Tim Lambesis, the frontman for the hard rock Christian band As I Lay Dying, was sentenced to six years in prison for trying to hire a hitman to murder his wife. It turned out that the hitman he contacted was an undercover agent.
Lambesis, 33, had put in a guilty plea in February and had his sentencing hearing on Friday in San Diego Superior Court. His wife, Meggan Murphy, and her family had hoped that Judge Carlos Armour would give him the maximum nine-year sentence, but Armour sentenced Lambesis to six years.
Murphy told the judge that Lambesis “has followers who will do anything on his behalf,” reports 10News. “The question of who else Tim talked to or will talk to about killing me will forever haunt me,” she added.
According to Radio.com, Murphy’s parents also spoke during the hearing, both telling the court that they still feared for their daughter’s life. Her mother, Jane, said that there is still an “underlying fear that still invades our everyday lives.”
Defense attorney Thomas Warwick asked that his client only be given probation, citing steroid use that may have influenced Lambesis’ thinking. While Armour acknowledged this defense, he noted that many other men who take steroids don’t try to have their wives murdered.
“I think that to get to the level where you engage in this type of activity, it has to be a flaw of character, something twisted inside an individual that leads them to attempt to have somebody kill the mother of his children,” Armour said.
Lambesis was arrested in May 2013. He is also facing a $2 million civil suit from Murphy. The two share three adopted children.
Three other members of As I Lay Dying - Nick Hipa, Phil Sgrosso and Josh Gilbert - attended the hearing. According to Rolling Stone, they have decided to create a new band with a different singer called Wovenwar.