One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
As I Lay Dying Singer Fesses Up To Hiring Hitman To Kill Wife
Timothy Lambesis, singer for As I Lay Dying, pleaded guilty in court for hiring a man to kill his wife (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
The frontman for the Christian metal band As I Lay Dying pleaded guilty Tuesday in a San Diego courtroom to hiring a hitman to kill his estranged wife.
Carlsbad native Tim Lambesis, 32, is awaiting his sentencing at Vista Superior court on May 2, according to the Associated Press. The singer, however, is free on a $2 million bond until then.
Undercover cops were involved in Lambesis' arrest back in May, NBC San Diego reported. The singer asked a personal trainer, Brett Kimball, at his gym in April if he knew anyone that he could hire to off his estranged wife of eight years, Meggan Lambesis. That's when Kimball tipped off San Diego authorities, and San Diego County Sheriff's Deputy Howard Bradley went undercover, posing as a hitman. Lambesis gave Bradley $1,000 in cash, his wife's home address, photos of her and gate codes.
She filed for divorce in Sept. 2012, and the singer was angry that she restricted visitations with their three adopted children. He explained to the undercover agent at the time that he was upset his wife wouldn't let him take their three children they adopted from Ethiopia, who are between the ages of 4 and 10, on tour with him, reported NBC San Diego.
Lambesis claimed his thought process was altered when he hired the undercover cop because he was taking steroids at the time, according to Rolling Stone. His wife claimed he was so "obsessed with bodybuilding" that he was distracted watching over their children and had spent thousands of dollars on tattoos. In addition, she found out he cheated on her multiple times, even having a girlfriend while he was with her.
Lambesis can be sentenced up to 9 years in prison, according to NBC San Diego.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
