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Despite ZeroHedge's undying love for Fight Club, I think it's fair to say that director David Fincher's best work is the 1995 psychological thriller Se7en (honorable mention to Alien III, which is a cult classic). The neo-noir aesthetic of the film is the perfect canvas to illustrate its enigmatic narrative steeped in occult symbolism, making it one of the defining works of the genre in mainstream cinema. Se7en deservedly became critically acclaimed, thrusting Fincher into the upper echelon of directors. He would go on to build a strong filmography, including 1999's film adaptation of Fight Club and the 2007 thriller Zodiac, chronicling the story of the elusive eponymous killer who terrorized the San Francois Bay Area in the late 1960s and early 1970s. While Fincher's catalog is replete with plots catalyzed by villains who embody the darkest dimensions of the human psyche, none of them were able to reach the depraved depths of an Arizona man whose arrest proves the axiom that the truth is often stranger than fiction.

Adam Christopher Sheafe confessed to the murder of 76-year-old Pastor William Schonemann in New River, Arizona, following his arrest in late April that unknowingly put an end to a horrific killing spree he planned to commit across the United States. Fueled by a radical religious vision, Sheafe crucified Schonemann inside of his own home on April 27th as the first victim in a crusade against Christian religious leaders across the country. Police found the pastor's body in his bed lying in a pool of blood, when they conducted a welfare check at his residence the following day. In a terrifying interview with a local media outlet in Arizona covering the murder, Sheafe explained that Schonemann was only the first of more than a dozen victims he targeted. The killer planned to travel to 10 states spanning from Arizona to New York City to priests throughout the US as part of a deranged crusade against Christianity.

Sheafe's imposing presence immediately set the tone for the interview as he was led into the room from his prison cell in shackles to participate in the first jailhouse interview to ever be held in Coconino County, where he was being held awaiting trial for a rash of burglaries committed across Sedona. As he sat down across from True Crime Arizona correspondent Briana Whitney, cameras focused on the hardened face and soulless eyes of a cold-blooded killer with irises as black and vacant as an infinite void. Yet, what captured the most attention about the demonic aura of the 51-year-old was a prominent tattoo of the Tetragrammaton, the Hebrew script for Yahweh, the god of Israel, sprawled across his neck as if it were written on a Torah scroll. That tattoo foreshadowed the revelation of the inspiration behind his murderous mission. Sheafe wasted no time in announcing the motive behind the murder by declaring himself justified for the killing of Pastor Schonemann with the rationalization that “It’s a commandment to rid Israel of evil."

Throughout the course of his interview, Sheafe recounted his plan to Whitney in a cold and calculated manner absent of even an iota of remorse. He revealed gruesome details about how he placed one of many crowns of thorns that he fashioned to be used in the ritualistic executions from branches he scavenged for while wandering the Arizona desert upon the head of Pastor Schonemann. Sheafe admitted that the New River pastor was the first of 14 murders he planned to commit. The killer revealed that the number 13 symbolized each of the tribes of Israel to whom each victim would be made as a sacrifice. Sheafe stated that he marked Schonemann with a leather tag inscribed in Hebrew with the name of the Tribe of Benjamin. The 14th victim would be made as a sacrifice to Adam, who he defines as God's one and only created son in a stark rebuke of the divinity of Jesus Christ.

Details about his plan unfurled further between tangents about what he deemed as the fallacy of Christianity, going so far as to say there should be no Church of Christ but only a church of Jehovah (יְהֹוָה) before further elucidating on the logistics of his planned killing spree. “From there, it was Las Vegas, Nevada; Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; Billings, Montana; Detroit, Michigan; New York, New York; Charlotte, North Carolina; Mobile, Alabama; Beaumont, Texas; and El Paso, Texas,” he explained. Sheafe confessed the belief that his plan to crucify Christian leaders across the US was part of a divine mission to punish them for misleading followers away from the "true" god of Israel. “Because what I’m saying is, what you’re preaching is not what God said,” he declared defiantly. “It’s the opposite of what God said.”

After murdering Schonemann, Sheafe immediately traveled from New River to Sedona to complete the next 2 murders on his killing spree. That stage of his plan was never accomplished, as he was identified as the suspect in a string of burglaries by police officers in the city. Their initial attempt to apprehend Sheafe descended into chaos as it soon turned into a high-speed chase that ended when the killer fled police from his car after crashing it into another vehicle. The escape prompted a manhunt for who police only believed to be a serial burglar at the time. After evading capture, a Sedona resident reported Sheafe to police after his home security camera caught the killer trespassing on his property.

PASTOR KILLER JAILHOUSE INTERVIEW:
𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟏: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Adam Sheafe has confessed to killing Arizona pastor Bill Schonemann, and crucifying him after. He describes the lengths he went to carry this out, and I press him on how horrific this is.

His… pic.twitter.com/5Km1CAQBp4

— Briana Whitney (@BrianaWhitney) June 24, 2025

Sedona police unleashed a SWAT team, tracking Sheafe into the rugged terrain of the Coconino National Forest, where his campsite was set up. A subsequent chase ended on foot when Sheafe was incapacitated with a stun gun after running to a nearby residential area from the forest. In custody at least, he was charged with second-degree burglary, trespassing, vehicle theft, aggravated assault, and resisting arrest, among other charges. It wasn't until he was finally in custody for weeks following his April 30th arrest that details began to emerge that could allow authorities to begin to understand the evil incarnate that they apprehended.

Investigators did not identify Sheafe as the killer of Pastor Schonemann until mid-June, 6 whole weeks following the discovery of the murder scene. It wasn't until after being booked into Coconino County Jail that the investigation led by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office led to Sheafe being identified as the killer. “This development marks a significant step toward justice for the victim and their family. We are committed to seeing this case through and thank the community for its continued support and cooperation,” MCSO Sgt. Joaquin Enriquez said in a statement issued in early June.

The narrative Sheafe wove during the interview from Coconino County Jail took the tone of a man who believed his persecution was an act of martyrdom. In a revealing remark that demonstrated the heretical views he held against Christianity that served as the impetus of his killer crusade, Sheafe pleaded for the death penalty. “I want the death penalty because I want to show that you can’t kill God’s son. The whole story is bullshit," he remarked before explaining how he would be forgiven for his sins as if he was tasked with the murders by God himself.

Sheafe now awaits extradition to Maricopa County to face charges on the murder of Pastor William Schonemann. Undaunted by the charges that await him, the public spectacle Sheafe has already made for himself looks to serve as the preface to a highly publicized prosecution that will only reveal more details about a story destined to captivate the public in a society transfixed by the evil he embodies.