Tinley Park man stands trial six years after wife slain

Nearly six years after a woman was found beaten to death on the front lawn of her Tinley Park home, her husband is standing trial for her murder.

A jury was picked Tuesday for the trial of 52-year-old Bahaa Sam, and the first witnesses were called Wednesday morning.

Among those witnesses called to testify were the two youngest of Sam’s four children and a Tinley Park police officer.

The Tinley Park police arrested Sam in December 2012 after the body of his wife, Nermeen Sam, was found badly beaten in front of their home on Silverside Drive.

Sam was charged with bludgeoning her to death with a weightlifting bar. The couple’s then 4-year-old son witnessed the beating, a prosecutor said during a previous court hearing.

“He stated [to investigators] their argument was regarding his lack of ability to maintain employment,” Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Steven Platek said during a hearing last year. “He felt she was challenging his manhood a little bit with the inability to hold a job.”

Nermeen Sam was 37 when she was killed.

Sam was booked into the Will County jail shortly after his wife’s death. His bond was set at $5 million.

In June 2014, during his incarceration at the jail, Sam was charged with aggravated battery for allegedly hitting a guard’s hand. That case remains pending.