Tinley Park man sentenced to 29 years in prison for beating wife to death

One of Bahaa Sam’s children, a then 4-year-old boy, witnessed the beating.

Retiring Judge Raul Vega, formerly the presiding judge of the county’s domestic violence division, allegedly made a statement to another judge on Dec. 6 that would violate the state’s judicial code of conduct.

A 54-year-old Tinley Park man was sentenced to 29 years in prison for the Dec. 19, 2012 beating death of his wife.

Adobe Stock Photo

A 54-year-old Tinley Park man was sentenced to 29 years in prison after being convicted of beating his wife to death with a piece of exercise equipment in 2012.

Bahaa Sam was sentenced with no possibility of parole by Circuit Judge Amy Bertani Tomczsk for the murder of his then wife, 38-year-old Nermeen Sam, according to the Will County state’s attorney’s office.

Sam beat his wife to death with a metal weightlifting bar on the morning of Dec. 19, 2012 following an argument, prosecutors said. Nermeen Sam was found lying outside of her home with severe trauma to the back of her head.

A witness at the trial reported seeing Sam strike his wife outside while his 4-year-old son was nearby, according to prosecutors. Sam’s three children testified against him at the trial.

“Sam’s ruthless beating of his wife as his innocent four-year-old son witnessed the atrocity is irrefutable evidence of an abandoned and malignant heart. Prison cannot undo the horror this cold-blooded murdered perpetrated upon his family,” Will County state’s attorney James Glasgow said.

The Latest
Here’s how Kamala Harris and the Democratic National Convention are embracing Charli XCX’s social media post that sparked a cultural movement.
Thousands gathered in Union Park for the Pitchfork Music Festival, the Chicago Bears started training camp at Halas Hall, and Vice President Kamala Harris kicked off her presidential campaign.
Williams got in defensive end DeMarcus Walker’s face as he went after tight end Gerald Everett on Friday.
Bielema still needs to prove the Illini can win in a conference that just got even better with Oregon, USC, Washington and UCLA on board and has done away with divisions, the days of a weaker West now over.
Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of TNT Sports, is seeking a judgment that it matched Amazon Prime Video’s offer and an order seeking to delay the new media rights deal from taking effect beginning with the 2025-26 season.