Between the shootings, the couple's daughter, 7, ran from his Honda Pilot to safety. Watch video
FREEHOLD -- A grand jury on Tuesday indicted a suspended Neptune Township police sergeant on murder charges, which now leaves the cop accused of gunning down his ex-wife in broad daylight facing life without parole.
The indictment charged Philip Seidle, 51, with one count each of murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and endangering the welfare of a child, said acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni.
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Because the grand jurors also found two factors that exacerbated the crime, the penalty for a murder conviction is elevated to life behind bars without parole, Gramiccioni said.
Those two factors - called aggravating factors - are that Seidle purposely or knowingly created a grave risk of danger to another in addition to the victim -- his former wife Tamara Seidle -- and that the killing was "outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman" by involving torture, depravity of mind or an aggravated assault on the victim.
Authorities have said Seidle, a 22-year veteran of the Neptune Township Police Department, had the couple's youngest child in the front seat of the car with him when he chased down Tamara Seidle on the streets of Asbury Park on June 16, forced her to crash into a parked car and then shot her to death while she was trapped in her Volkswagen Jetta.
With witnesses including at least one police officer on the street, Seidle fired off two rounds of shots from his duty weapon at point-blank range at his former wife before pointing the gun at himself and threatening to kill himself.
Between the shootings, the couple's daughter, 7, ran from his Honda Pilot to safety.
The couple, who have nine children, were officially divorced just three weeks before the shooting. Tamara Seidle, 51, filed for divorce two years earlier, citing his addiction to pornography and his abusive treatment of her during their 23-year marriage.
By the second round of shots, a barrage of police officers had responded but did not return fire. Gramiccioni's office is investigating the law enforcement officers' response to the incident to determine whether Seidle received preferential treatment because he was a police officer at the time.
Witnesses and authorities said Seidle was upset over not being able to see his children as much as he felt he was entitled to visit with them.
MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.