Adam Sheafe, who has publicly stated that he committed the gruesome murder of New River, Arizona, Pastor Bill Schonemann, is now seeking a life sentence. Sheafe had previously sought the death penalty, and his change of heart reportedly follows the sudden deaths of his father and stepmother, Chris and Jacque Sheafe.
Adam Sheafe Now Seeks Life Sentence for New River Pastor’s Murder
In April 2025, Pastor Bill Schonemann of New River Bible Chapel in New River, Arizona, was found dead in his home with his arms spread and pinned to the wall. Police shared few details initially but said the pastor’s death had been ruled a homicide. Schonemann, 76, is remembered as a “true pastor” who loved the people he shepherded, as well as a devoted husband and father.
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At the time, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said that Schonemann’s death was an isolated incident and that there was “no further risk or safety concerns for the community.” Six weeks after Schonemann’s death, authorities identified a suspect, and shortly after that, the suspect was revealed to be Adam Sheafe.
It is now known that prior to being arrested, Sheafe was moving forward with plans to kill two church leaders in Sedona, Arizona, which is about an hour-and-a-half drive from New River, according to Google Maps.
Sheafe amplified the already shocking and grisly nature of Schonemann’s murder by stating that he targeted Schonemann because Schonemann was a pastor and that Schonemann was merely the first in a killing spree of church leaders Sheafe planned to murder in 10 different states.
Speaking from jail to True Crime correspondent Briana Whitney, Sheafe said he had planned to “execute and crucify” 14 pastors total because there are 13 tribes of Israel and Adam is the son of God, created in God’s image. Sheafe stated that his specific reason for doing so was that “Christian pastors are leading people into a false path by following Jesus.”
After Sheafe killed the “priests,” a term he seemed to apply to any Christian church leader, Sheafe planned to “put one of the tribes of Israel in each of their right ears, which I did with this priest [Schonemann].”
In interviews with reporters, Sheafe, who has “Yahweh” tattooed across his neck in Hebrew, said he targeted Schonemann specifically because the pastor was teaching people that Jesus is the Son of God and equal to God. Schonemann’s arms were pinned to the wall to resemble Jesus’ crucifixion, and Sheafe said he placed a crown of thorns on Schonemann’s head and drove a leather strap through the pastor’s right ear.
