Former Oak Parker Tommy Schaefer, who is awaiting trial on a charge that he conspired with then-girlfriend Heather Mack to kill her mother, Sheila von Weise Mack in Bali in 2012, has asked a judge to release him on bond.
On Sunday Schaefer also obtained either an additional defense attorney or a new one, according to federal court documents.
At his February arraignment, Schaefer waived having a detention hearing, with the understanding he could seek release on bond later. Schaefer, who has a January 11, 2027 trial date, is currently being held in the downtown Metropolitan Correctional Center.
Schaefer is charged in a three-count indictment with one count of conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, one count of conspiracy to commit foreign murder of a U.S. national, and one count of obstruction.
Now 33 years old, he faces up to life in prison in the United States if convicted for conspiracy to commit the murder of 62-year-old Sheila Mack.
Schaefer’s former girlfriend, Heather Mack, who agreed to a plea deal under the same indictment, was sentenced to 26 years in prison in January 2025 for her part in her mother’s brutal killing, which was allegedly planned by the two lovers in order to obtain a $1.5 million trust fund. She is scheduled to be released from prison 18 years from this past March.
Schaefer’s attorney, Michael Baker, is arguing that he is not a flight risk, and “is not charged with a completed act of violence,” or any crime serious enough to preclude his release on bond and electronic monitoring.
The prosecution had not filed a response to Schaefer’s motion as of Monday afternoon but is certain to do so prior to the scheduled Aug. 27 detention hearing.
“Mr. Schaefer should not be treated as though he were charged with a completed crime of violence,” Baker said in his four-page brief. “He is charged with inchoate offenses (i.e., not fully formed or developed) which weighs in favor of release on conditions.”
Baker also told the court that Schaefer suffers from serious medical issues stemming from illnesses he contracted in Indonesia, including Covid, has been detained in the MCC “in extremely difficult conditions,” and is dealing with “Other post infection and related fatigue syndromes.”
“The conditions of Mr. Schaefer’s pretrial detention are not adequate to properly monitor, manage, or treat his condition, and his continued incarceration delays the very evaluation his providers have ordered,” Baker said. “Release from custody, with conditions, would permit Mr. Schaefer to complete that workup and to obtain the medical care and monitoring his condition requires.”
Baker wrote that Schaefer poses no flight risk, especially in light of his purported diminished health and the fact he has no passport. Any perceived risk of flight, Baker told the court, “can be mitigated by the above-referenced conditions, i.e., electronic monitoring, home confinement, or other conditions of pre-trial release, and by way of a third-party custodian.”
A “third party custodian” is a person who vouches for a defendant in federal court, in order to help the defendant gain release on federal pre-trial supervision while the case is pending. Any citizen can act as a third-party custodian if approved by the court, which will require that the person appointed custodian agrees to immediately notify proper authorities if the person violates any of the terms of their pre-trial release.
In other developments, Schaefer apparently has a new lead counsel. Mina S. Zardkoohi, a veteran criminal defense attorney, filed her appearance with the court on Sunday. Zardkoohi’s filing states that she will be Schaefer’s lead attorney and will represent him at trial if one is held. Her filing also indicates she was appointed under the Criminal Justice Act (CJA), a panel of private attorneys available for appointment by the federal court to represent indigent defendants in criminal cases.
There has been no filing with the court regarding any intention by Michael Baker to withdraw as attorney.