Prosecutors say the As I Lay Dying frontman gave an
undercover cop his wife's photo and address in the murder-for-hire plot.
Tim Lambesis has denied trying to have his wife
killed
The frontman of a Grammy-winning rock band has been ordered to
stand trial on charges of trying to hire someone to kill his estranged wife.
As I Lay Dying singer Timothy Lambesis was in court on Monday to hear
testimony by witnesses for the prosecution, including an undercover officer who
posed as a hitman.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Robert Kearney ruled enough evidence existed
to warrant a trial.
Lambesis will be arraigned on the charges on October 22, when the date for
his trial will be set. Lambesis is the lead singer of metal band As I
Lay Dying
Undercover officer Howard Bradley testified that Lambesis met him believing
he was a hitman and told him he wanted his wife, Meggan Lambesis, dead.
Mr Bradley says Lambesis gave him his wife's name, photo and address, along
with $1,000 cash.
Lambesis has pleaded not guilty to solicitation for murder.
Investigators say the undercover operation was staged after the singer told a
man at his gym on April 23 and again the next day that he wanted his wife
killed.
Lambesis allegedly complained that she was making it difficult for him to see
their three adopted children and impossible to complete their divorce.
Prosecutors say the singer was on tour in August when he emailed his wife,
Meggan Lambesis, telling her he did not love her and wanted to end the
relationship.
Meggan Lambesis, according to prosecutors, later learned her husband was
having an affair.
Prosecutors say Lambesis gave the undercover agent his wife's security gate
code and dates he would be with his children to give him an alibi.
Defence attorney, Thomas Warwick, has said his client had been using steroids
for body building and they had had a devastating effect on his mind.
The singer has been out on $2m bail since May. He was ordered to wear a GPS
monitor and to stay away from his wife and their three children, who were
adopted from Ethiopia.
As I Lay Dying formed in San Diego in 2000 and have released six albums,
including 2007's An Ocean Between Us, which reached number eight on Billboard's
charts.
A single from the album, Nothing Left, was nominated for a Grammy for top
metal performance.
