GUILTY Bali - Sheila von Wiese Mack, 62, found dead in suitcase, 12 Aug 2014 #5

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http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/loca...-Bono-Attorney-Trust-Fund-Case-350762181.html

The Chicago woman convicted for her role in the murder of her mother in Bali last year has a new lawyer. And it’s free-of-charge.

Heather Mack was appointed a pro-bono attorney by Cook County Judge Neil Cohen on Monday.

Mack’s previous legal help in Cook County was denied payment from the trust fund.


Damn. I was afraid this would happen. Nice to know the tax payers get to foot the bill for her attorney when she isn't even on US soil.
 
What? Isn't this a civil matter between her and her uncle? Since when do you get a pro bono attorney appointed by a judge for that?
 
Unbelievable. Teflon HM strikes again.

I hope some of our legal experts weigh in here. I've never heard of such a thing - as Kamille notes, this is a civil action. Frankly, it's the reason folks without money often get the short end of the stick - they've gotten a bad deal but can't afford an attorney to get justice.

I think 'pro bono' means 'for free', but it sickens me, frankly, because there are so many innocent people suffering because no one has offered them free legal representation.

BTW, I wonder how much $ KW sends TS every month - enough to pay for a cellphone and drugs, apparently.
 
“I would love for Stella to have a happy childhood and be with a family that loves her and I think prison is not a place for a baby, a toddler,” said Debbie Curran, sister of Sheila Von Wiese-Mack.

The family said it is willing to provide financially for Stella, who was born earlier this year in Indonesia. A Cook County court-appointed guardian is coordinating efforts with an aid group that is currently assisting Heather Mack in providing food and doctors’ visits for Stella, who is said to be a healthy girl.

Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/investiga...ase-Murder-Speak-352456881.html#ixzz3s9oREg6M
Follow us: @nbcchicago on Twitter | nbcchicago on Facebook
 
Weezer Fan said:
“I would love for Stella to have a happy childhood and be with a family that loves her and I think prison is not a place for a baby, a toddler,” said Debbie Curran, sister of Sheila Von Wiese-Mack.

The family said it is willing to provide financially for Stella, who was born earlier this year in Indonesia. A Cook County court-appointed guardian is coordinating efforts with an aid group that is currently assisting Heather Mack in providing food and doctors’ visits for Stella, who is said to be a healthy girl.

Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/investiga...ase-Murder-Speak-352456881.html#ixzz3s9oREg6M
Follow us: @nbcchicago on Twitter | nbcchicago on Facebook
Click to expand...


That'd be sweet if their side of the family got custody of Stella, and sooner rather than later!!
 
gracehatter said:
Oh no she didn't... ;) I knew all along that the actions taken by Shelia back in the past court regarding the funds left in trust for her by Dad had to be a bone of contention between them and a long time simmering issue. It had been alluded to by Heather in a few different reported 3rd party conversations I read.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-bali-heather-mack-money-met-20151208-story.html
Click to expand...
This says Favia is back on the case and agreed to represent HM for free.
 
http://www.nbcchicago.com/investiga...-in-Bali-Suitcase-Murder-Speak-352456881.html

Did you see the comment by the family member in the comment section? It is kind of hard to see the link.
Reposting here:
(Note - please let me know if I need to remove and/or shorten this.)


Lisa Hellmann

Last August, our family experienced a horrific tragedy. My aunt, Sheila Von Wiese Mack, while traveling in Indonesia with her daughter, was brutally murdered by her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend. In the time since the crime, I have seen some of the worst that human civilization can put forth.

An Indonesian court, after receiving "defense funding" from my aunt's estate (ordered by a Chicago judge), convicted her daughter of premeditated murder, however only sentenced her to ten years. The boyfriend, also convicted, was only sentenced to 18 years.

A little over a week later, eight people in Indonesia were put before a firing squad for drug offenses despite pleas from human rights activists and the Australian and Brazilian governments. It was the second mass execution in Indonesia of 2015. It is a sad state of affairs when a premeditated murderer gets ten years and a mother, a newly ordained Christian pastor (while incarcerated), and a diagnosed schizophrenic are among those to get sentenced to death for attempting to smuggle drugs, including one whose charge was pertaining to marijuana.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has vowed show no mercy for drug smuggling, but obviously doesn't have the same stance regarding premeditated murder. I know one country I will NEVER be visiting and hope people reading this will choose the same.

Certain mass and social medias, including People magazine, have chosen to glorify the crime and the murderers while dehumanizing the victim, repeatedly publishing stories filled with lies, deceit, and corruption. This coverage also frequently depicts images of the murderers experiencing happiness, smiles, and showing absolutely no remorse, Not what one would expect to find in a developing nations prison.

