Marty Graham
February 25, 2014
SAN DIEGO (Reuters) – The lead singer for the heavy metal Christian rock band As I Lay Dying pleaded guilty in California on Tuesday to a charge of soliciting an undercover detective posing as a hit man to kill his estranged wife.
Tim Lambesis, 33, entered the plea in a San Diego court as part of a deal that will net him a 9-year prison sentence, said his attorney, Thomas Warwick. Lambesis remains free on $2 million bail until his May 2 sentencing hearing, Warwick said.
Lambesis had been in a custody dispute with his wife, Meggan, regarding their three adopted children when in May 2013 he asked a personal trainer at his gym if he knew anyone who could kill his wife, according to charging documents in the criminal case.
The trainer contacted the San Diego Sheriff’s Department, which sent an undercover detective to meet with Lambesis.
Lambesis gave the detective $1,000 in cash, a photo of his wife, her address and the security gate code, and suggested the killing be carried out on dates when he would be with his children and have an alibi, according to the documents.