Tim Lambesis, frontman of American Christian metal band As I Lay Dying, has admitted he hired a hitman to kill his wife.
Lambesis pleaded guilty to the solicitation of murder in Vista Superior Court, San Diego yesterday. He was arrested in May 2013 after police foiled his plot.
He reportedly gave an undercover detective posing as a hitman $1,000 in cash to kill his estranged wife, as well as detailed instructions of how to carry out the crime.
"During our conversation he told me that he had picked out three dates that were good dates for him, for me to kill his wife," the detective testified. "Those were the dates that he would have his children and therefore, he would not be a suspect in the case."
The officer repeatedly tried to manouever Lambesis into using the words 'kill' or 'dead' during their recorded conversation, but Lambesis resisted. "He continued to say repeatedly that, I want her gone. I want her never ever, ever to come back. So, as he was leaving, we got about fifteen or twenty feet away from each other and he turned back to me and he goes, 'Just to clarify, just so you know, I do want her dead'."
Lambesis now faces up to nine years in jail and a fine of $10,000. He will be formally sentenced on May 2.
