As I Lay Dying singer Tim Lambesis was using steroids at the time that he allegedly hired a hitman to kill his ex-wife, according to the rocker’s lawyer. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that during a hearing on Thursday seeking a reduction in his $3 million bail, Lambesis’ lawyer said the pumped-up hard rocker’s decision-making was severely impacted by his drug use.
Lambesis has been in jail since May 7, when he was arrested for allegedly trying to hired a hitman, who it turned out was an undercover cop, to kill his ex-wife, Meggan. During the hearing, the judge agreed to reduce Lambesis’ bail to $2 million, which lawyer Thomas Warwick said was still to high for his client. Warwick has been seeking bail of $250,000 for Lambesis, who has pleaded not guilty to a single count of solicitation of murder.
Warwick said Lambesis had gotten into body building and became a paid spokesman for nutritional supplements, which at some point also included taking steroids. “His thought processes were devastatingly affected by his steroid use,” Warwick told the judge. According to the United States Anti-Doping Agency, among the psychological effects of taking anabolic steroids are increased aggressiveness and sexual appetite, which can sometimes result in abnormal sexual and criminal behavior, often referred to as “roid rage.”
Prosecutors claim that on May 7 Lambesis hired a man named “Red,” who he believed was a contract killer, but was really an undercover officer, because he wanted his wife “gone.” He allegedly handed the man an envelope with $1,000 cash, as well as Meggan’s address and security gate codes. Prosecutor Claudia Grasso said in court last week that Lambesis did not flinch when Red told him the hit would cost $20,000. “He was very willing to pay that,” Grasso said.
Grasso noted that the couple’s eight-year marriage dissolved last summer after Lambesis informed Meggan in an e-mail that he no longer loved her and no longer believed in God at the same time she learned that he’d had several affairs during their time together.
At the time of her divorce filing in September, Meggan Lambesis made note of her husband’s recent obsession with body-building and her concerns about his ability to care for their three children, all adopted from Ethiopia.
Lambesis is due back in court on June 10. If convicted on the felony charge he could face nine years in prison.
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