The man accused of committing a murder that triggered an international legal drama spanning a dozen years pleaded not guilty through a lawyer Thursday in his first public appearance in Chicago since the 2014 overseas death of Oak Park's Sheila von Wiese-Mack, the mother of Heather Mack.Tommy Schaefe r, 32, apparently intends to represent himself as he faces federal conspiracy charges tied to von Wiese-Mack’s murder in Indonesia. That’s what defense attorney Matthew Madden told U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly when Schaefer’s arraignment got underway at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.The judge asked Schaefer if he would allow a defense attorney to represent him for the day. Related Tommy Schaefer arrested in Bali killing of Heather Mack’s mother after returning to Chicago “Is there anything negative that would happen to me, judge, if I speak for myself?” Schaefer asked.He then told the judge, “As far as, like, a matter like this, where my life is on the line, I’d rather speak for myself.”But then, Schaefer told the judge he’s “not really sure” how things go in federal court — and Kennelly told him that’s why he should let an attorney represent him. Schaefer wound up letting Madden represent him for now.In addition to entering Schaefer’s plea, Madden told the judge that Schaefer would not fight detention, meaning he will remain in federal custody for now.Kennelly set Schaefer’s trial for Jan. 11, 2027, at the end of an otherwise routine hearing.Schaefer wore an orange jumpsuit in court and walked with a limp. He initially sat down at a defense table but later stood before the judge. He didn’t appear to wear leg or arm shackles during the hearing, but officers placed him in handcuffs when it ended. Sheila von Wiese-MackSun-Times Files Schaefer has known for at least four years that he’d face prosecution in Chicago’s federal court for his alleged role in von Wiese-Mack’s murder. Mack, the mother of Schaefer’s nearly 11-year-old child, is already serving a 26-year sentence in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. That’s in addition to seven years Mack spent imprisoned in Indonesia. Schaefer served more than 11 years there before being released and deported from the country this month, according to media reports.Mack, now 30, likely has about 18 years to serve before she’ll be released in her late 40s. She returned to the United States in 2021 and later admitted to plotting her mother’s death.The couple is accused of planning von Wiese-Mack’s murder to access her $1.5 million estate. The killing triggered tabloid headlines around the world after her body was found stuffed in a suitcase outside the posh St. Regis Bali Resort. Related Heather Mack gets 26 years for murder of mom in Bali after stark testimony from family Authorities documented a long history of violence in the Mack home before the murder — how Mack allegedly bit her mother, shoved her to the ground so hard that von Wiese-Mack broke her arm, and at one point went around their home breaking plates and picture frames during an argument over household chores.Mack broached the idea of killing her mother with Schaefer as early as February 2014, the feds say. Schaefer wrote in a Facebook chat that month, “that b---- heather is crazy” and added “she asked me to find someone to kill her mom for 50k.”The feds say Mack ultimately enlisted Schaefer, secretly booking a $12,000 plane ticket for him so he could rendezvous with her while she vacationed with her mother in Bali in August 2014.Then, over the course of nearly 40 minutes on the morning of Aug. 12, 2014, prosecutors say Mack and Schaefer exchanged tense, excited text messages as they prepared to murder von Wiese-Mack. They allegedly used the phrase “saying hi” as code for the killing, and they referred to each other as Bonnie and Clyde.Soon after, prosecutors say, von Wiese-Mack “was brutally beaten after being taken by surprise as she lay in her hotel bed.” Mack’s plea agreement alleged that Schaefer "repeatedly beat von Wiese in the head and face,” ending her life. ...read more read less