Woman’s body found in suitcase at St Regis hotel in Bali

A US tourist"s battered body has been found in a suitcase at an exclusive Bali hotel and her daughter and daughter"s boyfriend have been arrested over the killing.

Sheila von Wiese Mack"s body was found on Tuesday stuffed into a suitcase in the trunk of a taxi in front of the five-star St Regis hotel in the upscale Nusa Dua resort area of Bali.

The 62-year-old victim was half naked, had several wounds to her head, and appeared to have put up a struggle, a doctor said. She had been staying in the hotel with her daughter, Heather, 19, and her daughter"s boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, 21, local police chief Djoko Hari Utomo told reporters.

A police officer escorts suspect Tommy Schaffer, after an American tourist's battered body was found in a suitcase at an exclusive hotel on Indonesia's resort island of Bali

A police officer escorts suspect Heather, 19, during an investigation at a police office in Nusa Dua on Indonesian resort island of Bali. Picture:AFP/ Sonny Tumbelaka Source: AFP

Mack and her daughter stayed in the hotel together for several days before the boyfriend joined them on Monday, Utomo said. Mack was recorded on CCTV arguing with Schaefer in the hotel lobby the same night, he said.

The next day, the couple were checking out and sent several suitcases down to a taxi, allegedly including the one that contained the victim.

The body was discovered when the couple failed to show up at the waiting taxi, Utomo said. They were seen on CCTV leaving the hotel via a stretch of beach at the back of the property, instead of the main entrance.

Police launched a hunt and the pair were found sleeping at a hotel in the tourist area of Legian, north of Nusa Dua, early Wednesday.

The victim"s body was sent to the main hospital in the Balinese capital Denpasar for an autopsy.