Chicago Lawyer: Tommy Schaefer Has Not Confessed to Murder

Tommy Schaefer of Oak Park

Thomas Anthony Durkin, the Chicago attorney representing accused killer Tommy Schaefer of Oak Park, told OakPark.com that his client has not confessed to Indonesian police. Schaefer, 21, is believed to have struck and killed Sheila von Weise-Mack in a Bali resort hotel, and then conspired with her daughter, Heather Mack, to hide the body in a suitcase.

“He has not confessed, pure and simple,” Durkin said.

The police chief said Schaefer confessed last week during an interrogation, and later in the week Heather Mack, 19, his pregnant girlfriend, admitted to her role in the crime, news.com.au, an Australian news website, reported. Both Schaefer and Mack face possible execution by firing squad if found guilty.

“He was hurt and offended by the victim’s words in an argument with him. That is the motive for the murder,” police chief Col. Djoko Heru Utomo told the Associated Press. He said their American and Indonesian lawyers were with them during questioning.

Durkin said he has spoken with Schaefer by phone over the last few weeks but has not been in Indonesia. He told OakPark.com Schaefer’s family hired him about three weeks ago. He said he’s not sure why police are telling the press a confession was made.

» Confessions Made in Bali Resort Murder of Oak Park Woman: Police