EXCLUSIVE: 'I'm just having fun' - Attention-seeking 'body in suitcase' killer Heather Mack is filmed partying in full make-up in front of adoring male inmates in Bali jail

  • The 20-year-old Chicago woman and her boyfriend are in prison for killing her mother last August and stuffing her body into a suitcase
  • Mack was photographed dancing in a jail courtyard on Monday for Indonesian Independence Day celebrations 
  • She was wearing bright lipstick and eyeshadow and had hair curled
  • A fellow inmate said Mack 'sees herself as a star' and 'loves the attention'
  • Mack told MailOnline she wants to be out before her 10-year sentence is up

Shrieks of laughter filled the air as 'body in the suitcase' killer Heather Mack danced away in the sunshine inside Bali's Kerobokan prison today for Indonesia's Independence Day celebrations.

The 20-year-old mom from Chicago was allowed to strip off her prisoner's uniform and wear a casual top and white pants so she could join in the festivities, a rare once-a-year occasion.

She was also plastered in make-up - including bright lipstick and eyeshadow - and had her hair curled.  

Mack, who has been enjoying her notoriety since being sentenced to 10 years jail earlier this year for the murder of her 62-year-old mother, did not hold back when the chance came to party the hours away to the music of a live band.

She laughed and joked with her fellow inmates as they walked hand-in-hand towards the performance area - and told MailOnline how she was having a 'great' time.

'Yes, I'm having fun,' she admitted candidly after a dance with one of the guards in the prison courtyard, 'I wish we could do this every day.'

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Letting loose: 'Body in the suitcase' killer Heather Mack (pictured) sang and danced in Indonesian prison as part of the country's Independence Day celebrations

Letting loose: 'Body in the suitcase' killer Heather Mack (pictured) sang and danced in Indonesian prison as part of the country's Independence Day celebrations

Happy day: Mack was clearly relaxed as she told MailOnline how she was having a 'great time' at the party

Happy day: Mack was clearly relaxed as she told MailOnline how she was having a 'great time' at the party

Attention: The male prisoners, who watched the dance intently, have made no secret about their attraction to Mack and often whistle at her when she visits her boyfriend

Attention: The male prisoners, who watched the dance intently, have made no secret about their attraction to Mack and often whistle at her when she visits her boyfriend

Murderer: Mack (right), 20, killed her socialite mother in Bali last August and stuffed her body into a suitcase

Murderer: Mack (right), 20, killed her socialite mother in Bali last August and stuffed her body into a suitcase

Partner in crime: Mack and her boyfriend Tommy Schaefer (pictured with their baby Stella) were found guilty of murdering von Wiese-Mack

Partner in crime: Mack and her boyfriend Tommy Schaefer (pictured with their baby Stella) were found guilty of murdering her 62-year-old mother Sheila von Wiese-Mack

Mack gave birth to daughter Stella five months ago in a prison hospital, while she was still on trial for helping boyfriend Tommy Schaefer murder her mother Sheila von Wiese-Mack in August 2014.

The young mother, who then helped her boyfriend to stuff her mother's corpse into a suitcase, was in great spirits and grabbed every opportunity to dance today.

Schaefer, the baby's father, kept his distance from the main festivities, holding the baby to his chest as he watched his girlfriend enjoying herself.

'You know where he is?' Mack asked when her partner and baby came up in conversation. 

Looking completely at ease in the situation, she turned her gaze towards them and said Schaefer did not want to dance because he was 'too shy'.

Mack will be forced by Indonesian law to hand baby Stella over when she is two - in around 19 months' time.

When questioned about it, she said: 'I'm not ready... I don't know how I'll ever be ready.'

At first Heather started the day by dancing with 15 other women prisoners, including murderers and drug dealers, under the red and white Indonesian flag. But when a grinning guard asked her for a dance, she readily accepted. 

Spotlight: 'She sees herself as a star... She really loves all the attention,' one inmate said of  Mack (far left)

Spotlight: 'She sees herself as a star... She really loves all the attention,' one inmate said of Heather Mack (pictured)

Notorious: Mack (pictured) did not know the whereabouts of 59-year-old British grandmother Lindsay Sandiford, who was sentenced to death for attempting to smuggle 10.6lb of cocaine through Bali airport

Notorious: Mack (pictured) did not know the whereabouts of 59-year-old British grandmother Lindsay Sandiford, who was sentenced to death for attempting to smuggle 10.6lb of cocaine through Bali airport

Rare freedom: Mack (pictured in a white top), who has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for murdering her mother, was seen holding hands and dancing with fellow female inmates and guards

