The Chicago teen accused of murdering her mom and stuffing her body in a suitcase is not cooperating with cops — and was even laughing and joking while being questioned, authorities said.
Heather Mack, 19, is far from remorseful for the gruesome murder she is accused of orchestrating with her boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, 21, while vacationing at a resort hotel in Bali.
The couple was arrested after they allegedly loaded a suitcase containing the battered body of Mack’s mother, Sheila von Wiese Mack, 62, in a taxi and fled to another resort. Cops said the mother had been hit with a blunt object, and there were wounds to her forehead and signs of a struggle.
Neither Mack nor Schaefer has been charged but police have detained them as suspects.
Von Wiese Mack furiously argued with her daughter’s boyfriend over a hotel bill, as she was seen on video exchanging strong words with the 21-year-old.
Mack was apparently outraged that the youngsters expected her to pay their way at the $650-a-night St. Regis Bali resort, and was seen by staff telling them, “I’ve paid for his flight here, so the two of you should pay for the hotel,” according to the Daily Mail.
Mack and Schaefer allegedly hauled the luggage with other bags to a taxi parked at the St. Regis Bali on Tuesday and then ran off. After waiting two hours, the driver got suspicious, opened the luggage and discovered the body before alerting police.
“After they put in the suitcase, they went back into the lobby,” the cab driver, Ketut Wirjana, said of the young couple. “They told me to wait. But after waiting almost two hours, they hadn’t appeared,” he said.
Mack was laughing and joking as she was led from one room to another at the police lockup on Thursday, smiling and saying “Britney Spears” at one point, and later, “Oh my God” as she laughed, apparently at the media attention, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald.
An autopsy revealed the mother — an academic from Chicago who once worked for Ted Kennedy — had been “hit by a blunt object,” the Chicago Tribune reported.
“There were signs of struggle by the victim, as there were bruises on her arms and some fingers were broken,” said Ida Bagus Putu Alit, a forensics expert.
Police believe that Schaefer may have killed his girlfriend’s mother following a fight Monday.
The mother and daughter, who had once lived together in Oak Park, Ill., had a volatile relationship, according to neighbors.
Cops visited their home 86 times since January 2004, for reports of domestic trouble, theft and missing persons, police said. The most recent call was in June 2013.
Heather Mack and Schaefer were shacking up at a hotel in Kuta, about six miles from the St. Regis, when cops came to arrest them.
The couple made up an outrageous cover story, telling police they escaped after an armed gang took them captive and killed Sheila Mack, CNN reported.
But surveillance footage revealed that the couple removed the suitcase from the room Sheila Mack was sharing with her daughter, cops said.