{"id":2582416,"date":"2026-03-21T14:33:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T18:33:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/man-who-allegedly-crucified-pastor-in-brazen-crime-names-the-penalty-he-wants\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T14:34:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T18:34:22","slug":"man-who-allegedly-crucified-pastor-in-brazen-crime-names-the-penalty-he-wants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/man-who-allegedly-crucified-pastor-in-brazen-crime-names-the-penalty-he-wants\/","title":{"rendered":"Man Who Allegedly Crucified Pastor in Brazen Crime Names the Penalty He Wants"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fman-who-allegedly-crucified-pastor-in-brazen-crime-names-the-penalty-he-wants%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2582416&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Adam Christopher sheafe is accused of murdering 76-year-old Pastor William \u201cBill\u201d Schonemann of New River Bible Chapel, Arizona, in April 2025 by crucifying him and placing a crown of thorns on his head. In court, Sheafe reportedly said he wanted the murder to be shocking and asked that the court proceed to determine capital punishment for him, stating there are no mitigating factors and two aggravating factors: the victim was over 70 and the crime was heinous. He also asserted that he intended for the act to be heinous.<\/p>\n<p>Sheafe admitted to giving a full confession to the FBI and conducting four interviews with different <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrat-big-tech-and-media-actions-to-steal-the-election-heres-whats-going-on-in-pennsylvania-and-michigan\/\" title=\"Democrat, Big Tech and Media Actions to Steal the Election \u2013 Here\u2019s What\u2019s Going on in Pennsylvania and Michigan\">media outlets<\/a> after the alleged murder, and he urged a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-president-trump-to-pardon-gen-michael-flynn-per-report\/\" title=\"BREAKING: President Trump to Pardon Gen. Michael Flynn, Per Report\">speedy trial<\/a>. He expressed a desire for closure for the victim\u2019s families and for his own family, saying they want to move on with their lives. The pastor Schonemann, 76, was found in his home positioned with arms outstretched, described as similar to a crucifixion. reports note that Sheafe allegedly planned to murder 14 Christian leaders across the contry and that his mugshot shows him grinning and bearing a tattoo of the Hebrew word for \u201cYahweh\u201d on his neck. Officials indicate he has said he does not have mental health problems and knows his actions were wrong.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Adam Christopher Sheafe allegedly murdered an Arizona pastor in April 2025 by crucifying him &mdash; even putting a crown of thorns on his head.<\/p>\n<p>Now, apparently frustrated with the slowness of the legal process, he&rsquo;s requesting the death penalty for himself.<\/p>\n<p>In comments made during court proceedings on March 12, Sheafe admitted that he had wanted the murder to be shocking, and asked if the court could simply move along to deciding on capital punishment, per a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox10phoenix.com\/news\/new-river-pastor-murder-suspect-adam-sheafe-asks-plead-guilty-requests-death-penalty\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">report<\/a> from KSAZ-TV.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I have no mitigating factors and I can see that there are two aggravating factors,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I mean, it&rsquo;s an undisputable fact that the victim, Pastor Bill Schonemann, was over 70 years old. It&rsquo;s an undisputable fact that the crime was heinous in nature.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Sheafe made clear that &ldquo;I intended it to be heinous.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s why I&rsquo;m saying, why do we have to drag this on and on and on? Why can&rsquo;t we just go to sentencing? I&rsquo;m not contesting anything,&rdquo; he added.<\/p>\n<p>Sheafe noted that he &ldquo;gave a full confession to the FBI&rdquo; and &ldquo;did four interviews with four <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >separate media outlets&#038;rdquo<\/a>; after the alleged murder.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Adam Christopher Sheafe told the judge he wants the death penalty after killing 76-year-old pastor William Schonemann. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/JUJTfA3oNu\">pic.twitter.com\/JUJTfA3oNu<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Drilliam Shakespeare (@DrilliamS) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DrilliamS\/status\/2033601913292263700?\">March 16, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;These are the reasons why I did this, and I&rsquo;m not contesting anything. And my speedy trial rights went from five months to basically two and a half years,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And we&rsquo;re dragging this out in the interest of justice.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, he expressed a desire for closure not only for himself, but for others involved in the case.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;What about the victim&rsquo;s families? What about me? What about my family? We want closure so we can move on with our lives,&rdquo; he continued.<\/p>\n<p>The pastor who Sheafe allegedly murdered was William &ldquo;Bill&rdquo; Schonemann of New River Bible Chapel, per a <a href=\"https:\/\/katv.com\/news\/nation-world\/pastor-crucified-crucifixion-murder-murdered-pinned-wall-kill-killed-kidnapping-kidnapped-planned-spree-serial-killer-larger-plot-stolen-truck-burglary-grand-theft-auto-closure-sentenced-death-executed-religious-religion-crown-thorns-christian\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">report<\/a> from KATV.<\/p>\n<p>Schonemann, 76, was discovered &ldquo;positioned with the arms outstretched, similar to a crucifixion,&rdquo; in his home when two church members went to check on him.<\/p>\n<p>Sheafe allegedly planned to murder 14 Christian leaders across the country.<\/p>\n<p>In his mugshot, Sheafe can be seen grinning, with the Hebrew word for &ldquo;Yahweh&rdquo; tattooed on his neck.<\/p>\n<p>Sheafe has said he does not have mental health problems and knows his actions were wrong.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here is a concise paraphrase of the article content (excluding unrelated code snippets):<\/p>\n<p>Adam Christopher Sheafe, who is accused of killing Arizona pastor Bill Schonemann in April 2025 by crucifixion (including placing a crown of thorns on his head), reportedly now wants the death penalty for himself because of delays in the legal process. During a March 12 court appearance, he said he intended the murder to be shocking and urged the court to move directly to sentencing, rather than litigating further. He claimed there are no mitigating factors and cited two aggravating factors: the victim was over 70 years old and the crime was heinous; he stated he meant for it to be heinous. He also noted he has confessed to the FBI and gave four interviews to media outlets after the alleged murder, and argued that the speedy-trial rights have slowed dramatically, from about five months to roughly two and a half years. He expressed a desire for closure for the victim\u2019s families, as well as for himself and his own family. Schonemann, 76, of New River Bible Chapel, was found dead at his home with arms outstretched, reminiscent of a crucifixion. Sheafe allegedly planned to murder 14 Christian leaders nationwide. In his mugshot, he is shown grinning and has a tattoo of the Hebrew word for \u201cYahweh\u201d on his neck. He has stated that he does not have mental health problems and acknowledges his actions were wrong<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2582417,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Michael-Featured-Image-819.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[5643,50403,14117,12447,3699],"class_list":["post-2582416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-church","tag-crime-2","tag-pastor","tag-sentencing","tag-violence"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Michael-Featured-Image-819.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2582416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2582416"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2582416\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2582420,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2582416\/revisions\/2582420"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2582417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2582416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2582416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2582416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}