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

[Curious Me]

In a reply to a comment under this article, it says that the baby is being named after Tommy's maternal grandmother. :dunno:

http://www.people.com/article/pregn...rer-heather-mack-reunites-boyfriend-bali-jail

Nobody is buying the magazine's romantic spin on these mother-killers after reading all the comments. Good. People still have brains. Premeditation still seems most likely when it's realized Sheila was murdered only about 6 to 8 hrs. after Tommy arrived in Bali. Heather was publically arguing with her mother in the other hotel, then Tommy shows up. I guess it just depends on what was uncovered in the investigation, but I pray this evil girl does not get away with it. It makes me sick to even look at her. Tommy was a sucker and a fool thinking he was going to end up rich hooking up with thot her. He's going to pay a big price for his stupid decisions.

 

[Curious Me]

Just let this serve as a reminder.

"On August 7, Mack's 19-year-old daughter Heather posted on Instagram a photo she presumably took from the window of their hotel, the five-star St. Regis, accompanied by the caption: "i refuse to let someone say what i can do, gettin (sic) money my attitude you know what it do #bali," the MailOnline reports."

Read more at http://www.9news.com.au/world/2014/0...P0Ge05dQgIK.99

 

[Orange Tabby]

In a reply to a comment under this article, it says that the baby is being named after Tommy's maternal grandmother. :dunno:

http://www.people.com/article/pregn...rer-heather-mack-reunites-boyfriend-bali-jail

Interesting. That's what the bali.coconuts webpage that I cited earlier reported as well. Coconuts has some references to "Tribun Bali" (http://bali.tribunnews.com/2014/12/09/heather-akan-namai-bayinya-stella) but the source doc isn't in English.

It makes sense. It is consistent with a theory of Heather's concerted efforts to keep Tommy "on plan".

 

[SouthAussie]

Interesting. That's what the bali.coconuts webpage that I cited earlier reported as well. Coconuts has some references to "Tribun Bali" (http://bali.tribunnews.com/2014/12/09/heather-akan-namai-bayinya-stella) but the source doc isn't in English.

It makes sense. It is consistent with a theory of Heather's concerted efforts to keep Tommy "on plan".

I ran that source document through Google translate, see link below.

Says a couple of things that we haven't seen before ... Tommy was accompanied by two lawyers from Legal Aid, the lawyers to assist Tommy came from Jakarta (it says other lawyers to assist Tommy came from Jakarta, but I think it means those Legal Aid lawyers as there is a Muhammad Afif Abdul Qoyim in Jakarta), Heather had a lunch pack with her, the baby is healthy and in good shape, Heather is getting used to jail and not restless as ever, and can speak a few words of Indonesian.

Bit confusing as the translate program treats 'his' and 'her' the same - apparently they are covered by the same words in Indonesian.


https://translate.google.com/#auto/...n Tersangka Biaya Makan Heather Bebani Polisi

 

[Orange Tabby]

I ran that source document through Google translate, see link below.

Says a couple of things that we haven't seen before ... Tommy was accompanied by two lawyers from Legal Aid, the lawyers to assist Tommy came from Jakarta (it says other lawyers to assist Tommy came from Jakarta, but I think it means those Legal Aid lawyers as there is a Muhammad Afif Abdul Qoyim in Jakarta), Heather had a lunch pack with her, the baby is healthy and in good shape, Heather is getting used to jail and not restless as ever, and can speak a few words of Indonesian.

Bit confusing as the translate program treats 'his' and 'her' the same - apparently they are covered by the same words in Indonesian.

I hate Google Translate. Not least for the reason you mention, SouthAussie: that in many languages third person singular defaults to masculine in the translation, making matters very confusing indeed for the English language reader.

But I thought to myself, I’ll just have a quick look.

I am so glad you posted the link to the machine translation!

There are many reasons I am pleased with your exquisite sense in doing this, but the main reason is that the translated article has a different list of possible charges against Heather and Tommy than we’ve previously seen. It doesn’t summarize the charges, as the English language reports have done, it simply trots out a partial list of criminal code violations that (I assume) the cops have concluded apply to the evidence they have amassed, as they were specifically mentioned by the prosecutor who had just received the police file.

