Pastor mysteriously found dead in position resembling a crucifixion

A much-beloved small town pastor was discovered dead on a bed with his arms spread out and hands pinned to the wall in a position resembling a crucifixion.

Bill Schonemann, 76, was mysteriously found in his home in the small town of New River, Arizona, a few miles away from the chapel where he delivered sermons, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

‘Pastor Bill’ is being remembered for having ‘such a positive impact on people everywhere he went’, while authorities continue investigating his death which has been confirmed a homicide.

‘We will miss the loving guidance and patience,’ stated his son, Randall Schonemann.

‘The happiness he showed just getting to walk around an airport, getting his steps in. The creativity of all machines he built. There are never enough words to say it all or to say it as well as a person would like. Simply, he is missed.’

Deputies responded to the 1900 block of Calvary Road around 7.30pm on April 28 and found the pastor’s body with significant injuries in his bedroom.

‘Based on observations at the scene, it appeared there may have been foul play,’ Deputy Will Jinks told Law&Crime on Monday.

‘There are specific and unique circumstances to this case that we are not at liberty to discuss to ensure we keep the integrity of the investigation.’

Authorities have called the pastor’s killing an isolated incident.

Meanwhile, neighbors are in shock, with many of them saying that the pastor felt so safe that he did not lock his doors.

‘I’m just wondering was it some random person? Was it someone he knows?’ a friend of the pastor, Eric Archer, told AZFamily.

‘I’m just curious what happened and why. I just can’t imagine someone hurting Bill, in any matter for any reason.’

Schonemann served in the Navy in Vietnam and afterward explored religion, his son said. He devoted more time to the church after his wife of 49 years died in 2022. His hobbies included working on cars.

Sgt Joaquin Enriquez of the sheriff’s office told KSAZ: ‘Our thoughts are with Mr Schonemann’s loved ones as we continue our efforts to bring justice in this case.’

Anyone with information on the crime is urged to contact the sheriff’s office.

The New River Bible Chapel, where Schonemann served, is located about 40 miles north of Phoenix.

Schonemann was killed nearly a year after a missing pastor was found dead in his vehicle underwater in a river in Joliet, Illinois.

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