Bali Suitcase Murder: Suspect Barred from Meeting Privately with Lawyers, Attorney Claims

Heather Mack

Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP/Getty

By Johnny Dodd

@Johnny_Dodd

08/28/2014 AT 08:00 AM EDT

The attorney for pregnant Chicago teenager Heather Mack, who was arrested in Bali after the bloody body of her mother was found stuffed in a suitcase at a luxury resort, claims his client hasn't been allowed to meet privately with her lawyers and is "emotionally and mentally drained" after two weeks in an Indonesian jail.

"She has gotten worse in terms of her emotional and mental state," attorney Michael Elkin told the Daily Mail . "She is very scared by what is going on … and told me, 'I don't know how long I can take this.' "

The teen's attorney has asked Indonesian police to allow his client, who has refused to speak with investigators, to be able to meet with her local attorneys in private.

"Local investigators and/or counsel must be allowed access to Heather if police officials genuinely wish cooperation from Heather in a transparent manner," Elkin said in a statement.

Witnesses have reportedly told police that the mother and daughter were arguing over who would pay for their rooms in the lobby of the upscale St. Regis Bali resort shortly before the murder. Mack, 19, and boyfriend Tommy Schaefer, 21, were arrested on Aug. 12, hours after leaving the suitcase containing the body of Sheila von Wiese-Mack, 62, in the trunk of a taxi at their hotel. They told the driver they'd return after paying their bill.

The relationship between the mother and daughter had been contentious for years and police were called to the family home in Oak Park, Illinois, 86 times since 2004 for a number of domestic disputes.

Heather's father, James Mack, died in 2006, leaving behind a will that was "to provide for Heather Mack, my child, and for no other children." In 2011, a probate judge reportedly allowed Sheila to transfer $500,000 – the amount awarded to his estate from a wrongful-death lawsuit – to herself as the sole beneficiary.