They are (in the order listed in the news report in question): Articles 340, 338, 353-graf-3, 351-graf-3, 181, 55, and 56. We know what some of these charges are, but not all of them. I’ve looked ‘em up. Here’s the dirt:

Article 340
Premeditated murder; penalty: life imprisonment or execution

Article 338
Murder (simple); penalty: 15 years

[Note Article 339 appears to be aggravated murder carrying 20 years to life. I’m not sure why that might not apply here]

Article 351, paragraph 3
Maltreatment resulting in death; penalty: seven years

Article 353, paragraph 3
Premeditated maltreatment resulting in death; penalty: nine years (or fine of Rp300)

Article 181
Attempting to conceal a death; penalty: nine months

Article 55
Accomplice participation; (causing others to perpetrate an act or intentionally provoking such an act – penalty in next article)

Articles 56 - 57
Aiding, providing opportunity, etc. in commission of crime; penalty: from one-third of penalty for actual perpetrator to full tariff


Possible charges mentioned in other news accounts, but not this particular news story:

Article 170
Joint violence (i.e. acting in concert) resulting in death; penalty: 12 years

Article 221
Obstruction, including aiding perpetrator’s escape; nine months (or fine of Rp300)

Law no. 23/2004, Article 44 subsection 3 (against Heather only)
Domestic violence resulting in death; penalty: 15 years (or fine of Rp45 million)


This is just a first pass at collecting all possible charges that could be lodged against Heather and Tommy. I hope to improve and update this list in the next few days.

If anyone knows of any possible charges I’ve missed, shout out! I’m primarily interested in charges which have been claimed by reporters who were in Denpasar on Monday. I’ll include them in the next iteration. I’ll also clean up the list, re-order it, and perhaps add a bit more detail.

 

[Orange Tabby]

Oops. I've already found an error in my Penalty Post above (#825).

For the accomplice caper, I wrote that the basic, minimum penalty is one-third of the penalty for the crime itself. That is wrong. The accomplice's basic penalty is mitigated by one-third.

I looked this up again because I wanted to allay the fears of those people fretting that Heather may get away with... well... let's say murder. Even if she were only found to be an accomplice, she'd still be eligible for two-thirds of Tommy's sentence. That's not easy time. And additional punishments are allowed in the criminal code (see graf 3), making an accomplice potentially liable for the same penalty as the actual perpetrator.

Article 57 alone puts Heather in a very bad place. I reproduce the full text of Article 57 at the end of this post.

Request for help: does anyone have a version of the Indonesian criminal code which permits cut and paste? The link I've been using does not allow this, and I've just now had to type out the relevant bits below. I'm a fast typist, but there's really no need for this. If you know of a version that allows cut and paste, please post the link or PM me. Pretty please!


Article 57

1. The maximum of the basic punishments imposed upon the crime in complicity shall be mitigated by one third.

2. If it concerns a crime on which the capital punishment or a crime on which life imprisonment is imposed, a maximum of fifteen years shall be imposed.

3. The additional punishment for complicity shall be the same as for the crime itself.

4. In determining the punishment only those acts shall be considered which the accomplice has deliberately facilitated or furthered, together with their consequences.

 

[Curious Me]

Suspect Heather Mack's Attorney Speaks Exclusively To PEOPLE
12/11/2014 AT 08:00 PM EST
http://www.people.com/article/bali-...+people/headlines+(PEOPLE.com:+Top+Headlines)


:laugh:

"She misses her mother," he says. "They had a very complicated relationship. And she tries to push the nightmare of that day to the back of her mind. She's told me, 'If I think about it, I'll die. I couldn't go on.' "

"Mack has often been photographed laughing and smiling during her visits with Bali police, but her attorney insists that her seemingly inappropriate facial expressions are the result of stress – not a lack of remorse."

:stop: Please just shut up, Mr. Attorney.

 

[SwampMama]

Wow, that lawyer is quite the peddler of manure. Steaming piles of it, in fact. That article is such a load of carp. Poor little HM misses her mom and was hiding in fear in the bathroom while SVM supposedly was choking TS (whose arms are easily longer than hers and able to fend her off). Give me a break!

 

[Curious Me]

Even more challenging for someone in Elkin's profession is that defense attorneys have no idea exactly what the police learned during their investigation until they walk into the courtroom. "We won't find out what the prosecution's evidence is," says Elkin, "until we actually go to trial."
http://www.people.com/article/bali-...+people/headlines+(PEOPLE.com:+Top+Headlines)

So, Mr. Attorney, this is why I'm suggesting you keep your mouth shut about her innocence in being, most likely, very involved in the killing of her mother. Wondering, what's in it for you that you're talking publically again?

