A pregnant American teen and her boyfriend are accused of murdering her mother while on vacation in Bali. Now, if convicted she could find herself executed by a firing squad. INSIDE EDITION has the story.
A pregnant American heiress and her boyfriend were handcuffed together, and are being charged with brutally murdering her mom. They both face death by firing squad if convicted.
Nineteen-year-old Heather Mack's prominent baby bump was visible as she entered the trial court on the island paradise of Bali.
She is expecting a baby girl in about six weeks.
It's the first time she has been seen since her arrest in August, when no one knew her secret that she was pregnant.
She spoke only briefly in court, to give her hometown in America: "Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A."
Heather and her boyfriend Tommy Schaefer, the baby's father, are accused of beating to death her wealthy mom, Chicago socialite Shiela von Wiese.
They allegedly stuffed her battered body in a blood-stained suitcase.
They were on vacation together at a luxury resort hotel where suites cost up to $1,400 a night.
HLN host Nancy Grace is following the case. She told INSIDE EDITION, "The mother's body was covered with defensive wounds where she tried to fend off the attack. She was beaten to death, according to police, with a fruit bowl."
Heather Mack says she plans to call her baby daughter "Stella," and hopes to be allowed to keep her with her in prison until she's two years old -the maximum age allowed under Indonesian law.
Twenty-one year old Tommy Schaefer, his head shaved behind bars, wept in court at the start of the trial.
It's a very different look from a video he posted online last year, when he was trying to kick-start a career as a rapper.
At the end of the hearing, he stared out of a cell as Heather mouthed the words, 'love you' from across a courtyard.
