Baby of Heather Mack will not be turned over to child's grandma

FOX 32 NEWS - A Cook County judge has decided that the baby of convicted killers Heather Mack and Tommy Schaefer should not be turned over to the child's grandmother.

“I just don't want to comment. Sorry,” grandmother Kia Walker said.

Walker is the mother of Tommy Schaefer, who along with Heather Mack is serving time in an Indonesian prison  for murdering Mack's mother, Sheila von Weis Mack. The couple was convicted of killing the Chicago woman during a vacation in Bali in 2014 after an argument. Heather had a baby girl shorty after going to prison. The child must leave the prison when she turns two this Friday, so Walker asked to be appointed guardian.

A judge on Tuesday denied her request.

“We feel that this is a U.S. citizen, she's got a U.S. passport, and she deserves to be brought back to the United States,” said Walker’s attorney Mike Goldberg.

Judge Susan Kennedy Sullivan said Schaefer and Mack weren't properly notified about the hearing, and she had no authority to make decisions regarding the child's future.

“People that have been convicted of murdering someone, we don't need their consent,” Goldberg said.

Heather Mack has reportedly indicated that she would like her daughter to be turned over to an Australian couple living near the prison in Bali, so the child will stay nearby.

The child could someday receive a portion of Sheila von Weis Mack's estate.  The grandmother has visited the baby at the prison, where Schaefer is serving 18 years.

The grandmother's attorney says he'll seek an expedited appeal of Tuesday’s ruling, but he's not sure the case will be heard before Friday.