Teen charged with killing mom in Bali sues victim's estate

CHICAGO - A Chicago-area teen accused of killing her mother on the resort island of Bali is suing for access to her mother's estate so that she can pay for her legal defense.

Lawyers for 19-year-old Heather Mack on Thursday asked a Cook County judge to force her uncle William Wiese to release $150,000 from the $1.56 million trust fund so that she can pay legal fees.

Wiese is trustee of his slain sister's estate.

Separate trials began Wednesday in Bali, Indonesia, for Mack and her boyfriend, 21-year-old Tommy Schaefer, on charges of premeditated murder. They could face the death penalty, if convicted.

They were arrested Aug. 13, 2014, a day after the badly beaten body of the 62-year-old Sheila von Wiese-Mack was found inside a suitcase in the trunk of a taxi at the St. Regis Bali Resort.

Prosecutors contend the couple plotted to kill von Wiese-Mack because she disapproved of their relationship. CBS Chicago reports Heather Mack is pregnant.

According to the station, police were called to the home Mack shared with her mother 86 times since January 2004, often to deal with Mack's alleged violence toward her mother.

The station reports Mack denies killing her mother and instead points to her boyfriend Schaefer, who she says confessed to the killing.

In a motion filed Thursday, Mack contends her uncle, Wiese, "has not released one penny" to help pay for her defense. She also alleges that her uncle faces a conflict of interest in the matter since he would become the sole inheritor of the estate if Mack were to be executed.