Trial Of Tinley Man Charged In Wife's Murder To Begin After Delay

TINLEY PARK, IL — The murder trial for a Tinley Park man accused of killing his wife with a weightlifting bar is set to begin this week. Bahaa Sam, 52, allegedly beat Nermeen Gamal Sam, 38, with a curling bar in December 2012 as the couple's 4-year-old son watched.

Jury selection was scheduled to begin May 7, but it had to be postponed when Sam said he couldn't understand the Arabic interpreter provided for the trial, according to the Daily Southtown. The same issue arose Tuesday when another interpreter could not speak Arabic with an Egyptian dialect for Sam, the report added.

After this last setback, Will County Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak moved the trial to Monday, May 14, the report stated. She also asked that the same interpreter used during previous proceedings be on hand for the trial, the report added.

RELATED: Trial For Tinley Man Accused Of Murdering Wife In 2012 To Begin

This isn't the first time Sam's court apperances were hampered by language issues. During the hearing following his arrest in 2012, Will County Judge Roger Rickmon needed to delay the proceedings in order to find an Arabic interpreter for Sam, who was originally to appear via closed-circuit TV from the Will County Jail.

But Sam couldn't hear the interpreter the court arranged for him over speaker phone, and Rickmon ordered him brought to the courtroom. Once there, the court continued to use an interpreter over speaker phone.

Sam faces a murder charge in connection with the murder of his wife, Nermeen Sam. According to Tinley Park police, a village public works employee called 911 after discovering Nermeen Sam's body next to a tree outside the couple's home in the 19700 block of Silverside Drive the morning of Dec. 19, 2012. Will County prosecutors said the woman was face down in the grass, covered in blood, when officers arrived outside the home in the Brookside Glen subdivision. An autopsy report by the Will County Coroner's Office stated she was hit in the head more than 10 times.

RELATED: Son to Cops: 'Daddy Killed My Mommy'

As officers investigated the scene and entered the couple's home, they encountered one of the Sams' four children, face and clothing allegedly covered in blood splatters.

"Daddy killed my mommy," the 4-year-old boy allegedly told police, according to prosecutors.

Bahaa Sam had faced domestic abuse charges before the 2012 incident. In June of that year, he was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery, which was reduced to battery, according to Will County Circuit Court records. Nermeen Sam also filed an emergency protective order against her husband at that time. But the order was dropped a month later, and the domestic battery charge was reduced.

RELATED: Alleged Tinley Park Wife-Killer Bahaa Sam Found Fit to Stand Trial

Bahaa Sam also was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery and resisting a police officer in October 2005, according to court records. He was found not guilty on the domestic battery charge and guilty on the charge of resisting an officer, court records state.

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Bahaa Sam (Photo via Will County Sheriff's Office)