DPA/Denpasar

A US citizen accused of murdering his girlfriend’s mother said yesterday he attacked the victim because she had threatened her daughter.
Prosecutors are seeking 18 years in prison for Tommy Schaefer, 21, who along with his fiancee, Heather Mack, is charged with murdering Sheila von Wiese-Mack on the Indonesian resort island of Bali in August.
The body of Wiese-Mack, 62, was found in a suitcase in the trunk of a taxi outside a Bali hotel.
Police said Wiese-Mack died in her hotel room in Bali, where the three had been vacationing, after being hit with a glass ashtray and fruit bowl.
“The action by the defendant was preceded by a series of events, including the fight between Heather Mack and Sheila von Wiese-Mack, who was threatening to kill the baby Heather was having,” Schaefer’s lawyer Iswahyudi Edy told the Denpasar district court.
“Sheila could not accept the fact that Heather was pregnant and attacked her physically, prompting Heather to ask the defendant to come to the room to protect her,” the defence lawyer said. Iswahyudi said Schaefer had no intention to kill the victim.
“We appeal to the panel of judges to pass a fair and careful verdict,” he said, adding that the defendant was still young and had no prior criminal record.
A lawyer for Mack, who is accused of being an accessory to the murder, urged the judges to show leniency.
Prosecutors are seeking a 15-year-jail term for Mack, who gave birth to a baby girl last month.
“The defendant is remorseful and is still saddened by the death of her mother,” lawyer Ary Soenardi said.
“We appeal to the panel of judges to consider her psychological state at the time of the incident when making a decision,” he said.