Arrested in a Sedona manhunt after killing a pastor in New River in 2025 

Adam Christopher Sheafe, 50, was sentenced in Maricopa County Superior Court to live out the remainder of his life with an additional 102 years in prison for the April 2025 murder of Pastor Bill Schonemann, 76, of New River, on Friday, Aug. 14. 

Schonemann was found dead in a crucifixion position at his home in the 1900 block of Calvary Road in New River around 7:30 p.m., on Monday, April 28, 2025. Authorities believe he had been killed the day before. 

The Sedona Police Department, working with other law enforcement agencies, arrested Sheafe near Gambel Lane in the Chapel on April 30, 2025, following a multi-hour manhunt. 

Sheafe had been a suspect in a burglary in the Chapel area the day before, but fled police and abandoned a stolen truck at a trailhead on State Route 179. The truck was soon linked to the New River crime, prompting the manhunt.

Police located him and his campsite with a drone arrested him as he fled. 

Coconino County Attorney Ammon Barker [D] previously wrote that the burglary charges against Sheafe “were dismissed without prejudice so that the Maricopa County prosecution could proceed,” since the murder took precedence, and the burglary charges would not result in additional penalties considering the life sentence.

“One family member said Bill was ‘truly a one-of-a-kind man. He served our country in the Navy during Vietnam. He was a devoted husband and a loving father, a business owner, and a mentor. He was a kind and gentle soul,’” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell [R] wrote. 

“I am thankful to the numerous law enforcement agencies who worked tirelessly and with an incredible sense of urgency to capture Sheafe before another attack could occur,” she stated. “We know he had planned a killing spree, and lives were saved because of the swift action of law enforcement and the community.” 

The murder Sheafe confessed to was what he told news media was going to the first in a planned rampage across the nation, targeting over a dozen other Christian leaders. 

Sheafe has taken a more conciliatory tone after he previously was lobbying for the state of Arizona to execute him, and was representing himself. 

Following the death of his father and stepmother, Chris and Jacque Sheafe, in a single-engine plane fire after their craft ran off the runway at the Marana Regional Airport on April 8, 2026, Sheafe accepted a plea deal for a life sentence.