Sebena, 30, is brought into intake court Thursday in Milwaukee. Sebena has been charged in the shooting death of his wife, Jennifer L. Sebena Credit: Kristyna Wentz-Graff

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Benjamin Sebena, a wounded Iraq war veteran who told investigators he had been stalking his wife for days, was charged Thursday in the Christmas Eve shooting death of his wife, Wauwatosa Police Officer Jennifer L. Sebena.

According to a criminal complaint, Benjamin Sebena told police he shot his wife early Monday after lying in wait for her for hours.

When she emerged from a break at the Wauwatosa Fire Department station on Underwood Ave., he said, he shot her in the back of her head with his own handgun and then shot her several times in the face with her service weapon, according to the complaint. Sebena faces a charge of first-degree intentional homicide, use of a dangerous weapon. Bail has been set at $1 million.

A decorated Marine, Benjamin Sebena, 30, had been part of the invasion force at the start of the Iraq War in 2003. He returned in the fall of 2004 and was sent to Ramadi.

"We were trained to kill," he says in a YouTube video made for a 2010 Christian men's conference.

"We were trained death is OK. Wasn't trained to deal with death, but we're definitely trained to kill."

In the video, Sebena claims to have killed a child in self-defense and to have watched 50 friends die in combat. He displays ropes of scar tissue that mar his knees, chest and shoulder - wounds he suffered during a mortar attack that killed a friend in February 2005.

"I've been into the dark places," he says.

Jennifer Sebena, 30, lived with her husband in Menomonee Falls.

Around Dec. 6, the complaint says, Sebena told a fellow officer that her husband had abused her and that he had held a gun to her head.

On Dec. 24, minutes after trying to contact her, police found her body about 4:28 a.m. outside the back door of the fire station, the complaint says.

According to Milwaukee County Medical Examiner Brian Peterson, she had been shot five times: twice in the back of her head with a 9mm weapon and three times in the face with her .40-caliber gun.

About 6:30 a.m. Monday, Benjamin Sebena called the Wauwatosa police station to ask about the well-being of his wife. When told his wife had been involved in an incident, the complaint says, Sebena - without asking what happened - drove to the station. He was told his wife had been killed. Again, the complaint says, Sebena did not ask what happened.

He admitted, the complaint says, he was jealous of other men regarding his wife. Later, he was heard muttering: "How could I do that to her?"

Shortly before noon Monday, investigators searching the couple's home found two holes in the wall. The complaint says the holes appeared to have been punched into the drywall. Blood was found around the holes.

Investigators also recovered boxes of ammunition that match the bullets used to kill Jennifer Sebena. On Wednesday, investigators searched the house again and found Jennifer Sebena's hidden gun and another handgun matching bullet casings found at the scene, the complaint says.

Later Wednesday, Benjamin Sebena told authorities he had shot his wife so many times because he wanted to make sure she was dead and wouldn't suffer.

During a news conference Thursday, a Department of Justice official said Sebena was arrested Monday afternoon. Concerned for his well-being, they said, he was jailed in West Allis.

Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber said Jennifer Sebena "was everything I could hope for in a young police officer. Intelligent. Energetic. Willing to be of service and wanting to be a great police officer."

Sebena attended the Milwaukee Area Technical College police academy and joined the Wauwatosa Police Department in January 2011. She began as a solo patrol officer in July 2012 and completed probation last month. Her start as a probationary officer was delayed because she was injured during training.

Her funeral services are scheduled for Saturday at Elmbrook Church, 777 S. Barker Road, Brookfield.

The Wauwatosa Peace Officer's Association has set up a memorial fund.

Donations should be made out to "Officer Jen Sebena Memorial Fund" and can be dropped off at any Focus Credit Union office.