???$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$ $$$$$$$ $$$$$$$ $$$$$$$ $$$$$$$ $$$$$$$???

 

[gracehatter]

???$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$ $$$$$$$ $$$$$$$ $$$$$$$ $$$$$$$ $$$$$$$???

So,reading this I would guess that Mr. Elkin thinks he can get her off and avoid her getting cut off from her inheritance (it is my belief Mom left it all to her in a trust) and get a nice chunk of change for himself and his female associate who is allegedly repping the unborn fetus. Well played Mr. Elkin, even if Heather gets cut off, unless the child is adopted (and there are ways of getting around that) she/Stella will then be next in line to take. I wonder if Mr. Elkin isn't one of those kind of Americans who truly believes they know more than the natives in the legal community in Bali could ever know...he seems that damned cocky to me, not to mention slimey and arrogant enough.

 

[FigTree]

http://www.people.com/article/bali-...+people/headlines+(PEOPLE.com:+Top+Headlines)

According to police, an argument quickly broke out over Heather's pregnancy, with Wiese-Mack reportedly making racially offensive comments about Schaefer and his baby, allegedly threatening to kill the unborn child – while a terrified Mack hid in the bathroom. Schaefer allegedly ended up beating Wiese-Mack to death with the fruit bowl after the argument escalated to the point that she wrapped her hands around Schaefer's throat.

my bold...
So now Sheila is alleged to have said she was going to kill the baby?
Is this reporting sensationalism - I doubt very much there was any discussion what so ever between SvWM and TS & HM - I'm sure Sheila would have been totally surprised that there was someone else in Bali, there in her Hotel room, at all that she or Heather knew - especially him!
What a shock it must have been for Sheila to see him in her room.
I doubt Sheila opened the door to him, I'm think Heather opened the door and let him in.
Either way - placing the onus on the victim (and being the mother/awaiting Grandmother) I seriously doubt the accusation.

As for the rest of the article

Mack has often been photographed laughing and smiling during her visits with Bali police, but her attorney insists that her seemingly inappropriate facial expressions are the result of stress – not a lack of remorse.

I'm sorry Elkin - but, really?!!! No one is buying that! What we see is the portrayal of 'No Remorse - No Respect to either herself, her mother, or her child - Self Indulgent behaviour - Conspiracy'

Consider how it should have gone -
If Heather was remorseful and innocent of murder - Heather should have been advised by her representatives to refuse to be in the same room as her alleged mothers killer and the killer of her baby's grandmother (and we all know anything but that happened). If that wasn't possible, she should have stayed at a distance away from him, or refuse to see him - not spoken to him - but instead we see an open display of physical affection (disturbing), collusion and betrayal to the victim.
Heather should have refused to divulge trivial details to the media & questions about the baby. She should have spoken about her plight and her upcoming trial and at least seem to be concerned and engaged somewhat in the seriousness of her situation. Instead she talked about her future as if she was on an extended holiday in Bali.
Heather should have composed herself - no laughing and giggling, or pawing her co-accused. At least she could have acted with some level of maturity when the eyes of public are on her in this situation.

The impression Heater Mack & Tommy Schafer gave to the media that day is closer to the real truth than any of the excuses given by those who represent her.
I hope the eyes of the world turn to this trial when it comes up - you'd need a lot of wool to pull over the eyes of the world if it is want to believe that HM is innocent, remorseful and free of corrupt behviour.

 

[Kamille]

"We won't find out what the prosecution's evidence is," says Elkin, "until we actually go to trial."

So is he planning on being there? How long do these trials usually take?

 

[ajaylee]

I noticed that. I'm surprised he's planning on being there for the entire trial, particularly since he has to tread a doubly fine line: legally he can't do anything that amounts to practicing law and he's got to avoid making Rasnution (local attorney) feel like his skills aren't respected.

If he does that, it's going to be quite a bill. I think he and the other attorney were there for at least a week before. There's airfare, lodging, taxis, meals - plus attorney fees - for two people. It wouldn't be unusual for his fees alone to run several thousand dollars.

