Chicago man accused of killing girlfriend’s mother in Indonesia pleads not guilty to U.S. charges

A Chicago man convicted in Indonesia of beating his then-girlfriend’s mother to death with a fruit bowl and hiding the body in a suitcase more than a decade ago pleaded not guilty Thursday to federal charges in the U.S.

Tommy Schaefer was sentenced in Indonesia to 18 years in prison in connection with the 2014 murder of Chicago socialite Sheila von Wiese-Mack while on vacation in Bali with the woman and her daughter, Heather Mack.

According to prosecutors, Mack covered her mother’s mouth while Schaefer pummeled her with a fruit bowl. The couple hoped to gain access to a $1.5 million trust fund. Police in Bali arrested Mack, who was 18 at the time and a few weeks pregnant, and Schaefer, then 21, a day after the killing.

The case became known as the Bali "suitcase murder" because von Wiese-Mack’s battered body was discovered crammed in a suitcase in the trunk of a taxi at an upscale resort.

Indonesian officials released Schaefer from prison on Tuesday after he served 11 years and received a number of commendations for good behavior. He was flown back to Chicago to face charges of conspiring to kill to someone in a foreign country, conspiring to commit murder and tampering with a victim.

Schaefer made his initial court appearance on those counts Thursday morning. Court records indicate he pleaded not guilty to all three charges. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly set his trial for January 2027 and ordered him to remain in custody. His attorney, Matthew Madden, didn’t respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Mack served seven years of a 10-year prison sentence in Bali. She was sentenced to another 26 years in prison in Chicago in January 2024 after pleading guilty to helping kill her mother and stuffing the body in the suitcase.