An American teenager suspected of killing her mother, whose body was found in a suitcase in Bali, has revealed she is pregnant and claims she has been assaulted in custody, her lawyer said.
Heather Mack, 19, who denies any involvement in her mother’s death, also alleges police on the Indonesian resort island have threatened to deprive her of food and water if she does not speak to them, her US-based lawyer Michael Elkin said in a statement.
He added that she was about two months pregnant.
Photo: AFP
However, Bali police rejected the claims, insisting that all detainees were treated well.
The half-naked, battered body of Sheila von Wiese Mack, 62, was discovered on Tuesday last week stuffed in a blood-stained suitcase in the boot of a taxi outside the exclusive St Regis hotel in the upscale Nusa Dua resort area.
Her daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, 21, who had been on holiday with the victim, were arrested a day later after leaving the hotel.
Police say they have strong evidence against the pair and are leaning toward charging them with premeditated murder, which carries a maximum penalty of death in Indonesia.
However, Elkin has insisted claims that Heather Mack was involved in her mother’s death are false.
“Said allegations and reports are not true and will be disproven as the investigation continues or at the conclusion of trial, if formal charges are indeed filed,” he said in a statement.
The daughter and her boyfriend have been named suspects in the case, but under the Indonesian legal system, would only be formally charged in court at the start of a trial.
In a statement sent to AFP late on Saturday, Elkin said his client “has been seriously physically assaulted while in custody,” without giving further details, adding that she has been “pregnant for approximately two months.”
“Heather was told that if she does not speak to the police, she will be deprived of food and water,” the statement went on. “Heather was told that unless her attorney arrives within days, she will be deprived of food and water, and that he will be denied access to meet with her.”
The suspected killers have refused to talk to Indonesian investigators and insisted on having American legal representation.
Elkin said he plans to head to Bali soon. He said that he was not representing Schaefer.
Denpasar Police Chief Djoko Hari Utomo said: “All those detained here are well treated,” and “I do not want to comment on something which doesn’t even exist.”
An FBI agent has traveled to Bali to help in the investigation, police on the resort island said on Saturday.
A doctor also revealed new details of the killing, including that the victim’s neck had been broken.
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
‘DISCRIMINATION’: The US Office of Personnel Management ordered that public DEI-focused Web pages be taken down, while training and contracts were canceled US President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday moved to end affirmative action in federal contracting and directed that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) staff be put on paid leave and eventually be laid off. The moves follow an executive order Trump signed on his first day ordering a sweeping dismantling of the federal government’s diversity and inclusion programs. Trump has called the programs “discrimination” and called to restore “merit-based” hiring. The executive order on affirmative action revokes an order issued by former US president Lyndon Johnson, and curtails DEI programs by federal contractors and grant recipients. It is using one of the
RSS