *

ETA: I also wonder if SWM once again caved to HM's ?tantrum? / ?badgering? / ?threatening? in the early morning hours and went to the hotel lobby at 3:48am, when she was captured on CCTV, to secure room #616 for TS with her credit card???

* * *

Where was the trio from just after midnight when the argument in the lobby about who would pay for TS' room was caught on CCTV and the 3:48am CCTV viewing of SWM in the hotel lobby?

Did TS camp out in SWM's room until SWM ultimately caved and then secured his room???

Were they, or some of them, in the bar? What's the drinking age on Bali? TIA

BBM: The legal drinking age in Bali is 17. But even that is not strictly monitored or adhered to. Many/most locals do not drink at all, in my experience. But tourism is such a big part of Bali's income that drinking is widely allowed in bars, restaurants, nightclubs (though not Muslim ones, of course). Some areas of Bali are considered 'party town' for many young tourists, where they live it up to the nth degree.

http://www.drinkingmap.com/drinking-age-in-bali.html

 

[Orange Tabby]

[SBM]. Also struck by the absolute, unwavering insistence from St Regis Staff that the murder weapon absolutely came from TS's room 616. How would they know this? Only thing I can think of is that St. Regis customizes each room. This way, returning guests can request the same room as last time for a similar experience as last time. Or, a different room for a completely new experience. But I may be wrong and this is JMO.

Is it really true that the St. Regis staff are the ones who insist that the weapon came from room 616? I cannot recall anyone ever claiming that.

It is the police who have done the insisting.

There's no reason to add room customization as an explanation since the cops are saying that the broken part left behind in Tommy's room proves that the bowl originated there. But the police do seem to change their stories.

 

[Orange Tabby]

The author has added a recap and I'm right with him on his 10-3 post. I think Heather is the real monster.

http://wreckvhavoc.blogspot.com/2014/08/vacation-to-hell.html

Wow, gracehatter this is an amazing resource. Thanks for posting it!

For those who haven't had a chance to look at it, it is a summary of what has been published in the media, starting from the very beginning, written by a woman who calls herself Val. For each entry the author gives a date, then the summary of what was reported that day, which sometimes includes a little bit of editorializing, and then links for the media accounts which she used for her write-up.

So the earlier entries contain lots of mistakes (e.g. that Heather dropped out of college), but the writer corrects these mistakes (often without actually saying so) as she gets new information (simply by means of reporting the new information). And since each dated entry has links, it is easy to go back and re-read material about specific issues that may not be part of the current media accounts.

There was one line in there that made me laugh out loud: “The drama llama continues to grow as Elkin reports that now Heather is being prevented from contacting her newly appointed lawyer.”

I'd never heard the wonderful term "drama llama" before, so I turned to the ever-useful Urban Dictionary to learn that it means "a person who randomly throws their drama on others, in the same way a llama randomly spits." And the example sentence is a doozy too: "Oh no, here comes the drama llama! I haven't finished cleaning up from the last time she spit drama on me!"

Yes, Heather and Elkin each seem like a drama llama to me.

 

[SwampMama]

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/...in-a-cruise-line-settlement.html#.VDB4wBaStXY

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/...ed-to-mothers-death-in-bali.html#.VDB4wBaStXY

These links explains some of the court details and money as well as some interesting details about HM's behavior when she was younger. Even her dad tactfully referred to her as "very active" while a travel agent bluntly called her a "obnoxious".

From the first link:
"Mack left behind a $150,000 Chicago condo and a bank account worth about $1,800 when he died in 2006..( ok so not much of an "inheritance" there. (The house is not mentioned, so perhaps it had already been transferred to Sheila to avoid inheritance tax, issues and such. The family home in Oak Park which sold for $650,000 in July 2013)

The windfall came about 5 years later, .....when in February 2011 a judge approved a $1.5 million settlement in a decade-old lawsuit between the couple and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. From that Sheila immediately got $340,667 after legal fees. Another $500,000 went to James Mack’s estate......But in June 2011, a judge authorized von Wiese-Mack, the executor of her husband’s estate, to pay herself the remaining $500,000 as the estate’s “sole beneficiary.”"

Or in other words, the amount received by Sheila and JM's estate was 840,667, with the lawyers getting $659,333. Notice that the estate got a nice round figure (500,000) while Sheila got a figure that seems to have had the entire legal fees paid out of it. This may be important because Sheila later got awarded the estates portion as the sole beneficiary.

So Sheila got 2/3 minus the legal fees and the "estate got 1/3 with NO fees taken from it. $219,777 is 1/3 of the legal fees which should have been the "estates" portion of the legal fees. Perhaps Sheila later went after the "estate" to recoup the $219,777. She may have also pleaded that she needed the remaining $280,223 to care for HM who by all accounts was a handful with her record of assaulting her mom and such. No doubt Sheila had to put out money for legal fees for THAT as well, as well as the loss of the many items stolen from the house by HM. I cannot remember where it was in these 3 threads but someone posted more detailed records on Sheila getting the $500000 which seemed to be reimbursing her/paying expenses, etc.

