After murder plea agreement, Coconino County drops burglary charges

Arrested in Sedona in April 2025, Adam Christopher Sheafe pleaded guilty to the murder of 76-year-old Pastor William “Bill” Schonemann, avoiding the death penalty but likely spending the rest of his life behind bars ahead of his sentencing scheduled for Friday, Aug. 14, in Maricopa County Superior Court.

Schonemann was found dead in a crucifixion position at his home in the 1900 block of Calvary Road in New River about 7:30 p.m. on April 28, 2025. Five days later, Sheafe was arrested for the religiously motivated killing near Gambel Lane in the Chapel area of Sedona by the Sedona Police Department and several other law enforcement agencies. Sheafe allegedly also had a list of another 13 pastors across the United States he was going to seek out and kill.

“It’s an undisputable fact that the crime was heinous in nature, I intended it to be heinous,” Sheafe said in the courtroom during his June 5, 2026, plea agreement hearing.

Originally, Sheafe was lobbying for the state of Arizona to execute him, and was representing himself. However, Sheafe changed his mind following the April 8, 2026, death of his father and step-mother Chris and Jacque Sheafe in a single-engine plane fire after their craft ran off the runway at the Marana Regional Airport.

The NEWS previously reported that:

At 9:50 a.m. on April 29, 2025, Sedona officers responded to a to report that she could see a male subject, later identified as Sheafe, walking around in the house through interior cameras.

On the afternoon of April 29, a Sedona police officer spotted the truck Sheafe was driving, prompting a vehicle pursuit southbound on State Route 179, ultimately leaving Sedona city limits, according to then-Sedona Patrol Cmdr. Christopher Dowell.

Sheafe was weaving in traffic around vehicles during the chase and collided with another motorist, causing minor damage to that vehicle, Dowell stated. The Sedona officer terminated the pursuit because of public safety considerations. Sheafe pulled into the Yavapai Point Trailhead and fled into the wilderness.

While the officer was checking the registration on the abandoned vehicle, Sedona police determined it had been stolen out of Cave Creek, Dowell stated, and MCSO detectives informed Sedona police on the morning of April 30 that Sheafe was linked to the Schonemann homicide through evidence at the victim’s home, along with evidence from the Cave Creek burglary and items found in Sheafe’s backpack and the stolen truck, Mitchell stated.

At approximately 6:22 p.m. on April 30, 2025, Sedona officers responded to a reported burglary at a home registered as a short-term rental on Gambel Lane, Dowell stated. Rufous Lane is parallel to and south of Gambel Lane in the Chapel area.

When Sedona officers arrived minutes later, Sheafe had fled, Dowell stated. Sedona police quickly established a perimeter and conducted a large-scale search effort and requested additional officers due to Sheafe’s prior history with law enforcement. SPD’s Quick Response Team, Verde Valley Regional SWAT Team, a Cottonwood Police Department drone operator and two CPD K-9 support units responded. The Cottonwood police drone and officers on the ground located Sheafe’s campsite during the search.

Around 9:20 p.m., Sheafe was located hiding in thick brush by members of the QRT, Dowell stated. He again attempted to flee, leading officers and deputies on a lengthy foot pursuit through rugged terrain in the Coconino National Forest north and east of the residential Chapel area. Sheafe was eventually tracked back into a residential area by drone, where Sedona officers — assisted by a Yavapai County Sheriff’s deputy — used a Taser to safely take him into custody.

Sheafe had several charges such as second-degree burglary in Coconino County and he was initially held at the Coconino County Detention Center in Flagstaff prior to his extradition to Maricopa County.

“The Coconino County charges against Mr. Sheafe were dismissed without prejudice so that the Maricopa County prosecution could proceed,” Coconino County Attorney Ammon Barker [D] wrote. “The Maricopa County case took precedence because it involved the homicide prosecution.”

Barker added that he anticipates Sheafe will be in prison for the remainder of his life and Coconino County pursuing those charges would not result in additional penalties.

“Because the dismissal was without prejudice, the charges could technically be refiled if circumstances were to change,” Barker wrote. “At this time, however, the Coconino County Attorney’s Office does not anticipate any further prosecution.”

Schonemann was a Navy veteran who served in Vietnam. Schonemann co-founded the New River Bible Chapel in 2009 in New River, an unincorporated community in the Phoenix metro area surrounded by Cave Creek, Phoenix and Anthem.

According to news reporting from Phoenix-area news outlets, Schonemann was a popular figure in the community known as “Pastor Bill” who loved to work on cars and planes and regularly attended car shows and airshows. He was a regular at the weekly Red Devil’s Hot Rod Club in West Phoenix. Schonemann’s wife Kathy Schonemann died in 2022.