The half-naked body of an American tourist was found stuffed in a suitcase at a posh five-star resort in Indonesia, officials said Wednesday. Police identified the corpse as 62-year-old Chicagoan Sheila Von Weise Mack – and said the victim’s teenage daughter and daughter’s boyfriend had been arrested in connection with the death. The body was found in a suitcase in the back of a parked taxi outside the exclusive St. Regis Bali resort in Nusa Dua, where rooms start at $500 but go for up to $8,000 a night.
Mack had been staying the hotel – which bills itself as a “tropical paradise” complete with a swimmable saltwater lagoon, private beach and 24-hour butler service - with her 19-year-old daughter, Heather Lois, and Lois's 21-year-old boyfriend, Tommy Schaffer. Local Police Chief Djoko Hari Utomo - who confirmed the arrests - told reporters that the hotel’s security footage had captured Schaffer arguing with the victim in the lobby of the luxury hotel. Ida Bagus Putu Alit, a forensic expert at the hospital that conducted Mack's autopsy, told Reuters the victim was "hit by a blunt object," with blows to the face and head. "There were signs of a struggle," Alit said. "There were bruises on her arms and some fingers were broken." The U.S. Embassy in Jakarta said it was aware of the death and arrests, and the St. Regis said it was assisting authorities with the investigation into the “terrible tragedy.”
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- Alexander Smith
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.