The man accused of crucifying an elderly pastor in Arizona confessed to the crime in a jailhouse interview. The 51-year-old Adam Christopher Sheafe added that he had a longer list of religious leaders he intended to kill.
In an interview with FOX 10, Sheafe claimed to have killed Pastor Bill Schonemann, 76, who was the leader of the New River Bible Chapel in New River, Arizona, in April.
Schonemann, who was referred to as "Pastor Bill" in the neighbourhood, was discovered dead in his bed on April 28. His arms were pinned to the wall behind him and stretched wide, in the form of a crucifixion.
According to Sheafe, the brutal attack was a part of a spiritual mission that he titled “Operation First Commandment,” to punish religious leaders who he believed were deceiving followers.
Sheafe told FOX 10 that he believed Christian churches were misguiding their members by encouraging them to follow Jesus, a false God, and that his goal was to crucify 14 more pastors or priests of no particular religion.
Police apprehended Sheafe in the vicinity of the Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona, Arizona, where he intended to kill two priests. He is currently being held at the Coconino County Jail and has been charged with first-degree murder in Maricopa County.
In his interview with True Crime Arizona on Monday, the 51-year-old suspect discussed the unsettling image, including the crown of thorns he claimed to have created from items he gathered in the woods and placed on pastor Schonemann's head.
Sheafe said he had planned to follow a priest to his home in Phoenix after Easter services in order to kill him prior to the Schonemann murder. This was the first of 14 planned "executions" that would have taken place across the country.
Following Schonemann's murder, Sheafe claimed to have travelled to Sedona with the intention of killing two more religious leaders. He eventually was found to be the suspect in a break-in, which prompted Sedona police to pursue him faster.
Despite the gruesome crime, Adam Sheafe resolutely declined to offer an apology for the purported murder. He claimed that he was behaving in accordance with what he considered to be God's law and that he expected redemption.
