NEW RIVER, AZ — A suspicious death is under investigation in a New River neighborhood.
At about 7:30 p.m. Monday, Maricopa County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a home located near 20th Street and Calvary Road for reports of a deceased elderly man.
When deputies arrived, they located the victim and suspected foul play.
The man has been identified as 76-year-old William Schonemann.
On Thursday, the Maricopa County Medical Examiner announced that Schonemann's death has been ruled a homicide.
MCSO believes this to be an isolated incident and says there is no further risk or safety concerns for the community.
Neighbors tell ABC15 they knew the man as Pastor Bill, who led service at New River Bible Chapel for decades.
People that knew Pastor Bill described him as a “true pastor” and a loving father. Friends and congregation members told us he was a veteran who loved to work on cars and even planes.
Some even described his sermon Sunday, telling ABC15 he would be greatly missed.
“My heart just dropped,” said former congregation member Zane Sharpe. “It dropped to my core. Like what a sweet guy, a pastor too. Everyone holds pastors in high esteem, but this guy truly lived what he spoke.”
Detectives are awaiting the results of an autopsy report to determine the cause of death.
“We’ve gotten a ton of support from everybody and people willing to do incredible things to help us,” said Bill's son Randy.
His son now knows Pastor Bill is in a better place, catching up with old friends.
“He was supposed to do a memorial service today for a 99-year-old lady in the congregation that passed away. And I'm, I'm sure that she's up there giving a hard time about how she waited 99 years to find the right guy to do her memorial service, and he skipped out on it,” Randy said.
“It's something that it's hard to have context and perspective on if you're not in the middle of it,” Randy said of this challenging week. “You know every news story about somebody that is murdered like that is somebody's father, somebody's sister, somebody's mother.”
