Indonesia deports American after Bali conviction, but U.S. case remains
Indonesia deported an American man on Tuesday after he served 11 years in a Bali prison for what prosecutors described as the premeditated murder of his then-girlfriend’s mother, but the man still faces federal charges in the United States, according to authorities.
The man, Tommy Schaefer, was freed and deported from Bali to the United States after completing his sentence for the 2014 killing of Sheila von Wiese-Mack, a wealthy Chicago socialite, in connection with a luxury vacation on the island. Indonesian immigration officials said Schaefer was sent from Bali International Airport back to the United States.
The case became known as the Bali “suitcase murder” after investigators found von Wiese-Mack’s battered body in a suitcase in the trunk of a taxi at an upscale resort. Prosecutors said Schaefer and his then-partner had been trying to gain access to a $1.5 million trust fund.
According to prosecutors, Heather Mack covered her 62-year-old mother’s mouth while Schaefer bludgeoned her with a fruit bowl during the killing. Bali police arrested Mack, who was nearly 19 at the time and a few weeks pregnant, followed by the arrest of Schaefer the next day.
Indonesian immigration authorities said Schaefer received remissions for good behavior before his deportation. Felucia Sengky Ratna, head of the Bali Regional Office of the Directorate General of Immigration, said Schaefer was deported Tuesday evening.
In the United States, the U.S. Marshals Service confirmed that Schaefer was in custody and arrived in Illinois on Wednesday, and said the FBI handled his movement. Schaefer was scheduled to make an initial court appearance in Chicago on Thursday morning on federal charges that include conspiracy to kill someone in a foreign country, conspiracy to commit murder, and tampering with a victim.
Schaefer’s U.S. defense team has also changed since the Bali case concluded. The AP report said his lawyer, Chicago-based Thomas Durkin, died last year, and court records showed Matthew Madden, also of Chicago, is now representing Schaefer; Madden did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Mack, who was convicted in Bali for her role in helping to kill her mother, served seven years of a 10-year prison sentence there and was deported in October 2021. She later pleaded guilty in Chicago in January 2024 and received a 26-year prison sentence after prosecutors said she helped kill her mother and stuffed the body in the suitcase.
The deportation ends Indonesia’s custody in the Bali case, but it does not resolve the U.S. prosecution tied to the overseas killing, AP reported.