A judge on Friday accepted a plea agreement in the case of a man who admitted killing a longtime New River pastor, clearing the way for a sentencing hearing in August and removing capital punishment from the possible outcomes. Prosecutors agreed they would not seek the death penalty for Adam Sheafe as part of the deal; Sheafe is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 14.
Composite photo showing the accused (left) alongside a photo of the pastor who was found dead (right); a judge approved a plea deal Friday that removes the death penalty and sentencing is set for Aug. 14.
The victim, 76-year-old Pastor Bill Schonemann, was discovered inside his home in April 2025 in what investigators have described as a crucifixion position. The killing drew significant attention from law enforcement and the community because of the nature of the crime and because investigators later said the suspect had identified other clergy as potential targets.
Schonemann’s son, Randy, followed Friday’s courtroom developments virtually rather than attending in person. He said the family feels a measure of certainty after the hearing and expressed acceptance of the agreed-upon natural life sentence. "This hearing today is probably the first time that we got to experience some certainty of what it was going to look like. We are content with the natural life sentence," Randy told reporters.
The accused during court proceedings — prosecutors say they will not seek the death penalty as part of the plea agreement he reached.
Adam Sheafe is representing himself in the proceedings. He has a history in the case of at times pressing the court to expedite his own punishment; earlier this year he pushed for state officials to skip further proceedings and carry out an execution. The posture of his case shifted after the deaths of his father, Chris Sheafe, and his stepmother in a single-engine plane crash near Marana earlier this year. The couple had been returning from the University of Arizona’s Final Four game when the crash occurred.
Following the deaths of his parents, Sheafe contacted prosecutors by email seeking a plea arrangement that would result in a life sentence in return for pleading guilty to the charges against him. That request was first addressed at a court hearing in April and was continued until Friday morning when the judge formally accepted the agreement.
Throughout the legal process, Sheafe has acknowledged killing Pastor Schonemann and has told investigators that the slaying was tied to his own radical religious beliefs. In a statement recounted in court records, he said, "I drove from there (Phoenix) to Bill’s house, like two in the morning on a Sunday night, and I executed him." Investigators have said Sheafe had compiled a list of other pastors across the country he intended to target; when questioned about Schonemann’s innocence, Sheafe responded, "There’s nothing worse than breaking the first commandment."
Randy Schonemann said he will travel to Arizona to attend the sentencing and plans to speak directly to the man convicted of killing his father. He said that the full emotional weight of the loss has yet to settle in. "I think it’ll hit me more after we get through this part. When all of this falls off our plate I won’t have to focus on it; maybe we’ll have more time to ponder what that is," he said. The sentencing hearing on Aug. 14 will determine the precise terms of Sheafe’s punishment under the plea deal the court approved on Friday.