Rare freedom: Mack (pictured), who has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for murdering her mother, was seen holding hands and dancing with fellow female inmates and guards

Routine: She and 14 other prisoners (pictured) performed a choreographed dance in front of hundreds of male inmates and prison guards

Routine: She and 14 other prisoners (pictured) performed a choreographed dance in front of hundreds of male inmates and prison guards

Enjoying the occassion: Neatly-dressed prison officers enjoy the traditional Indonesian dance performed by Heather Mack and her fellow inmates

Enjoying the occassion: Neatly-dressed prison officers enjoy the traditional Indonesian dance performed by Heather Mack and her fellow inmates

Heather Mack and her 22-year-old boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, were convicted of bludgeoning Sheila von Wiese-Mack to death (Mack is pictured being led from a court in Denpasar, on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on January 14)

Sentenced: American citizen Heather Mack is led from a court in Denpasar, on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on January 14, 2015

Protective: Mack hopes to keep her baby Stella (both pictured) with her until she is two, when she is legally required to give the infant up to a carer

Protective: Mack hopes to keep her baby Stella (both pictured) with her until she is two, when she is legally required to give the baby up to a carer

Connected: Heather Mack, from Chicago, stands inside a cell as her relative holds her baby before her trial at Denpasar's district court in Bali

Connected: Heather Mack, from Chicago, stands inside a cell as her relative holds her baby before her trial at Denpasar's district court in Bali

Then her attention turned to the male prisoners, who have made no secret about their attraction to her, crowding around her in recent weeks when she has been allowed to visit the men's quarters so that Schaefer can hold his daughter. 

The prisoners have reached out to touch her during those 'family visits' and have whistled at her and asked for a kiss.

Today the admiring looks were once again focused on her as she took advantage of every minute to have fun. 

'She sees herself as a star,' said one of the women inmates. 'She really loves all the attention.'

There was no sign of 59-year-old grandmother Lindsay Sandiford, from Redcar, Teesside, North Yorkshire, who has been sentenced to death for attempting to smuggle 10.6lb of cocaine through Bali airport in May 2012.

Women prisoners said she had decided to remain in her cell, where she sits in depression as she hopes for a legal breakthrough that will save her from the firing squad.

But if she had hoped for good news from Jakarta on the day when traditionally a select number of prisoners are given a reprieve by the President, it did not come for Mrs Sandiford.

Asked if she had spoken to the British woman recently, Heather said: 'Why would I have spoken to her? She's on death row. I'm not in her area.' 

Centre of attention: Mack accepted when a grinning guard asked for a dance as she celebrated a rare afternoon of freedom with her fellow prisoners 

Centre of attention: Mack accepted when a grinning guard asked for a dance as she celebrated a rare afternoon of freedom with her fellow prisoners 

Party time: Bali's Kerobokan prison pictured where murderer Heather Mack and fellow prisoners let loose to celebrate Indonesia's Independence Day today

Party time: Bali's Kerobokan prison pictured where murderer Heather Mack and fellow prisoners let loose to celebrate Indonesia's Independence Day today

Parents: Stella's father Tommy Schaefer, pictured with Mack, is serving 18 years for his part in the killing

Argument; Tommy Schaefer, who was jailed with Mack (both pictured), claims he is entitled to a share of the £990,000 trust fund set up by her mother before she died

Murdered: The body of Sheila von Wiese-Mack (left) was found inside a suitcase (right) after her murder
Murdered: The body of Sheila von Wiese-Mack (left) was found inside a suitcase (right) after her murder

Murdered: The body of Sheila von Wiese-Mack (left) was found inside a suitcase (right) after her murder

She added: 'Besides, I'm hoping to be out of here in less than the 10 years I've received. I've lost one appeal but I'm going to another court with a second appeal for a lower sentence.'

Even if she succeeds in getting a reduction in her sentence she is unlikely to be released by the time daughter Stella is two years old - when under Indonesian law she has to hand the baby out to carers or for adoption.

'I haven't made a final decision yet,' she revealed, 'Yes, I have been thinking of giving Stella over to an Australian family to care for but nothing is final. It may be somebody else. I haven't decided.'

She has been entrusting the baby to an Australian woman - who has only given her name as Osha - who takes Stella to a hospital once a month for a check-up.

Schaefer has also been receiving medical attention in recent weeks, prison sources revealed - being given methadone for a previously unreported drug habit.

With the dancing and the singing by local entertainers finally over today, the prisoners were ordered back to their cells.

For Heather Mack and Tommy Schaefer, whose crime made headlines around the world, the brief moment of 'freedom' was over and it was back to the confines of their cells. 

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