New River pastor murder: New details on background of suspect as court records reveal financial troubles

Records reveal finance woes for AZ murder suspect
As authorities continue to investigate the murder of a New River area pastor, new details are emerging about the suspect in the case, Adam Sheafe. FOX 10 Investigator Justin Lum reports.
NEW RIVER, Ariz. - As the investigation into the murder of a New River pastor continues, we are learning new details about the suspect, Adam Sheafe.
The backstory:
On April 28, 76-year-old Bill Schonemann was found murdered in his New River home. Since the death, disturbing details have emerged surrounding the crime scene.
MCSO identified the suspect on June 12 as 51-year-old Adam Christopher Sheafe, after previously saying the suspect in the case was "in custody on unrelated charges in another jurisdiction. Investigators have said the crime was religiously motivated, and they believe Sheafe is the only suspect.
Sheafe is not yet indicted for his alleged role in Schonemann's murder.
What We Know Now:
We have obtained court records that confirm Sheafe changed his last name to Sheaf, without the "e" at the end, after he was released from prison early. The reason behind the change is unknown.
We also learned that Sheafe was out of money, and struggled with a gambling addiction.
In addition, Sheafe has a rather extensive criminal history. In 2013, he was arrested by Oro Valley police for domestic violence. In 2018, he was sentenced to 94 months in federal prison for bank fraud and identity theft, using stolen credit card numbers for over five hundred thousand dollars in fraudulent transactions.
He served 51 months, and was released early.
He’s also accused of multiple burglaries in Sedona, and believed to have stolen a car from Cave Creek before his arrest, and is now in custody at the Coconino County jail.
Dig deeper:
We also learned additional details surrounding the suspect's life outside of prison.
Sheaf once lived in Oceanside, Calif., and worked at a Carlsbad restaurant. He filed a lawsuit against a company called NinjaTrader, alleging negligence and claiming the brokerage would not close his account.
In the complaint, Sheaf wrote, "I had developed an unhealthy gambling addiction to trading futures contracts via their platform." He sought $1 million for "losses and damages," but a judge dismissed the case by February 2025.
We reached out to NinjaTrader for comment, but they have yet to respond.
By October 2024, Sheaf filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. He said he had lost more than $40,000, and that he "lost everything I had owned and had worked for."
By April 2025, investigators believe Sheaf had moved to Arizona.
Victim's Son Speaks Out:
Meanwhile, as he awaits a grand jury indictment of Sheafe, Randy Schonemann spoke out about his slain father.
"It's amazing to think that somebody drive down the road in New River and just happen to pick him out of you know, the other several churches that you drive past from either direction go through New River. It's trying to understand, that is, you know, kind of where we're at I guess," said Randy. "We wanna understand what happened. We want to understand why, as much as we can. And you know, we know that this is a long race."
What's next:
MCSO has not filed charges against Sheafe at this time. We have been told that will happen once Sheafe is brought into this jurisdiction, and booked into jail.