Tommy Schaefer pleads not guilty to U.S. charges in Bali "suitcase murder" conspiracy

The man convicted in Indonesia in the 2014 Bali "suitcase murder" appeared in a Chicago courtroom on Thursday, where he pleaded not guilty to federal murder conspiracy charges.

Federal authorities arrested Tommy Schaefer this week after he served 11 years in a prison in Indonesia for the premeditated murder of his then-girlfriend's mother on the tourist island.

Schaefer was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the 2014 murder of Sheila von Wiese-Mack, the mother of Heather Mack, during a luxury vacation. Prosecutors said Schaefer and Mack conspired to kill Mack's mother to access trust fund money. They stuffed her body in a suitcase.

Schaefer was deported back to the United States from Bali International Airport this past Tuesday evening after serving his sentence and receiving a number of remissions for good behavior, said Felucia Sengky Ratna, head of the Bali Regional Office of the Directorate General of Immigration, in a statement.

Schaefer was arrested by federal authorities upon returning to the U.S. He appeared in U.S. District Court Chicago on Thursday for arraignment.

In court, a defense attorney told the judge that Schaefer wanted to represent himself. The judge said this was not a good idea.

Schaefer went on to agree to have the defense attorney represent him for now.

A 2017 indictment unsealed in 2021 charged Schaefer and Mack with one count of conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, one count of conspiracy to commit foreign murder of a U.S. national, and one count of obstruction. 

Schaefer's pleaded not guilty to all charges on Thursday, and his trial was set for Jan. 11, 2027.

Mack is already serving a 26-year sentence in the U.S. for her role in the crime.