Former Oak Parker Tommy Schaefer was granted a new defense attorney May 5 after his current defense counsel, Matthew J. Madden, said his relationship with Schaefer had become “highly problematic.”
“It has become apparent that there has been a breakdown of communication between Mr. Schaefer and counsel,” Madden told Judge Matthew J. Kennelly in an April 22 filing. “The nature of certain communications between Mr. Schaefer and counsel creates an undeniable conflict of interest…”
Schaefer appeared a bit haggard during his court appearance, standing before U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly, with his uncuffed hands behind his back, guarded by two U.S. Marshalls.
Schaefer is charged with conspiracy related to the murder in Bali of former Oak Parker Sheila von Weise Mack. He faces up to life in prison if convicted, due to her having died as a result of the conspiracy. He had previously told the court during his arraignment in February that he wanted to act as his own defense attorney, which the judge discouraged.
“Is there anything negative that would happen to me, judge, if I speak for myself?” Schaefer asked Kennelly, adding, “I’m not really sure how everything goes.”
Kennelly was able to convince Schaefer to agree to Madden representing him for the time being.
At the May 5 hearing Kennelly said he wanted to make sure Schaefer understood what decisions he may make and may not make under the law as a criminal defendant. Whether or not he stands trial, the judge told Schefer, “is completely up to you.”
On the other hand, Kennelly said, “sometimes a lawyer may be telling a client something (they) don’t want to hear. Sometimes the dispute is over whether certain motions need to be filed.”
“Judge, I think there’s more to it than that,” Madden told Kennelly, who then asked Schaefer if he wanted to allow Madden to withdraw. “Yes, I do,” Schaefer said.
“This is one time only,” Kennelly told Schaefer. “If there’s personality conflicts (in the future) you just sort of have to (work) through them.”
“Do you want to let him withdraw,” the judge asked Schaefer again, to which he replied, “Yes sir.”
Kennelly rescheduled a May 21 status hearing for June 2, to allow Schaefer’s new attorney, Kent R. Carlson, “to catch up to speed.” A criminal trial is currently scheduled for Jan. 11.
Australian journalist Andrea Dixon, who is writing a book on Heather and Sheila Mack, offered some insights into Schaefer’s prior dealings with defense attorneys.
“This is reminiscent of what happened in Bali,” she said. “Heather said Tommy insisted on (Indonesian attorney) Ari Soenardi.” Dixon said Schaefer nixed three potential defense attorneys Mack wanted to hire, due apparently to the recommendation of an influential older inmate who had used Soenardi.
Being treated for health problems
Schaefer also is undergoing treatment for an unspecified heart condition, a fact disclosed in recent court filings. On March 30 Madden filed a motion under seal seeking medical treatment for Schaefer. On April 15, Kennelly recommended that Schaefer “receive an echocardiogram in relation to his previously diagnosed heart condition, and that he be examined by a foot specialist in relation to his prior foot injury.”
Publicly available court filings do not disclose the cause of Schaefer’s heart condition, though both Dixon and other media sources note that he had been quite ill from tuberculosis several years ago.
A November 2021 article in the Sun Newspaper quoted an inmate at Kerobokan prison who said Schaefer “got TB in 2019 and was very sick for about nine months and then, in early 2021, he got Covid.”
“He had TB badly. He was really quite sick,” Dixon said.
Indonesia ranks second in the world for TB cases after India, according to the Global TB Report 2024. The report estimated that there are “1,090,000 TB cases and 125,000 deaths annually” in Indonesia. According to a March 2021 article in the Journal of the American Heart Association, “Cardiac involvement in tuberculosis is frequent and can lead to heart failure, constrictive pericarditis, or death,” and that early detection of those complications is essential for management of the condition.
“An echocardiogram is the first step for diagnosing cardiovascular involvement,” the JAHA article stated. Experts say TB can directly infect the heart muscle (myocardium). Left untreated, they say, tuberculosis may result in several long-term complications, such as permanent lung damage, and “it’s vital for the condition to be treated early to prevent the infection from traveling to other major organs or bodily systems.”
Schaefer’s requests cast an odd new light on comments made in an August 2014 Wednesday Journal article. That article, by reporter Jean Lotus, quotes the mother of a young woman who dated Schaefer for two years, saying that Schaefer “told tall tales, including that he had a heart condition and was perhaps going to die.”