Arizona Man Pleads Guilty in Pastor's Murder, Judge Refuses to Accept Plea

Adam Christopher Sheafe, 51, stood in a Maricopa County courtroom on March 12 and did something few defendants ever attempt: he tried to plead guilty, argued his own execution was overdue, and asked a judge to sentence him to death on the spot. The judge declined.

Sheafe is charged with the April 2025 murder of Pastor William "Bill" Schonemann, 76, of New River Bible Chapel in New River, Arizona. Schonemann was found dead on the evening of April 28, 2025, covered in blood, with his arms outstretched and his hands pinned to a wall in a position authorities described as resembling crucifixion. Prosecutors allege Sheafe also placed a crown of thorns on the victim's head and mutilated the body. Sheriff's officials previously characterized the killing as religiously motivated, and investigators believe it was part of a larger plot involving plans to target multiple Christian leaders. According to Arizona's Family, authorities say Sheafe was planning to kill 13 other religious leaders but was unable to carry out those crimes.

At the March 12 hearing, Sheafe, who is representing himself, first filed a petition to plead no contest. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office objected, and the court did not accept that plea. Sheafe then pivoted to a full guilty plea and asked the judge to impose the death sentence immediately, telling the court the legal system was "dragging this out."

His reasoning was blunt. "It's an undisputable fact that the victim, Pastor Bill Schonemann, was over 70 years old. It's an undisputable fact that the crime was heinous in nature. I intended it to be heinous. So they're two aggravating factors. And I have no mitigating factors. That's why I'm saying, why do we have to drag this on and on and on? Why can't we just go to sentencing? I'm not contesting anything," Sheafe told the court. He added that he wanted the death penalty so everyone "can move on with our lives."

The judge refused that plea as well, ruling that a future hearing must first take place to ensure any guilty plea is entered voluntarily. Sheafe, who says he is mentally sound, had previously confessed before the indictment was even filed. "Before I was even indicted, I gave a full confession to the FBI," he told the court, noting he had also admitted to the crime in interviews with multiple news outlets. In a June 2025 jailhouse interview with Arizona's Family, Sheafe was equally unambiguous: "I drove from there (Phoenix) to Bill's house, like two in the morning on a Sunday night, and I executed him."

Investigators linked Sheafe to the crime through evidence recovered from Schonemann's home, items connected to a burglary that occurred a few days before the killing, and additional items found in Sheafe's backpack and a stolen truck. He faces one count of first-degree murder along with first-degree burglary, second-degree burglary, kidnapping, theft of means of transportation, second-degree criminal trespass, and three counts of attempted first-degree murder.

Sheafe and his attorneys are due back in Maricopa County court on April 24. The central question at that hearing will be whether the judge finds his guilty plea can be accepted as fully voluntary — a threshold that, despite Sheafe's repeated public confessions, the court is legally required to establish before the case can move toward sentencing.