AS I LAY DYING Singer Accused Of Hiring Hitman To Kill Estranged Wife

According to FOX 5 San Diego and Reuters, singer Tim Lambesis of San Diego metallers AS I LAY DYING was arrested for allegedly hiring someone to kill his estranged wife.

Lambesis, 32, was taken into custody without incident on Tuesday (May 7) around 2 p.m. at an Oceanside business, according to San Diego Sheriff's Department.

He was charged with solicitation of another to commit murder of his wife, who resides in Encinitas.

The investigation began after Lambesis contacted an undercover detective on May 2 to kill his wife, according to deputies.

Jan Caldwell, spokeswoman for the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, told U-T San Diego she could not release details about the investigation at the direction of the District Attorney’s Office, which will prosecute the case.

"The information came to us late last week," she told Reuters. "We acted quickly on it. I believe that we averted a great tragedy."

Lambesis was booked into the Vista Detention Facility. He is expected be arraigned on Wednesday or Thursday.

The musician's wife, Meggan, reportedly filed for divorce on September 20, 2012 in Vista Superior Court, and the court record indicates at least one minor child was involved in the marriage.

The official San Diego Sheriff's Department press release regarding Lambesis' arrest can be downloaded as a PDF file at this location. It can also be found at SDSheriff.net/press/.

Back in March 2009, Lambesis had to miss several shows on AS I LAY DYING's tour with LAMB OF GOD since he was finalizing the adoption process for a baby. The vocalist of the Grammy-nominated band told Noisecreep at the time, "It's an amazing thing to become a father, but an honor like that is something that can never be timed perfectly. I've been in the process of adoption from Ethiopia for about a year now and it turns out that I will be able to take my son home in the first week of April."

In a January 2013 interview with Loudwire, Lambesis was asked if his humanitarianism provides him with a source of lyrical inspiration. "Yes, it's definitely a part of my life for me," he replied. "My kids are adopted and I've visited their country; they're from Ethiopia, and that was eye-opening to what the world is really like, at least a third of the world. I think that just influences my entire worldview. Even if I'm not necessarily writing a song about humanitarian work, I'm writing a song about what truly makes us happy in life, and those types of things that have been influenced by my experiences."

AS I LAY DYING's sixth album, "Awakened", sold around 28,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 11 on The Billboard 200 chart.

Image below: Official San Diego Sheriff's Department press release regarding Lambesis' arrest

Photo credit: DirtJunior.com