Lawyers in the U.S. say ‘Bali Suitcase Killing’ convicted murderer Tommy Schaefer is trying to keep the court shut out from updates about his baby’s health.
Schaefer and his girlfriend Heather Mack were convicted for the October 2014 murder of Mack’s mother, Chicago socialite Sheila von Wiese-Mack at the elite St. Regis hotel in Bali. In April 2015, Mack, 20, was sentenced to 10 years, while Schaefer got an 18-year sentence. The couple has kept Stella, their baby daughter, born in March 2015, with them in Bali’s Kerobokan Prison—they can do so until Stella turns two.
Arrangements were made to send biweekly checkup results about baby Stella’s health development over to Peter Schmiedel, the baby’s court-appointed guardian, who would then forward them over to a Chicago court.
But apparently Schaefer suddenly told Schmiedel to stop reporting on Stella’s health to the court.
Lawyers say they wouldn’t speak on why Schaefer would ask for such a thing, but they sure are concerned.
“I have a personal feeling that if there’s one thing everyone can agree upon, it’s concern for the welfare of Stella,” Schmiedel said, as quoted by the Chicago Tribune. “It’s beyond me why anyone would not want it communicated that she’s doing well under bad circumstances.”
Let’s not forget that somehow, the large sum of money that is Mack’s $1.56 million trust fund probably fits into the equation. A big chunk went to Mack’s legal fees during her Bali trial and Mack has been cut off from the money in the mean time, as the court attempts to answer at the request of the fund’s trustee/her uncle, whether she can be blocked from reaping financial benefit from her crime. Baby Stella would be next in line for the money, the Chicago Tribune points out.
However, according to Schmiedel, Mack doesn’t want to cut off the communication about Stella’s health updates, that’s just Schaefer. So it’s likely that Mack’s consent alone is enough, Judge Neil Cook says.
“I really don’t think this child should be used as a pawn,” Cohen said. “(Communication) could only serve to Heather’s benefit.”
What makes this story all the more odd is that one of Mack’s lawyers, Michael Elkin makes it sound like Stella’s in perfect condition (for a prison baby), and that there’s really nothing to hide about her health conditions.
He says Mack and he speak almost every night and “Stella is doing great.”
“The amenities and the guards are coupled with a place full of women who are a good support system,” he said, as quoted by the Chicago Tribune.