Meanwhile, the daughter, convicted of murdering her mother, is given the right by the Indonesian government to keep an innocent child in a jail cell up to age two.

I have witnessed a lot of injustices in my life, but I have never had such an up close perspective on how atrocious and heinous the world can really be and pray to never have to experience this again.

The post below is the first time my family has spoken out about the crime, and I am very proud of my mother for finding the courage to speak up about her experience in losing her only sister.
Like · Reply · Flag · 1 · Nov 27, 2015 5:14pm
 
Hoosgirl said:
This says Favia is back on the case and agreed to represent HM for free.
Click to expand...

Ah, now that makes complete sense, so this is not an attorney that was appointed by the court, Favia determined to get a piece of the pie :) Far be it from me to suggest conflict of interest but I could no doubt make a decent if not compelling argument about it :fence: I see Judge Cohen putting her on notice with the "Kafkaesque" comment!
 
gracehatter said:
Oh no she didn't... ;) I knew all along that the actions taken by Shelia back in the past court regarding the funds left in trust for her by Dad had to be a bone of contention between them and a long time simmering issue. It had been alluded to by Heather in a few different reported 3rd party conversations I read.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-bali-heather-mack-money-met-20151208-story.html
Click to expand...

LOL I heard this on the News this morning. HM actually hand wrote a note to the judge, stolen $ is stolen $. I can't believe the levels this case sinks down to. I believe HM has already spent the $500,000 her Father left her. Geesh this is a desperate move.

"Cohen, though, citing code-of-conduct rules that forbid a judge from having out-of-court communications with parties in a case, did not accept the written communications during a recent court hearing. But the judge did allow a fifth lawyer to enter the case on Mack's behalf. Attorney Vanessa Favia, who previously represented the unborn child, agreed to represent Mack for free.

Cohen said it is important Mack's voice is heard in the case.

"This is not going to be a Kafkaesque court," the judge said recently."
 
Yeah, really. A third of the estate is already gone due to the market and legal fees, and HM wants a settlement amount PLUS her care and feeding PLUS educational expenses since she will care for Stella when she's out of jail, PLUS funds for Stella. That $1M or less that is left sure has to stretch a looooong way. She's delusional. I just hope the courts rule wisely.
 
For those who can not see the Tribune, a summary of HM's Demands. It gives you an insight to her and TS's plans and just how twisted this is becoming. I believe in disclosure, however when one makes plans to kill one's Mother and does so, I would think all doors shut in a case as this.


In written correspondence to a Cook County judge presiding over her $1.56 million trust case, Mack said "with all due respect" to her slain mother, she believes Sheila von Wiese-Mack lied and falsified court documents years earlier to gain control over a more substantial inheritance the daughter was due from her father's estate.

Mack, who is serving a 10-year prison sentence overseas but has access to email, a cellphone and the Internet, provided the Tribune a copy of the eight-page letter to the judge and a separate written list of "non-negotiable settlement" terms. In her writings, as well as during a telephone interview, Mack said she didn't want to criticize her mother publicly but she has little other option after her trust lawyers have refused to investigate her claims.

"May my mother forever rest in peace," Mack wrote in the more sharply worded letter with her terms and addressed "to whom it may concern." She continued, "But the fact of the matter is stolen money is stolen money. ... If a little digging is done, surely we can find out exactly where Sheila struck gold."

Mack told the Tribune she and Schaefer, 22, who is the baby's father, will drop claim to the remaining $1 million so that it goes to their daughter but only after certain demands are met, including to supply Mack with a copy of her father's will and trust and a full accounting of her parents' assets dating to when he died in 2006. She asked that law firms involved in the matters be subpoenaed as well.

"This case should have never went to court," Mack wrote to the judge. "We should have talked it out as family. But obviously, I am not considered family. I never was."

Her other conditions include that Stella receives her inheritance at age 18, that her uncle be removed as trustee, and that she receive an unspecified payout as well. Mack argues the slayer statute shouldn't apply because the money originated with her father, who named her sole beneficiary.

"I suggest a lump sum is appropriate," Mack wrote in the two-page correspondence. "Also, I want my food, health and support and education to be settled on for when I am free because I will be the guardian of Stella upon my release from prison."

She continued, "We already have plans arranged for Stella when she leaves the prison. We also already have a guardian (for Stella). Stella will not be going back to America at all whatsoever until both Tommy and I are released from prison. Even then, there is absolutely no surety that we will ever return to America."

