New Jersey police officer charged with murdering ex-wife in Asbury Park appears in court

ASBURY PARK, N.J. (WABC) -- A recently divorced police officer accused of chasing and fatally shooting his ex-wife with his service weapon as their youngest daughter watched made his first court appearance Wednesday.

Neptune Township Sgt. Phillip Seidle is charged with murder, child endangerment and a weapons offense stemming from Tuesday's shooting in Asbury Park.

Seidle will remain jailed on $2 million cash bond, a judge ruled Wednesday in refusing to lower the bail.

His lawyer sought to have his bail reduced at an initial court appearance. The lawyer said his recently divorced client has no prior criminal record and "no official" domestic violence record.

The best friend of the victim, Tamara Seidle, was in court and locked eyes with the officer. "It's just sad and horrific," she said.

Cell phone video shows Phillip moments after the killing, with a gun to his head, threatening to kill himself.

"He was no longer a sergeant for the Neptune Township Police Department. He turned into a criminal and a murderer," said Marc Lemeiux of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

In court, the 51-year old sergeant, shackled and cuffed, glanced at his family, who had little to say after the hearing.

Phillip was in a bitter custody fight with Tamara. The couple's divorce was final just last month.

But things hit a boiling point Tuesday in Asbury Park.

Investigators say the off duty officer chased Tamara with their daughter in his car. Tamara crashed. He got out and with his department issued 40 calliber Glock, opened fire on his ex, not once but twice, authorities say.

"We estimated it was roughly one to two minutes when those series of shots were fired, the distance between those shots," said Monmouth County Prosecutor Chris Gramiccioni.

Between the first and second rounds, officer did safely remove the little girl. After about 30 minures later, Phillip surrendered.

"The cell phone that contained photographs of his children was passed to him," said Gramiccioni. "Now this was a request that he had made."

As for the use of force, could officers have neutralized this situation sooner? That's under investigation, with prosecutors denying Phillip was given special treatment because responding officers knew him.

"That is not how we roll in Monmouth County and that will not be tolerated by my office," said Gramiccioni.

Tamara Seidle, 51, was taken to a hospital after the shooting, where she died a short time later.

After the shooting, prosecutors say, Seidle pointed the gun at his head and held police at bay for about 30 minutes until they were able to persuade him to surrender. He was then taken into custody.

The couple had nine children, ranging in age from 7 to 24. Authorities say the shooting apparently was spurred by an ongoing child custody dispute.

Monmouth County prosecutors say Seidle is charged with first-degree murder.

Michael Terrell, who witnessed the shooting, told the Asbury Park Press that Seidle was yelling at his ex-wife about their child custody fights.

"The guy was in the middle of the street," Terrell told the newspaper. "He was saying, 'I'm tired of going to court.'"

Seidle then raised his gun, firing multiple shots at the woman.

"It was shocking," Terrell said.

Township resident Dianna Harris told the newspaper that Seidle was a popular officer who cared about the community. Harris, who is president of the Neptune-based Midtown Urban Renaissance Corporation, said Seidle would often visit the nonprofit group's community garden.

"He was a well-respected cop in the area," Harris said. "Nobody knows what triggered this, and that's what makes it so sad."

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)