Arizona man accused of crucifying pastor requests death penalty to quickly wrap up case

An Arizona man accused of crucifying a pastor and placing a crown of thorns on the victim’s head has requested the death penalty so everyone “can move on with our lives.”

Adam Sheafe, who is representing himself, asked the judge last week to allow him to enter a guilty plea, so the case can wrap up quickly, saying the legal system was “dragging this out,” according to Fox 10.

Sheafe, 51, is accused of murdering William Schonemann, the pastor of New River Bible Chapel, in April 2025 before mutilating the man’s body. Schonemann was found dead with his arms spread out in his bed and his hands pinned to a wall, authorities said.

The suspect previously confessed to the crime and has never claimed to be innocent.

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“From day one, I’ve said I did this. These are the reasons why I did this, and I’m not contesting anything,” he told the court on Thursday, according to Fox 10. “And my speedy trial rights went from five months to basically two and a half years. And we’re dragging this out in the interest of justice.”

“What about the victim’s families? What about me? What about my family? We want closure so we can move on with our lives,” he continued.

His request for the death penalty on Thursday echoes comments he made a year ago, when he said he wanted to be executed immediately.

“Put me on death row, set the execution date for right now,” Sheafe told 12News at the time. “The victims want it. The victim’s families want it. I want it, and the taxpayers want it.”

Sheafe told Fox 10 last year that the murder of Schonemann, 76, was part of a plot targeting more than a dozen Christian leaders across the country in a mission he called “Operation First Commandment.”

He has claimed that Schonemann and other Christian pastors were leading followers onto a false path. The defendant’s father, Chris Sheafe, told the Arizona Family that his son had become obsessed with the Bible and has a large tattoo of a Hebrew word for God on his neck.

“Adam became extremely interested in the Old Testament. He read it extensively. And part of that process became his interest. We weren’t excited when we’d learned that he’d done it, but to have the tattoo,” his father said. “It means God. It means he’s directly related to God. And he wanted people to know that was his allegiance.”

Sheafe, who says he is mentally sound, initially filed a petition to plead “no contest,” but the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office objected to that request. Sheafe then offered to plead guilty, but a judge said a future hearing must happen first to ensure his guilty plea is entered voluntarily.

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“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 on Thursday.

“Before I was even indicted, I gave a full confession to the FBI,” he continued, adding that he also admitted to the crime in interviews with multiple news outlets.