In one of the more bizarre legal cases to hit courts in recent years, the frontman for a Christian metal band is facing charges over an assassination plot.
Timothy Lambesis, vocalist for the Grammy-winning As I Lay Dying – who last toured Australia in 2011 and previously played Soundwave – is facing the San Diego Superior Court next Monday after he was arrested in May on suspicion of hiring a former policeman to have his estranged wife killed.
Lambesis will begin his trial in a preliminary hearing where prosecutors allege that the metal vocalist paid US $1,000 to a detective posing as a hit man to murder the singer’s wife, with the singer complaining she had made it difficult for him to see their three adopted children and in filing for divorce, as Billboard reports.
A Police investigation says that the undercover detective operation was staged after Lambesis told a man at his gym on 23rd April, and again on the 24th, that he wanted his wife killed. At the time of the arrest, a San Diego police spokeswoman said after receiving information they “acted quickly on it [and] believe that we averted a great tragedy.”
Lambesis has maintained his innocence in the murder-for-hire plot and posted $2 million in Bail after the undercover sting, but was ordered to wear a GPS monitor and to stay away from his wife, Meghan Lambesis, and their three adopted Ethiopian children. The metal vocalist paid 1,000 dollars to a detective posing as a hit man to murder the singer’s wife, with the singer complaining she had made [life] difficult for him…
Prosecutors indicate that Lambesis had emailed his wife while on tour with As I Lay Dying in August 2012 (off the back of their latest album, Awakened), telling her that he didn’t love her and wanted to end their marriage and was rumoured – according to Meghan Lambesis – to be having an affair.
Later the prosecution alleged that the undercover agent posing as the hitman was given US$1,000 by Lambesis, along with instructions to off his spouse – including a photograph of his wife, her address, security gate code – and dates the singer would be with the children, to act as an alibi to the assassination.
Thomas Warwick, the metal vocalist’s defense attorney, states Lambesis pleads not guilty to solicitation for murder. The defense? That his client had been using body building steroids at the time and didn’t know what he was doing, alleging that the drugs had a devastating effect on his mental state and impaired his judgement.
When As I Lay Dying bassist/vocalist Josh Gilbert spoke to Tone Deaf at the start of the year, the band seemed to be in their prime and enjoying every minute of their success. “We feel so great. We’re just happy to be able to play overseas in a place like Australia to awesome fans and any time we can get over there we’d love to,” said Gilbert, but given the severity of the allegations that Australian return may not be in the near future.
If found guilty, Lambesis could serve up to nine years in prison, meaning it could be a long time before As I Lay Dying follow-up their 2011 tour with Disturbed, having previously played on the Soundwave 2008 lineup, near the top of the bill alongside headliners The Offspring, Incubus, Social Distortion, and Killswitch Engage.
It’s not the first time a heavy metal frontman has been embroiled in a murder charge.
Lamb Of God kick-start their co-headline tour with Meshuggah tomorrow night in Brisbane, the band’s first visit Down Under since vocalist Randy Blythe was finally acquitted of murder charges, going through a significant amount of court time and personal turmoil in connection with the 2010 death of a 19-year-old fan at a Lamb of God concert in Prague. After having his name cleared, Blythe spoke personally to the deceased fan’s aggrieved family and inspired to urge his fellow metal community for greater venue security at their shows in an emotional open letter.
