By admin 
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A judge has accepted a plea deal for a man who previously confessed to killing a New River pastor last year.
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As part of the plea deal reached in court Friday morning, prosecutors will not seek the death penalty for Adam Sheafe in connection with the murder of Pastor Bill Schonemann. Sheafe is set to be sentenced on August 14.
Schonemann, 76, was found dead inside his home in a crucifixion position in April 2025.
Sheafe, who is representing himself, previously pushed for the state to skip court proceedings and execute him. But that changed after his father, Chris Sheafe, and stepmother died in a single-engine plane crash in Marana earlier this year. The couple had been returning from the University of Arizona’s Final Four game.
After their deaths, Sheafe emailed prosecutors asking for a plea deal that would send him to prison for life in exchange for pleading guilty to all charges. That was initially taken up during a court hearing in April before being continued until Friday morning.
Sheafe has said he killed Schonemann as part of his radical religious beliefs.
“I drove from there (Phoenix) to Bill’s house, like two in the morning on a Sunday night, and I executed him,” Sheafe said.
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Investigators have said Sheafe had a list of other pastors across the country he wanted to kill.
When asked about Schonemann’s innocence, Sheafe said, “There’s nothing worse than breaking the first commandment.”
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