Chicago man Robert Ryan Justin Bibbs, 26, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring in the 2014 murder of Sheila A. Von Wiese, 62, at the St. Regis Bali resort. Bibbs, also known as “Ryan Bibbs,” admitted to advising his cousin, Tommy Schaefer, and Schaefer’s girlfriend, Heather Mack, on how to kill Mack’s mother and cover their tracks.
According to the plea agreement, Bibbs knew Schaefer and Mack planned to kill Von Wiese so Schaefer could access her estate through Mack and share the inheritance with him. The plot unfolded on August 12, 2014, after Schaefer arrived at the resort. Text messages show Mack first attempted to kill her mother but failed—then Schaefer relayed the news to Bibbs in the U.S.
Bibbs responded with chilling precision, suggesting alternative methods including drowning. Later that morning, after Schaefer texted, “She wants me to right now… While she snoozing,” Bibbs replied: “Go sit on her face wit a pillow then.” The message, prosecutors say, was a direct instruction to suffocate Von Wiese. Bibbs urged caution, telling Schaefer to be smart and clean in carrying out the killing.
Minutes later, Schaefer entered the shared hotel room and bludgeoned Von Wiese to death. He and Mack then stuffed her body into a suitcase, loaded it into a waiting taxicab, and fled the luxury resort. Indonesian authorities arrested both the following day. Bibbs remained at large until U.S. federal agents arrested him on September 23, 2015.
In 2015, an Indonesian court convicted Schaefer and Mack. Schaefer received 18 years in prison; Mack was sentenced to ten. Bibbs now faces up to 20 years in U.S. federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit the foreign murder of a U.S. national. The agreement caps the maximum sentence, but U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer retains discretion in sentencing, scheduled for March 23, 2017, at 12:00 p.m.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bolling Haxall, with trial attorneys Hope Olds and Christine Duey from the Justice Department’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section. The investigation was led by the FBI’s Chicago Office, under Special Agent-in-Charge Michael J. Anderson. U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Fardon and Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell announced the guilty plea, underscoring the reach of American law in overseas killings of U.S. citizens.
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Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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