Husband charged in Tosa officer's murder

Dec. 27, 2012

Benjamin Sebena has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide in Milwaukee County Circuit Court this afternoon. He stands accused of shooting his wife, Wauwatosa police officer Jennifer Sebena five times on Christmas Eve morning, police chief Barry Weber and Wisconsin Department of Justice Director of Field Operations David Spakowicz during in a news conference.

Benjamin Sebena confessed to killing his wife, according to the criminal complaint. It goes on to say he told officers he had been stalking his wife for several days and that on the day he shot her, he had waited several hours for her.

He shot her after she left Fire Station No. 1, where she had taken a break, it says.

He also told officers that as he shot her, she reached for her gun. He took that gun and shot her in the face three times with it. He said that he wanted to make sure that she was dead so she wouldn't suffer, the complaint states.

A Wauwatosa officer was sent to look for Jennifer Sebena about 5 a.m. Monday, after she failed to respond to a dispatcher. Jennifer Sebena was found outside the backdoor of the Wauwatosa Fire Department.

She was pronounced dead at the scene and taken to the Milwaukee County medical examiner's office. She had been shot twice by a 9-millimeter bullet and three times by a .40 caliber bullet.

The .40 caliber bullets came from Sebena's gun, which was later found in Benjamin Sebena's attic, according to the criminal complaint.

Also in the complaint:

Benjamin Sebena called the police station at 6:35 a.m. Monday, saying he wanted to check on his wife's well-being. Police told him to come to the station because his wife had been involved in "an incident." Benjamin Sebena did not ask any questions about what had happened.

Benjamin Sebena came into the station at 6:56 a.m. and when told that his wife was killed, he didn't ask any questions.

He at one point told an officer he was jealous of other men with regard to his wife.

After he was taken into custody and while he was being videotaped in a cell, Benjamin Sebena could be heard to say, "How could I do that to her."

On Dec. 6, Jennifer Sebena had told a coworker that she had been abused by Benjamin Sebena and that he had put a gun to her head.

During a search of the Sebenas' house, police found two holes in the walls and bloodstains, as well as a box of the 9-millimeter rounds.

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