When Lambs Become Wolves: The Chilling Case of Sheila Von Wiese-mack (Illinois Lives) - Softcover

Freelain, Rasul T.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0809339943 ISBN 13: 9780809339945

Verlag: Southern Illinois University Press, 2026

Inhaltsangabe

A compelling true crime memoir about a high-profile criminal case in Chicagoland and Indonesia that made headlines worldwide, this book offers a personal, heartfelt glimpse of child to parent violence and abuse (CPVA) and its capability for incredible destruction. With keen insight and empathy the author, a police officer who tried to change the trajectory of domestic violence in a well-known family, tells the tragic story of the murder of Sheila von Wiese-Mack at the hands of her daughter, Heather Mack.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Sgt. Rasul T. Freelain (Ret.) served twenty years with the Oak Park Police Department in Illinois. He is certified by CIT (Crisis Intervention Team) International as a coordinator and teaches for the Illinois CIT Training Unit. Currently he is working to bring increased awareness to the problem of child-to-parent violence and abuse (CPVA).

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Chapter 1. “NO!”

“Smoke and flames filled the air as civil unrest continued for a third straight night in St. Louis following the controversial shooting of an unarmed Black man in Ferguson, Missouri. According to the Associated Press, the Missouri State Highway Patrol has assumed police duties in the area following several days of protests. The change comes amid reports of officers with armored vehicles and military-style weapons confronting unarmed protestors...Meanwhile, a former Oak Park resident identified as Sheila von Wiese – widow of famed jazz composer James L. Mack – has been found murdered…”

A jolt of adrenaline rushed through me as I was immediately drawn to the news story playing through the car’s AM radio.

“According to reports, she was murdered in an exclusive resort in Bali, Indonesia. Government officials say two suspects...”

That can’t be right, I told myself as I quickly pulled over and threw the gear shifter into park.

“The first suspect is the victim’s daughter, Heather Mack...”

I struggled to wrap my brain around what I was hearing. It all seemed nonsensical, like mismatched puzzle pieces.

“The second is the daughter’s 21-year-old boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer...”

“Tommy?” I asked in nearly a shriek as I began vigorously shaking my head.

“Both are in custody for their suspected roles in the killing of von Wiese,” the story continued.

The throbbing in the pit of my stomach intensified as the dark news shifted from tragic to unthinkable.

“Disturbing details have emerged...the wealthy socialite was reportedly beaten to death and stuffed into a suitcase before being abandoned in the trunk of a taxi at the St. Regis Hotel in Nusa Dua. According to reports obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, von Wiese and her daughter had a long and tumultuous history of domestic problems in the Chicago suburb where they once lived. A spokesperson for the Village has indicated that police were repeatedly contacted for domestic problems and other related crimes in a ten-year period. This is a developing story. In other news, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel...”

I let out an audible gasp as the radio blurred into background noise.

Sitting alone, I began talking to myself as I tried deciphering the madness I had just heard.

“Sheila is...?” I started, unable to finish my sentence.

“That’s crazy. She’s...” I tried again as my words again trailed off.

I paused momentarily before continuing.

“A suitcase? A damned suitcase?”  I questioned indignantly.

My family had recently returned from a vacation in Missouri the morning after protests began in Ferguson. My wife and I had also lived in St. Louis more than a decade earlier, and we were deeply troubled by published accounts of the recent killing of Michael Brown.

But the breaking story of Sheila’s bizarre murder hit me like a brick-hard uppercut.

I recalled handling more than a few of the dozens of Mack family domestic violence cases as cold sweat began to soak through the “Freelain/Hewitt Family Reunion 2014” t-shirt I was wearing.

“Damn! She was RIGHT!” I started to say as I was suddenly overcome with outrage and denial.

“NO! NO! NO! NO!” I yelled, slamming my palms against the steering wheel before hitting the radio’s off button.

After crumpling into my seat, I sat silently and alone for over a minute.

When I eventually regained my composure, I looked around and met my own bloodshot eyes in the rearview mirror. I quickly turned from their accusatory gaze.

A trickle of text messages told me that some fellow officers had also learned the shocking news. Then, a quick internet search on my phone confirmed the reality I was not ready to accept. Sheila was dead.

Heather did this! I initially thought.

Heather and... Tommy? I was afraid to ask.

It all seemed unfathomable.

Except that the victim had predicted it.

Since first meeting the Macks more than three years earlier, I had tried virtually everything within my power as a police officer to stop the teenager from hurting her mother. Yet, as the girl’s threats, aggression, and violence spiked over time, it felt like trying to stop a powerful rip current from dragging a helpless swimmer from shore. Despite my natural optimism, I long worried that fellow officers and I had been relegated to the position of armed scribes and second-hand witnesses who documented―but were unable to interrupt―Heather’s pattern of domestic violence.

It was a dangerous cycle that repeated until the bitter end.

Sheila had hoped love would save Heather.

Sadly, it alone couldn’t save either of them.

Objectively, I knew Sheila’s death was not my fault.

Nor was it the fault of other professionals.

Nor that of the victim.

The blame rested squarely at the feet of the killers who took her life.

But the knot in my stomach pointed to questions with no easy answers.

What had triggered the victim’s self-fulfilling prophecy?

When did Heather first decide to kill her mother?

Where did Tommy fit into the tragedy?

Why had Sheila become so vulnerable?

How might professionals have handled things differently?

With a heavy heart, I thought back to the advice and warnings I shared with Sheila, the admonishments and second chances I gave Heather as a detective and arresting officer, and the encouragement and counsel I offered Tommy when he was a teenager.And I reflected on the day a kind and dignified widow first came to the Oak Park Police Station and asked for my help.

[end of excerpt]

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Southern Illinois University Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2026
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0809339943
• ISBN 13: 9780809339945
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 264
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Mare Nostrum Group B.V.; gpsr@mare-nostrum.co.uk; ; Doelen 72; Breda; 4831 GR; Niederlande