The frontman for the Christian metal band As I Lay Dying was arrested on Tuesday in Oceanside, Calif., and charged with attempting to hire a hit man to kill his estranged wife, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said.
Detectives arrested the singer, Tim Lambesis, 32, at 2:00 p.m. in a store shortly after he had asked an undercover detective to murder his wife, who lives in nearby Encinitas, the sheriff’s department said. The investigation began a week earlier, when sheriffs received a tip that Mr. Lambesis had asked someone else about performing a hired killing. The singer was charged with solicitation of another to commit murder. No other details about the investigation were given.
Formed in San Diego in the early 2000s, As I Lay Dying is a metal-hardcore outfit that has released six albums and has sold more than 1 million albums. Their most successful was “An Ocean Between Us†(Metal Blade) in 2007, peaking at No. 8 on Billboard’s album chart. A single from that album “Nothing Left†was nominated for a Grammy for best metal performance. Their last album, “Awakened,†was released last fall and debuted at No. 11 on the album chart.
The band is a veteran of the festivals like the Warped Tour, Ozzfest, Rockstar Mayhem and Revolver’s Golden Gods Awards. Mr. Lambesis, whose songs often touch on religious themes, also started a comical side project â€" Austrian Death Machine - a spoof band that makes fun of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Last month, he raised nearly $80,000 from fans through an Internet campaign record a third album.
Billboard reported that Mr. Lambesis is an avid bodybuilder and motorcycle enthusiast who studied at Liberty University, has several faith-related tattoos and owns a recording studio. He also founded the Modern Rebellion clothing line a few years ago. In recent years, he and his wife, Meggan, adopted three Ethiopian children together, then quarreled and separated. Meggan Lambesis filed for divorce in September.
