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A Monmouth County grand jury has indicted suspended Neptune Township Police Officer Philip Seidle on charges of first degree murder, second degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose and second degree endangering the welfare of a child, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced Tuesday.

Seidle was taken into custody June 16 following a car chase involving his estranged wife Tamara Seidle [shown at right] that ultimately led to her death from gunshot wounds.

Asbury Park Police had responded to a report of an unrelated motor vehicle accident near the intersection of Ridge and Sewall avenues near 11:26 a.m. that day.

During the service call, the black 2012 Volkswagen Jetta driven by Tamara Seidle turned the corner onto Sewall Avenue before crashing into a parked 2002 Ford Focus, Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office spokesman Charles Webster said.

The Jetta was being followed closely by a 2005 Honda Pilot driven by Seidle. The youngest of his eight children was a passenger in the vehicle. He subsequently exited the car, pulled out a handgun, and approached the driver’s side of the Jetta. He fired multiple shots into the vehicle, striking Tamara Seidle, Webster said.

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

After firing the second round of shot-bursts, he again turned the weapon to his head prompting a stand-off with on-scene police officers from the Asbury Park and Neptune Township police departments.

The stand-off with Seidle ended around 12:17 p.m. when he surrendered and was taken into custody, Webster said.

In addition to officers from the Asbury Park and Neptune Township police departments, investigators from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshal’s Service responded to the scene.

Seidle, 51, of Neptune Township, is currently being held in the Mercer County Jail in Hopewell Township, in lieu $2 million cash only bail set by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Francis J. Vernoia.

A motion for a bail reduction before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Ronald L. Reisner was denied.

If convicted of murder, Seidle faces a minimum sentence of 30 years without parole in a state prison and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment without eligibility for parole, Webster said.

Under state law, an individual convicted of Murder may be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole if the murder was committed by his own conduct and one or more of the enumerated aggravating factors exist.

Seidle faces life without parole because the grand jury found he committed the homicidal act by his own conduct and due to the existence of two aggravating factors – that he purposely or knowingly created a grave risk of danger of death to another person in addition to the victim; and that the murder was outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman in that it involved torture, depravity of mind or an aggravated assault to the victim, Webster said.

For the possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose charge, Seidle faces up to 10 years, subject to a mandatory minimum of one-half of the sentence imposed or 42 months [3.5 years], whichever is greater without parole.

If convicted of endangering the welfare of a child, Seidle faces a sentence of five to ten years in state prison.

Seidle, is a 22-year veteran of the Neptune Township Police Department. He was first hired as a patrolman on July 1, 1993 and has held the rank of sergeant in the Patrol Division since his promotion on Jan. 1, 2009. He is currently suspended from his post without pay.

The case is assigned to Monmouth County First Assistant Prosecutor Marc C. LeMieux and Assistant Prosecutor Christopher J. Decker, the Director of the Office’s Major Crimes Bureau.  Seidle is  represented by Edward C. Bertucio, Esq., of Eatontown.

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