Ivette Leonida Freed from Jail After Being Accused of Murder

A US woman accused of killing her friend in a Bali hotel room has been released from prison after prosecutors decided not to pursue the case. Ivette Leonida Freed from Jail After Being Accused of Murder

Ivette Leonida, originally from Florida but now living in New York City, was being held at Kerobokan Prison since she was arrested last month following the death of 46-year-old Sheila von Weise Mack.

Police alleged that Freed suffocated her friend with a pillow before staging a burglary.

However, the woman was released from Kerobokan prison after prosecutors decided not to pursue the case against her, according to local reports.

Freed’s legal representative Nyoman Wisnu told Fairfax Media it had been determined there was insufficient evidence for the murder case.

Sheila von Weise Mack was found dead in a Bali hotel room last month.

From the start, we have been saying that Ivette is not guilty of murdering Sheila von Weise Mack, Mr Wisnu said. It has been determined by the lawyer handling the case from the state prosecutor’s office that there was no murder. According to the judge, it is true that Sheila vomited while sleeping and suffocated … all of this has been recognised by the police.

From that moment on, they determined this as a natural death.

The US consulate confirmed Freed’s release but said privacy issues prevented them from commenting further.

In a statement to Fairfax Media, Consul General Gina Mascitti said the legal process had been followed and now concluded.

We hope that this will be a positive outcome for all concerned, she said.

The consulate offered their condolences to the family of Ms von Weise Mack following her death.

Ms von Weise Mack’s husband and teenage children were not in Bali when she died, but her father David told News Corp Australia that he believed Freed suffocated his daughter.

He said Mack had been severely bitten during the struggle and found Freed’s fingerprints on a nearby wine bottle, which he believes was used as a weapon.