UPDATE: Off-Duty Cop Shoots, Kills Ex-Wife With Daughter Present, Monmouth Prosecutor Says

An off-duty cop in Monmouth County was charged with shooting and killing his ex-wife in Asbury Park on Tuesday in front of their 7-year-old daughter, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

>>UPDATE: $2M Bail For Cop Accused Of Killing Ex-Wife In Daughter’s Presence

The off-duty Neptune cop, Phillip Seidle of Neptune, allegedly shot his ex-wife “multiple times” after he was chasing his ex-wife’s car with his vehicle, the prosecutor’s office announced at a Tuesday press conference.

The couple’s 7-year-old daughter, the youngest of nine children, was in Seidle’s car at the time of the shooting, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced.

The off-duty cop, who has 22-years law-enforcement experience, shot through the driver’s side window, killing his ex-wife, Tamara.

Seidle, 51, is charged with first-degree murder, second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

“First and foremost our hearts and prayers go out to the Seidle children and the family of Tamara Seidle,” Gramiccioni said.

Asbury Park police responded around 11:26 a.m. to a report of an unrelated motor vehicle accident when the black 2012 Volkswagen Jetta driven by Tamara Seidle turned the corner onto Sewall Avenue, and then crashed into a parked 2002 Ford Focus, according to authorities.

The Jetta was followed by the 2005 Honda Pilot driven by Phillip Seidle, who exited the vehicle, pulled out a handgun and approached the driver’s side of the Jetta. He then fired multiple shots into the vehicle, striking Tamara Seidle, according to authorities.

Phillip Seidle then turned the weapon on himself, pointing the weapon at his head, before moving to the front of the Jetta and firing several more shots into the windshield of the vehicle.

Phillip Seidle then pointed the weapon at his head, prompting a stand-off with police that lasted between 20-25 minutes. Police officers from Asbury Park and Neptune Township police departments arrived on the scene where a brief stand-off with Phillip Seidle ended at 11:52 a.m., according to authorities

He then surrendered to officers from multiple jurisdictions. Officers from the Asbury Park and Neptune Township police departments and investigators from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Marshal’s Service were at the scene.

Video of the incident has surfaced on social media sites and investigators are urging anyone with video recordings or pictures of the incident to voluntarily turn them in to aid in the investigation.

Anyone with any other information about the case is urged to contact Detective John Leibfried of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office at 1-800-533-7443, or Detective Dan Kowsaluk, of the Asbury Park Police Department, at 732-774-1300.

Phillip Seidle was first hired as a Neptune patrolman on July 1, 1993, and has held the rank of sergeant in the patrol division since his promotion on Jan. 1, 2009. Seidle is a veteran of the U.S. Navy serving from March 1986 until his honorable discharge in November 1990, according to authorities.

Phillip Seidle is currently being held in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, Freehold Township, on $2 million bail with no 10 with no percent option, as set by state Superior Court Judge Francis J. Vernoia.

If convicted of murder, Seidle faces a minimum sentence of 30 years in a New Jersey state prison without parole and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.