Quoted from http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-bali-heather-mack-money-met-20151208-story.html
 
Bugbear said:
For those who can not see the Tribune, a summary of HM's Demands. It gives you an insight to her and TS's plans and just how twisted this is becoming. I believe in disclosure, however when one makes plans to kill one's Mother and does so, I would think all doors shut in a case as this.


In written correspondence to a Cook County judge presiding over her $1.56 million trust case, Mack said "with all due respect" to her slain mother, she believes Sheila von Wiese-Mack lied and falsified court documents years earlier to gain control over a more substantial inheritance the daughter was due from her father's estate.

Mack, who is serving a 10-year prison sentence overseas but has access to email, a cellphone and the Internet, provided the Tribune a copy of the eight-page letter to the judge and a separate written list of "non-negotiable settlement" terms. In her writings, as well as during a telephone interview, Mack said she didn't want to criticize her mother publicly but she has little other option after her trust lawyers have refused to investigate her claims.

"May my mother forever rest in peace," Mack wrote in the more sharply worded letter with her terms and addressed "to whom it may concern." She continued, "But the fact of the matter is stolen money is stolen money. ... If a little digging is done, surely we can find out exactly where Sheila struck gold."

Mack told the Tribune she and Schaefer, 22, who is the baby's father, will drop claim to the remaining $1 million so that it goes to their daughter but only after certain demands are met, including to supply Mack with a copy of her father's will and trust and a full accounting of her parents' assets dating to when he died in 2006. She asked that law firms involved in the matters be subpoenaed as well.

"This case should have never went to court," Mack wrote to the judge. "We should have talked it out as family. But obviously, I am not considered family. I never was."

Her other conditions include that Stella receives her inheritance at age 18, that her uncle be removed as trustee, and that she receive an unspecified payout as well. Mack argues the slayer statute shouldn't apply because the money originated with her father, who named her sole beneficiary.

"I suggest a lump sum is appropriate," Mack wrote in the two-page correspondence. "Also, I want my food, health and support and education to be settled on for when I am free because I will be the guardian of Stella upon my release from prison."

She continued, "We already have plans arranged for Stella when she leaves the prison. We also already have a guardian (for Stella). Stella will not be going back to America at all whatsoever until both Tommy and I are released from prison. Even then, there is absolutely no surety that we will ever return to America."

Quoted from http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-bali-heather-mack-money-met-20151208-story.html
Click to expand...
Umm.. The last two paragraphs REALLY. My letter, Dear FBI please be waiting at the gate with handcuffs and leg irons. This person beat her mother for years and finally killed her. Evidence seems to show this was planned in the US, Sheila deserves justice. p.s. this killer needs a smackdown.

This case just makes me clinch my jaw so tight. Moo



ciao
 
So, it seems HM is saying, "It doesn't matter that I killed my Mom. MY money came from my Dad, not my Mom and the courts should have never given MY money to my Mom. Therefore, the slayer statute doesn't apply". I have to say, this is an interesting take.

Also, HM states she doesn't know if she or TS will ever return to America. Wonder how that will work out for her? Teflon Mack will probably apply for, and get, Bali citizenship while in prison. If she gets this money, I bet the Indonesian government will let her. Then she will never face any charges in the U.S.

As a side note, if Mack "demands" all these records, I hope her mental health records are also released. I think this will show why SWM won control of the money. HM was and is mentally ill, and that didn't change once she turned 18.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Yup, so if it doesn't work to claim you're not a slayer, then claim the money's not from the slain anyway. I give her a few points for thinking outside the box ... but they'll never stack up against her many points off for being a cold, premeditated killer!
 
Hoosgirl said:
Yup, so if it doesn't work to claim you're not a slayer, then claim the money's not from the slain anyway. I give her a few points for thinking outside the box ... but they'll never stack up against her many points off for being a cold, premeditated killer!
Click to expand...

I sense Favia's hand all over this, lol...in a case like this you'd keep a tight rein over your client but I think there must be a tacit approval behind this, remember Favia has nothing to lose and her client is so awful anyway, any wins, any how, no matter how small will look good to them. Heather's story per her is still being told by the media and I'm not sure there is much that can be done anyway about her using the Trib as a mouthpiece. Any publicity is better than no publicity is not an unusual take by some lawyers.
 
Sorry a bit long winded, but this one just irks me.

This case has really made a mockery of the Chancery Court and Slayer Statutes. It has thrown in every possible angle that can be played making it more of a joke than anything else. When all is said and done, there will be nothing for HM to claim was "stolen" except her Mother's life. TS' demands are not so far off from HM's 7 months later, immediate needs for food & to financially secure a life/future upon release compliments of.... (drum roll please) the Victim!