It would also be interesting to know just how much $ is at stake - HM's potential inheritance. Frankly, if it looks like the $ are going to her, I hope SWM's family can fight it. Burn the estate assets up in attorney fees, set up a trust for Stella that cuts HM completely out of the loop, perhaps.

Somewhat related: TS's mother was planning on going over when the trial started. When she posted that, it seemed a bit out of touch. The $10K fund-raiser was supposed to be for legal costs and jail comforts. If she goes to Bali for the trial, it's going to take a big bite out of that $10K.

OT: a bit of insomnia last night, so I switched on Alfred Hitchcock. It was an old show about a customs agent trying to stop a wealthy widow from smuggling her jewels out of the country. Anyway, Hitchcock comes on before the start of each segment and at the end. This time, he's standing next to a giant upright steamer trunk - and something starts leaking out the bottom! (Cut to commercial break and next segment). At the end of the show, he's being hauled off in handcuffs because customs has discovered his mother in his trunk...creepy!

Finally...I don't know who got the ball rollling, but the a lot of the media coverage sickens me (People magazine, this means you!). Somehow the entire narrative has been turned around and we're supposed to be hoping this couple 'win' their freedom. There's less and less mention of SWM and tellingly, the word 'suitcase' seems to be disappearing from the headlines. The story isn't about SWM being brutally and tragically murdered by her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend: it's about two star-crossed young lovers trying to be together with their baby. Ugh.

 

[katydid23]

So according to Elkin, the victim was making racial slurs towards her unborn grandchild, and threatening to kill the baby because of her race? This supposedly coming from a woman who loved and married and had a child with a black man? OK.....:no:

 

[Kamille]

Interesting comment on this article. Don't think I read this one or saw that particular picture.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/12/10/accused-murder-us-couple-welcome-first-baby-girl.html

 

[Hiandmighty]

Attorney trying to drum up sympathy. The comments are on Facebook. No one buying it-- not at all.

http://www.people.com/article/bali-suit-case-murder-suspect-heather-mack-attorney-exclusive-people?xid=socialflow_facebook_peoplemag

 

[gracehatter]

So in reality, if we assume she will not be executed, HM could keep Stella with her for 2 years and during that time make legal arrangements for someone to care for Stella so she could inherit (This where it would be extremely helpful to know exactly how Sheila's will and trust read). Unless Il. law is different from the rest of the US, they are going to have to avoid adoption so really, I'd give anything to know what Elkin and et al. have up their sleeves in order to get the money which, and let's be brutally frank here, is their end game. In terms of blood relations Stella has rather a dearth of them considering TS's Mom may be viewed as unsuitable to care for her given what we know of her son's upbringing and I think it will be very likely that Shelia's side with all things considered may not be able to bear having anything to do with the little one. HM's half siblings would be in my mind also unlikely to step up to help given the lack of any real history between them.

 

[nightwatch]

So according to Elkin, the victim was making racial slurs towards her unborn grandchild, and threatening to kill the baby because of her race? This supposedly coming from a woman who loved and married and had a child with a black man? OK.....:no:

Geez! IMO since the trial is held in Bali with their judge panel and not a jury this Atty is trying to put the victim on trial in the press.
How about the eighty police calls, stealing from the mother's home, physical violence breaking her mother's arm, shacking in hotels on her mothers credit cards, on and on. It's a sorry day when he felt is was OK to sit and say these vicious things about a dead woman killed at the hands of her liar daughter and her easy money sheet chasing boyfriend.

Where do these people come from who attach themselves to high profile cases only to appear obnoxious and clownish? Jmo

Eta: IMO the release of those Romeo & Juliet pics sent this case to a level of irritation I have not felt before. These two are killers not characters in a romance novel. Jmo rant over

ciao

 

[ajaylee]

Interesting comment from the person who says s/he was HM's close friend. S/he suggests that both SWM and HM were mentally unstable.

I suspect Elkin considered and rejected playing up that angle. I don't know if an insanity plea is an automatic get-out-of-jail-free card in Indonesia, but any suggestion that HM is mentally unstable opens the door to people questioning whether or not it would be appropriate to leave a child in the hands of a mentally unstable girl who has participating in the killing and cold-blooded disposal of her mother.

 

[RK77]

They set up a fundraising website for baby stella similar to the one TS had.

These people are shameless.