In May 2013, Tim Lambesis, front man of Christian metalcore band As I Lay Dying, was arrested in San Diego, accused of trying to hire someone to kill his wife.

Lambesis asked an undercover detective to murder his estranged wife, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. Now, Lambesis has pleaded guilty to his role in a murder-for-hire plot, admitting Tuesday that he had hired a man to kill his wife. He faces a maximum sentence of nine years in prison and $10,000 fine.

Lambesis reportedly gave an undercover detective $1,000 in cash, as well as instructions on how to carry out the murder. After his arrest, Lambesis pleaded not guilty at his arraignment. A judge set the singer’s bail at $3 million and affixed a GPS monitoring device to him; he was later released on $2 million bail.

His lawyers have tried to attribute the murder plot to the influence of steroids, stating that the vocalist’s thought process was “devastatingly affected” by his heavy use of the drug.

(via RS)