It could also be that there were behind the scene issues that we do not know about. Although JM specifically excluded his other child/children from his will, the award came AFTER his death. Also the award was based on his wrongful death. As the adult daughter of a man who died from asbestos, we were not in the will (wife #3 was) but we were able to sue for wrongful death because he clearly was a victim of that. However the wrongful death suit was filed by my sister and I (his children with wife#1), we had to include the other children. (It didn't matter that dad and the other children had already received an settlement BEFORE his death that we were not a part of).

So there can be some pretty tangled legalities with estates, wrongful death, children, etc. It is possible that JM's other child/children could have some legal action possible and were bought off by Sheila to NOT bring a suit and to sign off rights to file a claim. She had already paid over half a million in legal expenses for the lawsuit PLUS the costs of raising her the ever difficult and entitled HM. She may have just settled it all in a final action that took care of everything and did not leave her at risk of further legal entanglements from a stepchild OR from HM.

Tragically, Sheila underestimated the dire physical risk she was in from her own child and I hope HM is never free on society again because we have all seen her attitude and what "it do". If HM would do that to the only person who truly loved her and stood by her, well then none of us are safe from her wrath, especially her own unborn child.

 

[FormerOakParker]

Good find FormerOakParker. Lots of posts there that lend to her mindset during that time in her life.

I wonder if the court dates were for the lawsuit, the assault charge or a combination of both?

I believe HM was born in October of 1995 (just going by memory of someone posting her passport). That would put her in the OPRF class of 2014, making 2011 her sophomore year, the year she was arrested.
According to the Chicago Tribune (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-indonesia-suitcase-death-met-20140814-story.html), "court" in 2011, when she missed 36 days of school at OPRF, meant that HM had been arrested and was doing time in juvenile detention for domestic battery:
" In December 2011, the younger Mack was arrested on charges alleging domestic battery, aggravated battery and battery, according to Cook County juvenile records."
Also occurring in 2011 was the windfall settlement from Royal Caribbean.
CBS Chicago News reports (http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/08...-received-840k-from-cruise-line-settlement/):
"Three years ago a Cook County judge approved a $1.5 million settlement in a lawsuit von Wiese-Mack’s late husband had filed against Royal Caribbean Cruises, after injuring his foot on a cruise ship."...This would be 2011.
The article continues: "He had been dead for years by the time the lawsuit was settled, so the bulk of the settlement — $840,000 – went to von Wiese-Mack. The Sun-Times reported James Mack’s will indicated he was providing only for his daughter, Heather Mack, who was 10 at the time he signed his will. However, in 2012, a judge allowed von Wiese-Mack to pay herself the $500,000 that went to her late husband’s estate."...
IMO, it seems that in 2012, SWM took a good look at HM's mental instability and violent behavior and invested / and locked-up the money to secure retirement years and HM's ultimate inheritance. HM, who seems to feel ultimately entitled to the money, seethes and spirals further out of control. JMO.

 

[FormerOakParker]

Is it really true that the St. Regis staff are the ones who insist that the weapon came from room 616? I cannot recall anyone ever claiming that.

It is the police who have done the insisting.

There's no reason to add room customization as an explanation since the cops are saying that the broken part left behind in Tommy's room proves that the bowl originated there. But the police do seem to change their stories.

OrangeTabby, Come to think of it, this info comes from media accounts presumably from LE...who seem to be loosey-goosey with facts.

 

[gracehatter]

Good find FormerOakParker. Lots of posts there that lend to her mindset during that time in her life.

I wonder if the court dates were for the lawsuit, the assault charge or a combination of both?

I'm guessing the juvenile stuff. Remember she had 2 stints in treatment facilities and other court ordered matters to complete.

 

[SwampMama]

I believe HM was born in October of 1995 (just going by memory of someone posting her passport). That would put her in the OPRF class of 2014, making 2011 her sophomore year, the year she was arrested.
According to the Chicago Tribune (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-indonesia-suitcase-death-met-20140814-story.html), "court" in 2011, when she missed 36 days of school at OPRF, meant that HM had been arrested and was doing time in juvenile detention for domestic battery:
" In December 2011, the younger Mack was arrested on charges alleging domestic battery, aggravated battery and battery, according to Cook County juvenile records."
Also occurring in 2011 was the windfall settlement from Royal Caribbean.
CBS Chicago News reports (http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/08...-received-840k-from-cruise-line-settlement/):
"Three years ago a Cook County judge approved a $1.5 million settlement in a lawsuit von Wiese-Mack’s late husband had filed against Royal Caribbean Cruises, after injuring his foot on a cruise ship."...This would be 2011.
The article continues: "He had been dead for years by the time the lawsuit was settled, so the bulk of the settlement — $840,000 – went to von Wiese-Mack. The Sun-Times reported James Mack’s will indicated he was providing only for his daughter, Heather Mack, who was 10 at the time he signed his will. However, in 2012, a judge allowed von Wiese-Mack to pay herself the $500,000 that went to her late husband’s estate."...
IMO, it seems that in 2012, SWM took a good look at HM's mental instability and violent behavior and invested / and locked-up the money to secure retirement years and HM's ultimate inheritance. HM, who seems to feel ultimately entitled to the money seeths and spirals further out of control. JMO.