Regarding immediate need for $:

First and Foremost
Feb 2016 - Court Date Petition to invoke Slayer Statute, additional documentation This was granted 90 days from November court date for WW to drop this down upon the Estate. So you can see the flurry to discredit SWM as much as possible as this date approaches.

May 2015 TS Demands his Share: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ice-1-56m-trust-fund-set-mother-murdered.html

May 2015 Soenardi writes to US Court his demand for $200,000 quickly and in one payment: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...i-heather-mack-appeal-met-20150506-story.html

Nov 2015 Soenardi again denied $200,000: http://abc7chicago.com/news/guardian-heather-macks-baby-should-be-transferred-out-of-cell/1064544/

Dec 2015 HM puts down her demands in an unethical means of writing a letter directly to the Judge, discrediting the entire Estate and stomping her feet saying it's not fair! Where some unscrupulous attorney(s) may try desperately to milk as much $ as possible prior to February 2016 Court Hearing.

Anyway, next court date 12/17/2015 I am going to go out on a limb and say this is one of a few last ditch efforts to secure HM's demands.. (for Stella of course) /sarcasm.
 
That letter is disgusting, to say the least. Where does she think the money is now? You can hear her anger seeping through each and every word. She thinks this will go far with the Judge? She makes me ill. She's smart enough to know that she doesn't stand a chance if she returns to US soil...IMO, this letter cries "MOTIVE!"

PS- It seems to me that she would have to file suit against Sheila's estate if she has an issue with the money. I'm not sure the Judge will even entertain her requests.
 
Bugbear said:
LOL I heard this on the News this morning. HM actually hand wrote a note to the judge, stolen $ is stolen $. I can't believe the levels this case sinks down to. I believe HM has already spent the $500,000 her Father left her. Geesh this is a desperate move.

"Cohen, though, citing code-of-conduct rules that forbid a judge from having out-of-court communications with parties in a case, did not accept the written communications during a recent court hearing. But the judge did allow a fifth lawyer to enter the case on Mack's behalf. Attorney Vanessa Favia, who previously represented the unborn child, agreed to represent Mack for free.

Cohen said it is important Mack's voice is heard in the case.

"This is not going to be a Kafkaesque court," the judge said recently."
Click to expand...

I don't get why a convicted murderer has so many rights in a US court. This judge rubs me the wrong way.
 
Cyberburn said:
http://www.nbcchicago.com/investiga...-in-Bali-Suitcase-Murder-Speak-352456881.html

Did you see the comment by the family member in the comment section? It is kind of hard to see the link.
Reposting here:
(Note - please let me know if I need to remove and/or shorten this.)


Lisa Hellmann

Last August, our family experienced a horrific tragedy. My aunt, Sheila Von Wiese Mack, while traveling in Indonesia with her daughter, was brutally murdered by her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend. In the time since the crime, I have seen some of the worst that human civilization can put forth.

An Indonesian court, after receiving "defense funding" from my aunt's estate (ordered by a Chicago judge), convicted her daughter of premeditated murder, however only sentenced her to ten years. The boyfriend, also convicted, was only sentenced to 18 years.

A little over a week later, eight people in Indonesia were put before a firing squad for drug offenses despite pleas from human rights activists and the Australian and Brazilian governments. It was the second mass execution in Indonesia of 2015. It is a sad state of affairs when a premeditated murderer gets ten years and a mother, a newly ordained Christian pastor (while incarcerated), and a diagnosed schizophrenic are among those to get sentenced to death for attempting to smuggle drugs, including one whose charge was pertaining to marijuana.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has vowed show no mercy for drug smuggling, but obviously doesn't have the same stance regarding premeditated murder. I know one country I will NEVER be visiting and hope people reading this will choose the same.

Certain mass and social medias, including People magazine, have chosen to glorify the crime and the murderers while dehumanizing the victim, repeatedly publishing stories filled with lies, deceit, and corruption. This coverage also frequently depicts images of the murderers experiencing happiness, smiles, and showing absolutely no remorse, Not what one would expect to find in a developing nations prison.

Meanwhile, the daughter, convicted of murdering her mother, is given the right by the Indonesian government to keep an innocent child in a jail cell up to age two.

I have witnessed a lot of injustices in my life, but I have never had such an up close perspective on how atrocious and heinous the world can really be and pray to never have to experience this again.

The post below is the first time my family has spoken out about the crime, and I am very proud of my mother for finding the courage to speak up about her experience in losing her only sister.
Like · Reply · Flag · 1 · Nov 27, 2015 5:14pm
Click to expand...

I'm so glad to see the family is having their say.
 
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