'Christian' heavy metal band singer CHARGED for 'paying hitman $1000' to kill his wife



Tim Lambesis, 32, is the frontman of Christian-inspired group As I Lay Dying

Singer in court yesterday charged with solicitation to murder wife Meggan

Court told he handed $1,000 and his wife's details to uncover police officer



Lambesis has pleaded not guilty and his lawyer claims he has been set up



Tim Lambesis, pictured in court in May, faces nine years in jail if found guilty of hiring a hitman

A heavy metal singer has appeared in court charged with hiring a hitman to murder his estranged wife.



Frontman of the Christian-inspired group As I Lay Dying, Tim Lambesis, 32, is accused of handing over an envelope containing $1,000 in cash to an undercover police officer to pay for his wife Meggan Lambesis to be killed.



A court heard how he also handed the fake hitman a photograph of his wife with her address and the security gate code.

Lambesis also allegedly gave a list of dates he would be with their children to give him an alibi .



The singer yesterday pleaded not guilty to solicitation of murder at his first court appearance at San Diego North County court in Vista.

A judge set bail at $3 million and said if he is released, he must wear a GPS monitoring device and face strict travel restrictions.



Claudia Grasso, a San Diego County deputy district attorney, told the court the singer had emailed his wife while on tour in August that he didn't love her, he wanted to end the relationship, and he no longer believed in God.



Meggan Lambesis later learned her husband was having an affair and had been involved with 'a string of women'.

The prosecutor said the undercover operation was staged after Lambesis told a man at his gym that he wanted his wife killed, complaining that she was making it difficult for him to see their children and impossible to complete their divorce.

The court was told how Lambesis met with an undercover agent, who went by the alias 'Red', on May 7 and was recorded saying he wanted his wife killed .

Sting operation: San Diego North County court in Vista heard how Lambesis handed over $1,000 in cash along with a photograph of his wife Meggan and her address to an undercover police officer

Defence case: Tim Lambesis pleaded not guilty to solicitation to murder his wife Meggan and his lawyer has told reporters he was set up

Lambesis was then arrested on Tuesday at a store in Oceanside, north of San Diego. If convicted, he faces up to nine years in prison.

Grasso asked Superior Court Judge Martin Staven to set bail at $20 million, saying Meggan Lambesis was terrified and living 'in seclusion' with their three children - aged four, eight and 10 - who they adopted from Ethiopia.

'He is substantially motivated to kill his wife,' she said.



Bail conditions prohibit Lambesis from contacting his wife or children. He cannot leave the San Diego area except to see his attorney in Los Angeles.

Defense attorney Anthony Salerno told reporters that Lambesis did not intend to harm anybody and was apparently set up by the man at the gym.



In action: As I Lay Dying frontman Tim Lambesis pictured performing at the second annual Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles in 2010

Rock star: As I Lay Dying has released six albums and was nominated for a Grammy in 2007



'Law enforcement was being fed something by someone that I strongly believe was a snitch, was out to save his own skin and was trumping things up, exaggerating things,' Salerno said.



The lawyer declined to address specific allegations.

In court, Lambesis yesterday stared straight ahead from behind a glass partition in a courtroom packed with his supporters.



Salerno said they included his parents, Little League coach and some band members.

Lambesis, pictured with bandmate Josh Gilbert, has been free on $2 million bail since May and wears a GPS monitor

Motive: The court heard singer Tim Lambesis, pictured performing live during a concert at the Huxleys in Berlin, Germany, last year, had affairs with a 'string of women' and was 'substantially motivated' to kill his wife

Salerno said he expected Lambesis to make bail, but prospects for a 30-city U.S. tour that begins May 30 in Oklahoma City appeared uncertain. The attorney said he would ask the judge for permission to travel if the band wants to go ahead with the concerts.



As I Lay Dying formed in San Diego in 2000 and has released six albums, including 2007's 'An Ocean Between Us,' which reached No. 8 on Billboard's charts. A single from the album, 'Nothing Left,' was nominated for a Grammy for top metal performance.



The band plays in an aggressive style that features metal guitar riffs at the furious pace of hardcore punk.

Family man: Lambesis and his wife, Meggan, adopted three children from Ethiopia (pictured) before their split

Breakup: In 2012, Meggan Lambesis filed papers seeking to dissolve her marriage with the singer (pictured)