Thanks OP. You have contributed some very helpful info. I have the feeling that there was LOT more going on than we even knew of. SVM might have called the cops 86 times but I imagine there were hundreds, if not thousands of times when she didn't. Just like when HM and TS got a fancy hotel suite, she did not press charges on HM. This link reports the time she called cops but did not press charges when it is clear that she was in serious danger and being battered and abused in her own home by her daughter.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...-park-home-repeatedly-20140818-story.html?435

"Sheila von Wiese-Mack remained reluctant to press charges or have her daughter admitted to a hospital for mental health treatment, according to the Oak Park police reports, which date from 2008 to 2013.

My summary of some of the events from the article, not in chronological order unfortunately...

... in late 2012, SVM refused to let cops take a pic of a bruise on her wrist caused by HM biting her. SVM told cops she knew HM needed help but didn’t want her arrested because she didn’t think jailing her ultimately would help

..the reports seem to indicate that HM had/was receiving counseling and had been hospitalized at least twice,

In January of 2010, a verbal disagreement turned very violent when HM punched SVM in her broken left ankle, Authorities advised that HM be admitted to a hospital, but von Wiese-Mack "refused to allow Heather to be hospitalized,"

...(SVM) called cops a few times in 2010 to report thefts and altercations at her home, including one theft of more than $1,000 (that she had been saving to give to HM)

In February 2011, .... police arrested (HM) after she allegedly pushed SVM down during an fight,breaking SVM's arm. SVM told cops that HM had ripped the cords out of the phone so she could not call 911 for help.

In April 2011, (SVM) called cops after an fight in which her daughter allegedly bit her. (not the first time she bit her mom)...... HM threatened that she would stop biting and would instead just hit her in the head so it wouldn't leave marks.

those are just a few of the things her mom called the cops about and then refused to press charges. How many other times was she assaulted and did not call out of fear or because she did not want to press charges.

Had this been a spouse attacking a spouse (or gf/bf) situation, somebody would have been jailed regardless of if the victim wanted to press charges. The law allows the cops to press charges because victims all too often don't (or drop charges). Why in the heck was HM allowed to commit assault and domestic abuse, leaving clear evidence and not be charged???

I know this isn;t new evidence and has been discussed but I am appalled that a parent would be so severely abused and beaten and police would do nothing. Domestic violence is domestic violence even if committed by an angry teen and should NOT be tolerated or allowed to simply be allowed to continue.

 

[FigTree]

The author has added a recap and I'm right with him on his 10-3 post. I think Heather is the real monster.

http://wreckvhavoc.blogspot.com/2014/08/vacation-to-hell.html

This is also may be why some of the photos look familiar. Also, I am a woman of color, in fact I am a very fair complexioned Black much like Heather as I have one white grandparent on both my maternal and paternal sides, that is both of my parents had one white parent. But let me explain in what context the chicken would be offensive. It had nada to do with it being KFC and the link Kamille provided is instructive. While there is a stereotype certain foods like fried chicken being associated with Black folks, and watermelon is another one, I highly doubt Heather was offended by the chicken as a racist gesture but I think Heather was "playing the race card" much like she claimed her pregnancy was ectopic so she needed to be sent back to the US, claiming she was sexually touched and man handled, she is a manipulative piece of work and I'm sure all her life if Heather did not get her way she threw some kind of fit and presto Mama and Daddy gave in. I'm sure she was a constant liar growing up to evade having to take responsibility and it's her coping skill and she will continue to use it now, it's all she knows how to do.

Now lets say you and your spouse are white and you find out I'm Black because I told you so (because it is the rare white person that can tell I'm Black) and then you invite me over and you serve fried chicken and watermelon for dinner because you assumed that all Blacks enjoy them, so must I....now I am a little offended because you made that assumption, that's the difference. It IS a very touchy subject in the Black community as Heather would know so I think she was using anything and everything to deflect because she knows she's in deep sh.., I mean deep stuff now. If fact I'm betting she is wishing she was being fed some good old KFC now.

Thankyou Gracehatter for your detailed post regarding the KFC.

I wonder who she is demanding food and toiletries from now - probably her lawyers.
I read that they were both on suicide watch after they were held in custody - I wonder if that is still the case.