Scháefer entered his not-guilty pleas in U.S. District Court in Chicago on Thursday after Indonesian authorities released him from prison in connection with the 2014 murder of Sheila von Wiese-Mack, a case that became widely known as the Bali “suitcase murder.” According to prosecutors, Schaefer’s girlfriend at the time, Heather Mack, was also implicated in the killing and in efforts afterward, as the matter moved to U.S. federal charges.
The U.S. case comes after Schaefer was sentenced in Indonesia to 18 years in prison for von Wiese-Mack’s death. Indonesian officials released him on Tuesday after he served 11 years, and he was flown back to Chicago to face the federal allegations. At Thursday’s court appearance, the government sought to prosecute the case under U.S. law rather than relying only on the Indonesian conviction and sentence.
Prosecutors said the killing occurred while Schaefer and Mack were on vacation in Bali with von Wiese-Mack and her daughter, and that the fatal assault involved a fruit bowl. Prosecutors also alleged that Mack covered her mother’s mouth while Schaefer pummeled her with the fruit bowl. Authorities in Bali arrested Mack, who was 18 at the time and a few weeks pregnant, and arrested Schaefer the day after the killing.
The case gained its “suitcase murder” label because von Wiese-Mack’s battered body was found crammed in a suitcase in the trunk of a taxi at an upscale resort. More than a decade later, the U.S. allegations focus on criminal conduct prosecutors say continued beyond the Indonesian proceedings, including conspiracy and evidence-related offenses.
U.S. prosecutors also alleged that Mack and Schaefer hoped to gain access to a $1.5 million trust fund connected to the woman who died. Mack later served 7 years of a 10-year prison sentence in Bali. After she returned to the United States, she pleaded guilty to helping kill her mother and stuffing the body in the suitcase, and she was sentenced in Chicago to an additional 26 years in prison in January 2024.
In the U.S. federal case, Schaefer faced three charges. Court records indicate he pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to kill someone in a foreign country, conspiracy to commit murder, and tampering with a victim. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly set the trial for January 2027 and ordered Schaefer to remain in custody.
Schaefer’s attorney, Matthew Madden, did not respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment.