Cousin Of Chicago Man In Jail For Bali Murder Gets Home Confinement
By Kate Shepherd in News on Sep 25, 2015 9:11PM
The cousin of the Chicago man currently serving an 18-year prison sentence in Indonesia for the murder of his girlfriend's mother in Bali has been released to home confinement after being charged for his alleged role in the murder, according to the Tribune. Chicago resident Robert Bibbs, 24, was arrested Wednesday on a charge of conspiracy to commit the murder of a U.S. citizen on foreign soil. Bibbs advised his cousin Tommy Schaefer and Schaefer's girlfriend Heather Mack via text on how to kill Mack's mother Sheila von Wiese-Mack and get away with it, according to Indonesian prosecutors. Bibbs is being held at home with his mother acting as his guardian in order to reduce the risk of him committing a crime, the Tribune reported. He is allowed to leave only for medical necessities, court appearances or other reasons approved by the court in advance. In addition his incriminating texts to Schaefer, Bibbs has also written troubling texts unrelated to the Bali murder such as texting a friend it would be easy to rob a family after they had fired her as a nanny, authorities said. He also has been questioned by police regarding an unrelated domestic dispute and accused of dragging a woman out of a house. The text messages offer a shocking look into the allegedly plot to kill Wiese-Mack. Bibbs allegedly advised Mack to kill her with an overdose of medicine in Bali, which Mack tried unsuccessfully, according to the criminal complaint. Court filings also show texts between Mack and Schaefer moments before the murder. "Let me just creep up and whack her," Schaefer texted to Mack right before the killing. Mack replied with "Okay just knock her out." Following the arrest of Mack and Schaefer for the murder last August, Bibbs reportedly started to worry about his role. "I feel sick to my stomach," Bibbs allegedly texted his girlfriend. "I'm numb all I can think it's my fault. I feel dead." The victim's brother William Wiese is glad that Bibbs has been arrested. "The powerful and overwhelming evidence from the text messages quoted in the criminal complaint appear to demonstrate premeditation and a complete and utter lack of remorse from Schafer and Mack," Wiese said in a statement, according to the Tribune. Just hours before the news of Bibbs' arrest got out, Mack gave a bizarre interview about her life in prison with her baby to People Magazine. 
Tommy Schaefer, right, and Heather Mack, arrive for their trial at Denpasar's district court in Bali, Indonesia, Thursday, April 9, 2015. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)