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ne of the two suspects in the '€œsuitcase murder'€ case, Tommy Schaefer, 21, made his first statement to the police on Friday after remaining tight-lipped for almost a month.

The first interrogation was conducted three days after the suspects'€™ Chicago-based lawyers, Michael Elkin and Vanessa Favia, arrived in Bali to assist the appointed Indonesian lawyers.

Meanwhile, Schaefer'€™s girlfriend Heather Lois Mack, 19, another suspect in the murder and the daughter of the victim, has yet to be interrogated.

The interrogation took place at Denpasar Police station on Friday at around 1 p.m. It was still ongoing at 6 p.m. local time. Schaefer, who was being held at the Bali Police headquarters, was escorted to the Denpasar Police office in the morning and went straight to the interrogation room of the crime section office.

The police have decided to hold the couple in separate locations to prevent communication between the two suspects, who were arrested on Aug. 13. Mack is being detained at the Denpasar Police office, while Schaefer is being detained at Bali Police headquarters.

Both suspects repeatedly refused to speak to the police unless their US lawyer came to the island.

During the interrogation, Schaefer was accompanied by an Indonesian lawyer, Suroso, who was assisted by an interpreter. Two police investigators questioned the suspect.

According to Indonesian law, foreign lawyers may not provide legal assistance in Indonesia.

Thus, Elkin has chosen to appoint local lawyers; Raja Nasution, Lily Lubis and Associates. Raja is handling Mack'€™s case, while Suroso is representing Schaefer.

'€œI am here only to assist Raja with this case. I'€™m only giving advice on the case,'€ Elkin said when visiting Mack at Denpasar police detention center on Friday morning.

Denpasar Police detective Adj. Comr. I Nengah Sadiarta confirmed that the US lawyer did not accompany the suspect during the interrogation. '€œThey can only be accompanied by a lawyer who has legally been given power of attorney by the suspect,'€ Sadiarta said.

Neither the police nor Suroso made a statement regarding the nature of the interrogation.

Raja said that Mack, who is pregnant, would undergo a psychiatric test before her interrogation to ensure that she was fit enough to handle the questioning.

Raja said Mack was taken to police-run Bhayangkara Hospital in Denpasar on Wednesday for a check-up on her pregnancy. He said his client had refused to undergo a psychiatric test in the same hospital.

'€œWe have suggested that the police give permission for Heather to undergo a psychiatric test in Sanglah Hospital,'€ Raja said, without explaining the reason.

The police allege that the couple killed 62-year-old Sheila Von Weise Mack before putting her body into a silver suitcase and leaving it in the trunk of a taxi at the St. Regis Bali Resort in Nusa Dua on Aug 12.

An autopsy by the Sanglah Hospital forensics team found that the victim died due to obstruction of the respiratory tract, which was caused by a broken nose. The autopsy also found a broken bone in the victim'€™s neck and several wounds to the left arm, an indication that the victim had tried to defend herself.