Former Neptune NJ Cop Sentenced to Prison for Murdering Ex-Wife in Asbury Park

A former Neptune police officer has been sentenced to 30 years behind bars for the brutal murder of his ex-wife in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

Philip Seidle and his wife, Tamara Wilson Seidle, were involved in a contentious divorce in 2014. While the divorce process was ongoing, Philip Seidle complained about child custody and said that his ex-spouse did not give him enough access to the former couple’s nine kids. Seidle’s anger about the child custody arrangement eventually boiled over, culminating in Seidle’s vicious attack against his ex-wife on a street in Asbury Park, NJ.

On June 16, 2015, just three weeks after the divorce was finalized, Seidle saw the car of his wife’s boyfriend parked outside her Neptune NJ residence. Seidle then followed his wife as she drove to Asbury Park. Seidle eventually crashed his car into hers, ramming her off the roadway. Moments later, Seidle used a handgun to fire eight shots into the driver’s side window before firing another four shots at point blank range.

Afterwards, Seidle held the gun to his own head while talking to responding police officers, many of whom he knew from his long tenure with the Neptune Police Department. Seidle eventually surrendered to law enforcement.

Seidle was initially charged with first degree murder, the most serious criminal offense in the NJ Criminal Code.

Now Seidle is headed to New Jersey State Prison after being sentenced to a term of incarceration of 30 years. Seidle avoided a potential life sentence after reaching a plea deal with Monmouth County prosecutors: in exchange for the suspect pleading guilty to lesser offenses of aggravated manslaughter and child endangerment, prosecutors agreed to drop the first degree murder charges.

During a sentencing hearing in Monmouth County Superior Court in Freehold NJ, Seidle expressed remorse for his violent actions and told the superior court judge that he acted out because he was upset about not being able to have a relationship with his children.

Two of Seidle’s children, the oldest son and the oldest daughter, provided statements at the sentencing hearing, telling the judge that Seidle often beat and physically abused their mother while they were married. The two kids asked the judge to give Seidle the maximum sentence in the case.

The judge ultimately sentenced Seidle to the maximum term of incarceration of 30 years, with the violent nature of Seidle’s crime meaning that he will have to serve at least 25 years behind bars before he is eligible for release on parole.

For additional information, read the following article: Suspended Neptune Cop Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Fatal Shooting of Ex-Wife