Tim Lambesis, lead singer for the heavy metal band As I Lay Dying, was arrested in California on Tuesday on charges that he sought the help of an undercover detective to have his estranged wife killed, police said.

Lambesis was taken into custody in Oceanside, near San Diego, said San Diego County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Jan Caldwell.

Police had previously learned Lambesis was looking for someone to carry out the killing, Caldwell said.

As I Lay Dying has at times been described in the media as a Christian group, but Lambesis said this year in an interview with heavy metal website Noisecreep that group members wanted "to be judged on the music" rather than their "personal beliefs."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/08/entertainment-us-usa-singer-arrest-idUSBRE94700Z20130508