US couple could face death penalty over 'premeditated murder' in Bali

An American couple arrested on the
Indonesian resort island of Bali in
connection with the death of the woman’s mother could face charges of premeditated murder carrying a maximum penalty of death, police said on Saturday.

Heather Mack, 19, and her boyfriend,
Tommy Schaefer, 21, both from Chicago, were arrested in Bali’s Kuta area Wednesday, a day after the body of Sheila von Wiese-Mack was found stuffed inside a suitcase in the trunk of a taxi parked in front of the upscale St Regis Bali Resort in the island’s exclusive Nusa Dua section.

An autopsy on Saturday found that Von Wiese-Mack, 62, died of asphyxiation from a broken nose bone resulting from a blunt blow, said Ida Bagus Putu Alit, head of forensics at Sanglah Hospital in Bali’s provincial capital of Denpasar. She also suffered a broken neck, Alit said.

Mack and Schaefer were charged with murder on Friday. Colonel Djoko Hari Utomo, chief of police for Denpasar, said on Saturday that police had enough evidence to charge them with premeditated murder.

He reiterated that the couple was still refusing to talk to investigators without the presence of American lawyers.

“But that does not hamper our investigation. We have enough evidence, including CCTV and fingerprints,” Utomo said. “And I am inclined to charge them with premeditated murder.”

An FBI agent arrived on Friday to help with the investigation, including on the couple’s possible involvement in criminal activity in the US, Utomo said.

The autopsy found that breaks in Von Wiese-Mack’s neck and nose extended to her upper right and left jaws, causing respiratory disorders, Alit said. It also showed hand wounds suggesting she was trying to fend off an attack.

-Guardian