{"id":16,"date":"2025-05-07T13:47:51","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T17:47:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inhishands\/?p=16"},"modified":"2025-06-22T17:59:39","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T21:59:39","slug":"new-river-pastors-death-ruled-a-homicide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inhishands\/2025\/05\/new-river-pastors-death-ruled-a-homicide\/","title":{"rendered":"New River Pastor\u2019s Death Revealed to Be Religiously Motivated Homicide"},"content":{"rendered":"
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William Schonemann \/ Facebook | Inset: FOX 10 Phoenix \/ YouTube<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A local New River pastor\u2019s tragic death has officially been ruled a homicide, and now authorities believe it was religiously motivated.<\/p>\n

The body of 76-year-old William \u201cBill\u201d Schonemann, pastor of New River Bible Church, was found in his home on April 28 under disturbing circumstances. Known affectionately as \u201cPastor Bill\u201d to his neighbors, Schonemann was widely regarded as a kind, faithful, and generous man who lived out what he preached. But behind the community\u2019s grief now lies a chilling revelation: the man suspected of killing him, 49-year-old Adam Christopher Sheafe, may have been driven by religious motives.<\/p>\n

Schonemann\u2019s body was discovered with what police describe as \u201csignificant injuries.\u201d According to early reports, his arms were spread out on his bed, and his hands were pinned to the wall\u2014details that shocked residents and deeply unsettled investigators. \u201cIt\u2019s just something that we are not used to dealing with here,\u201d said neighbor Mike Anders, who lived next to Pastor Bill for 12 years. \u201cEverybody is just\u2014until we know what\u2019s going on\u2014we don\u2019t know if it was a family member or who could do this to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zane Sharpe, a former church member, shared the community\u2019s heartbreak: \u201cMy heart just dropped. It dropped to my core. Like what a sweet guy, a pastor too. Everyone holds pastors in high esteem, but this guy truly lived what he spoke.\u201d<\/p>\n

After weeks of uncertainty, the Maricopa County Sheriff\u2019s Office named Adam Sheafe as the prime suspect. Sheafe is an ex-convict with a troubling criminal past, including domestic violence and fraud, and was released early from prison in 2023. According to Capt. David Lee of the MCSO major crimes division, investigators now believe Sheafe\u2019s actions were religiously driven and part of a broader plan involving additional potential victims.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe information we have has indicated that the motive was religious in nature, and that there were a number of future victims planned,\u201d Lee said at a press conference. \u201cSome of those in Arizona\u2014and he had taken action in furtherance of those additional crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Authorities say Sheafe had been seen acting suspiciously around New River Bible Church in the days before the murder. Though law enforcement was unable to apprehend him during an initial burglary investigation, they later connected him to the crime. He was finally arrested on April 30 in Sedona following a series of attempted burglaries, a high-speed chase, and a foot pursuit through the Coconino National Forest. At the time of his arrest, he reportedly had the Hebrew name of God\u2014\u201c\u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05d4\u201d or \u201cYHWH\u201d\u2014tattooed on his neck.<\/p>\n

Pastor Bill\u2019s son, Randy Schonemann, has been leaning on the love and support of friends, family, and the wider faith community. \u201cWe\u2019ve gotten a ton of support from everybody and people willing to do incredible things to help us,\u201d he said. Reflecting on his father\u2019s legacy, Randy added, \u201cHe was supposed to do a memorial service today for a 99-year-old lady in the congregation that passed away. And I’m sure she\u2019s up there giving him a hard time about how she waited 99 years to find the right guy to do her memorial, and he skipped out on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

William Schonemann was a Vietnam veteran who came to faith after the war. He and his wife were married for nearly 49 years before she passed away in 2022. He was not only beloved in New River, but also in his son\u2019s Montana community, where he regularly visited and served.<\/p>\n

Despite the horrifying details, police believe this was an isolated incident. \u201cAt this time we have information that suggests Sheafe acted alone, and there is no further danger to the community,\u201d said Capt. Lee. Sgt. Joaquin Enriquez added, \u201cOur thoughts are with Mr. Schonemann\u2019s loved ones as we continue our efforts to bring justice in this case.\u201d<\/p>\n

As investigators continue to piece together the full story, one thing remains clear: Pastor Bill\u2019s life left a lasting impact on all who knew him\u2014and his faith will be remembered far longer than the evil that took him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A local New River pastor\u2019s tragic death has officially been ruled a homicide, and now authorities believe it was religiously motivated. The body of 76-year-old William \u201cBill\u201d Schonemann, pastor of New River Bible Church, was found in his home on April 28 under disturbing circumstances. Known affectionately as \u201cPastor Bill\u201d to his neighbors, Schonemann was…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":28,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nNew River Pastor\u2019s Death Revealed to Be Religiously Motivated Homicide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"New River pastor William \u201cBill\u201d Schonemann found dead in suspected homicide; community mourns loss of beloved faith leader\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inhishands\/2025\/05\/new-river-pastors-death-ruled-a-homicide\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New River Pastor\u2019s Death Revealed to Be Religiously Motivated Homicide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New River pastor William \u201cBill\u201d Schonemann found dead in suspected homicide; 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