United States | News & Politics

In a chilling development from Arizona, authorities say Adam Christopher Sheafe, 51, admitted in a jailhouse interview to brutally murdering 76‑year‑old Pastor William “Bill” Schonemann in his home. According to law enforcement and media sources, Sheafe described nailing Schonemann’s hands to a wall in his New River home and placing a homemade crown of thorns on the pastor’s head in an act of symbolic crucifixion.

Sheafe, who wears a “YHWH” neck tattoo in Hebrew, told True Crime Arizona that he left Phoenix around 2 a.m. Easter morning to carry out what he called “Operation First Commandment.” He said his motivation was theological — specifically targeting pastors who, in his view, “misrepresent God by preaching the Trinity” by calling Jesus God.

According to investigators, the murder of Pastor Schonemann — found dead in bed on April 28 but later revealed to have been crucified—was the first in a planned nationwide spree aimed at what Sheafe labeled “Christian leaders.” He detailed a plot targeting 14 pastors and priests in ten states, beginning and ending in Phoenix. His next intended victims were two priests at the Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona, where he was apprehended en route following a burglary-related manhunt.