Bretz: Sam Insane When Wife Killed With Metal Bar

JOLIET, IL - It has been six years since authorities in Tinley Park arrested Bahaa Ales Sam in the barbaric murder of his 38-year-old wife. On Wednesday, a jury trial finally began in Courtroom 404 of Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak at the Will County Courthouse. The lawyers representing Bahaa Sam, now 52, are putting on an insanity defense.

On Dec. 19, 2012, Nermeen Sam was beaten to death with a metal weightlifting curling bar in the family's yard in the Brookside Glen subdivision. An autopsy determined that Sam's wife was hit in the head more than 10 times.

Sam is being represented by lawyers Chuck Bretz and Neil Patel of Bretz Law Offices.

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During opening statements, the defense lawyers asked the jury trial to keep an open mind as they hear the evidence presented by the Will County State's Attorney's Office. The prosecution is being handled by Steven Platek and Tom Slazyk.

Bretz told Joliet Patch that he envisions the prosecution will put on its case through the rest of the week. With the courthouse closed Monday for Veterans Day, Bretz expects the defense may start putting on its case and calling its witnesses next Tuesday.

The defense will try to convince the jury that Sam suffered from a mental defect at the time of the killing.

In other words, "he did not understand the criminality of his actions," Bretz told Joliet Patch during a break in the trial Wednesday.

The Bretz Law Firm will not be putting on evidence suggesting an alternative suspect, Bretz said. Rather, the defense aims to leave the jurors convinced that Sam should be found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Back in May 2013, Judge Bertani-Tomczak ruled that Sam was sane enough to stand trial for beating his wife to death with a weightlifter's bar.

Patch has previously reported that Nermeen Sam was found face down in the grass and covered in blood and that a weightlifter's bar was next to her body. According to police, officers who entered the Sam home the day of the killing first encountered the couple's 4-year-old son, who had blood on his face and clothing and reportedly told police, "Daddy killed my mommy."

Police then saw Bahaa Sam, who also had blood on his clothing and skin, and, according to prosecutors, asked officers, "Are you taking her to the hospital? Is she dead?"

This week marks the second time this year that Sam was slated to go on trial for his wife's murder. In May, Sam's jury trial was called off at the last minute because there was a problem with the interpreter.

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Sam apparently did not like the dialect of the Arabic interpreter who was selected to sit with him at his trial. That caused the trial to be delayed for several more months to make sure that an Arabic dialect interpreter to Sam's liking was available.

Sam has been living in the Will County Jail since being booked into custody at 12:31 a.m. on Dec. 20, 2012.

Mugshot of Bahaa Sam via Will County Sheriff