A former Neptune Township police sergeant was sentenced to 30 years in prison for fatally shooting his ex-wife in front of their young daughter.

Philip Seidle apologized to his children and to responding officers before his sentence was handed down. Seidle pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter in the killing of his ex-wife, Tamara Wilson-Seidle.

At the sentence hearing, two of the Seidle's nine children told a judge about the years of abuse their mother suffered at the hands of their father.

"The day our father killed our mother in cold blood, we lost everything. Our lives are ruined and the joy of life was robbed from us," Kirsten Seidle told the judge.

Seidle shot and killed his ex-wife in Asbury Park in 2015 after chasing her in a car for several blocks. The couple's 7-year-old daughter was in the car with her father at the time of the shooting. Seidle then threatened to kill himself when officers responded to the scene.

Seidle will have to serve 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for release.