Cook County judge names Heather Mack’s cousin guardian of Mack’s child

Heather Mack, 19, of the US holds her baby in a cell before her sentence demand trial on March 31, 2015 in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. (Agung Parameswara, Getty Images)

A Cook County judge named a maternal cousin of Heather Mack as the guardian of Mack’s 7-year-old daughter Tuesday, offering the girl stability for the first time since she came to the United States with her mother in November 2021.

Judge Stephanie Miller said she decided to put Lisa Hellmann of Colorado in charge of Estelle Schaefer in part to prevent another potentially traumatizing move for the girl to another home.