MILWAUKEE — Authorities arrested the husband of a slain suburban Milwaukee police officer who was shot dead on Christmas Eve while out on patrol.
Ben Gabriel Sebena, of Menomonee Falls, was booked into Milwaukee County Jail on Wednesday on a preliminary charge of first-degree intentional homicide in the death of his wife, Jennifer Sebena, the Wauwatosa police department said.
It wasn't immediately clear if Ben Sebena had a lawyer. Kent Lovern,
an assistant district attorney, said he didn't know if anyone was
representing Sebena yet or whether Sebena would be formally charged
later Thursday.
Authorities have released few
details about Jennifer Sebena's killing, but said the Wauwatosa police
officer was patrolling alone on the night she was killed. Officers found
her body early Monday after she failed to respond to radio calls. She
had been shot several times.
Jennifer Sebena, 30, had worked
for the department for two years, and she is the first officer killed on
active duty in the 96-year history of the department. Wauwatosa is a
city of about 46,000 people just west of Milwaukee.
Her husband, also 30, is a decorated U.S. Marine veteran who served
two tours in Iraq before suffering severe arm and leg injuries in a
mortar attack in 2005.
Ben Sebena was honorably
discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps as a corporal in 2005. Among his
10 medals and commendations were a Purple Heart, a Good Conduct medal
and a badge as a rifle expert.
In a 10-minute video filmed for
his church group in 2010, he described the mortar attack as well as his
blossoming online courtship with Jennifer, whom he knew from high
school.
"Our love flourished. We became actually infatuated with each other," he said in the video for Elmbrook Church in nearby Brookfield. His identity in the video was confirmed to The Associated Press by Elmbrook Pastor Scott Arbeiter.
Arbeiter said the church holds an
annual men's conference in which organizers feature the stories of
certain individuals. Ben Sebena talked about his transformation from a
troubled teen to a Marine Corps veteran who rediscovered his faith in
God. He eventually went on to counsel other troubled veterans.
Arbeiter, who said the Sebenas
hadn't been active in the church for about a year, said the Elmbrook
family was grieving along with the victim's family.
"None of this is news anyone wants to hear," he said. "This is tragic on so many different levels."
Jennifer Sebena's funeral is scheduled for Saturday.
Post a Comment