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Crime & Safety

Benjamin Sebena Had Been Stalking Wife for Days Before Shooting: Complaint

Husband of slain Wauwaotsa police officer Jennifer Sebena admitted to police that he waited in hiding for her near Fire Station No. 1 for hours, and shot her when she left the building after taking a break, court records state.

After initially telling police he was at home at the time his wife was murdered, Benjamin Sebena ultimately admitted he had stalked her for several days before killing her on Christmas Eve, court documents show.  

Sebena was charged Thursday with first-degree intentional homicide in the shooting death of his wife, Wauwatosa police officer Jennifer Sebena, while she was on duty.

The criminal complaint filed in Milwaukee County Circuit Court said when Sebena initially was notified by Wauwatosa police about his wife's death on Monday morning, he never asked how she died. He also told police that he was at home between 10 p.m. Dec. 23 until he was asked to come to the Wauwatosa police station at 6:30 a.m. Dec. 24 — hours after she was killed at Wauwatosa Fire Station 1. 

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However, on Wednesday he admitted to police he waited in hiding for several hours near the fire station for her to arrive to take a break, the complaint said.

He told police he began to shoot her after she left the station, and saw her reach for her firearm. He then took the gun from her holster and shot her in the face three or four times, the complaint said. 

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"Benjamin Sebena stated that he wanted to make sure she was dead, so she wouldn’t suffer," according to the complaint.

The complaint also said that on Dec. 6, Jennifer Sebena told another Wauwatosa police officer that she had been a victim of domestic violence and that Benjamin Sebena had put a gun to her head.

At a press conference Thursday afternoon, Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber said he was unaware that Jennifer Sebena told another officer about the threat.

The criminal complaint did not indicate what the motive was in the shooting; however, in his initial interview with police on Monday, Benjamin Sebena "stated that he had been jealous of other men with regards to his wife."

According to the complaint:

Jennifer Sebena was summoned by a dispatcher while on duty at 4:24 a.m. Monday. When she didn't respond to that call, another police officer used her squad's GPS to locate her at the fire station at 1601 Underwood Ave. Her body was found on the pavement just outside the station.

It was determined that she had been shot five times in the head — twice by a 9mm gun and three times by a .40-caliber weapon. The .40-caliber shell casings found at the scene were consistent with weapons used by Wauwatosa police officers, and Jennifer Sebena's weapon was not found at the scene.

At about 6:35 a.m. Monday, Benjamin Sebena contacted police to say he was concerned about his wife's well-being. He was told to come to the police station because his wife had been involved in an accident. He did not ask any questions as to what had happened to her.

Soon after he arrived, Sebena was told that his wife had been killed, however, he never asked what had happened to her.

In an interview with police, Sebena said he been at the couple's Menomonee Falls home on Sunday night, but left to buy a video game at a local Best Buy. He said he returned from the store around 10 p.m. and was home all night.

Wauwatosa police detectives were monitoring Sebena while he sat alone in an empty room at the police station Monday morning, and a detective heard  Sebena say to himself, "How could I do that to her?"

The couple's home was searched Monday and again on Wednesday, when authorities found Jennifer Sebena's service pistol and another handgun in the attic. That gun fires bullets that were consistent with the casings found at the scene of the homicide.

On Tuesday, detectives reviewed Wisconsin Department of Transportation traffic camera video located at the intersection of Highway 100 and West Burleigh Street and observed what appeared to be a black Toyota Prius with darkened /black tire rims traveling west on Burleigh Street about  3:45 a.m. Monday. That's the same vehicle that Benjamin Sebena had been driving.

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