but i like fake too. >> yeah. >> you know, i could do both. really. i'm not a stickler. some people are real sticklers. >> yeah, i'm good with whichever last quick one. >> for me, i always did the real deal. but after contributing, i bought 100 seedlings for the redwood forest. i can't cut down a tree anymore. so i've had an artificial tree for the past tt's just how it is. well, before we go, send us your like it or not questions, you record yourself, ask a question, tell us where you're from. i'm anna garcia. right now on true crime news. >> they are requesting backup for an ambush. >> officer down. christmas eve in wisconsin. officer jen sabina is ambushed and shot to death. >> took her gun right out of her holster while she laid on the ground and shot her three times in the face. >> her husband, a decorated former marine, is devastated.

and the hunt begins for a cop killer. her assassin was carrying a deadly grudge. >> it was very personal. >> footprints in the snow. a mysterious vehicle and the most surprising suspect of all. >> he had been stalking her. >> your daily source for true crime starts right now. we begin today with the tragic murder of officer jen sabina. she had just come back from a break when she was ambushed from behind and gunned down. it's christmas eve in wauwatosa, wisconsin. when five shots shatter this pretty police officer's silent night. we have an officer down. >> she was ambushed from behind. she was shot two times in the back of her head. >> but officer jen sabina's killer wasn't done. >> took her gun right out of her holster while she laid on the

ground and shot her three times in the face. >> her heartbroken husband erupts in rage. her brothers in blue track her killer's footprints in the holiday snow. >> this was the hardest that i've dealt with in my career. >> 30 year old jen sabina was happily married and didn't have an enemy in the world. fellow officers say she was the kind of cop who most people actually loved to see coming. >> her smile was infectious around the station. >> just a very good person who wanted to help people in or out of uniform. >> jen sabina was always there for people. she even served as church leader in a youth group. >> she had like a group of girls that she would just keep track of to keep tabs on. but you never felt like you were just a number in her like book. it was always just, you know, you were her favorite. >> her husband, ben, a marine and purple heart war hero, was

seriously injured in iraq. >> a mortar round came down. i looked down at my knee and my pants are just soaked in blood. i look over and my arm is drooping off my body and shrapnel ripped right through it. >> he spent months in the hospital in this youtube video done for his church, ben credits jen with saving his life. >> i came back home to wisconsin and i started spending more time with jen and we, our love, flourished. >> just hours before her murder, ben texted jen, using his pet name for her. vito. merry christmas vito. he writes. jen. response. eve. ha! ben texts jen again. well, call me if you get too bored, i love you. merry christmas, jen writes back. i love you too, smiley face. a little more than five hours later, ben texts jen again, only this time he seems panicked. baby, are you okay? they just said an officer is down in tosa.

jen doesn't respond. nine minutes later, ben sends another text. baby, please text or call me. i'm scared. still no response. at 5:51 a.m, ben sends one last desperate message. babe, please. minutes later, ben calls the wauwatosa police department. he's worried dispatch can't reach her either. the department tracks jen squad car to the parking lot of the fire department, where police would often park to fill out paperwork. jen's fellow officers arrive on the scene. >> they are requesting backup for an ambush. officer down. >> but it's already too late. officer jen sabina has been dead for hours. shot by her own service weapon. >> she was laying on a cold, wet parking lot. she was shot multiple times in her head and in her face. it's just not right for her to have been left like that. there was no indication based on the medical examiner's

report that jennifer wasn't dead from the first two rounds that were fired. there was no reason to remove her gun, to shoot her in the face. >> but who would be so vicious to this loving wife and beloved police officer on christmas eve, no less? >> clearly indicates that it was very personal. >> by the next morning, detectives are tracking footprints near the crime scene. meanwhile, their colleagues are delivering the tragic news to jen's husband at the station. he flies into a rage. >> he was visibly upset. he was emotional, as you would expect him to be a wonderful person. >> she was telling me. she's always told me she. >> just hours before jen was murdered, ben tells detectives

he kissed his smiling wife goodbye for the last time. >> how was she when she left yesterday? happy? >> she was happy. we hugged and did a big hug and a kiss. >> cops are baffled. then a break that would turn the investigation upside down. detectives start checking surveillance cameras in the vicinity of the shooting, when suddenly they spot a familiar vehicle. this black prius with black rims. whose car is it? the answer will leave you cold. when we come back, cops close in on the killer who hunted down officer jen sabina. >> ne o the things that no one knew until he told us is that he had been stalking her. >> my name is brayden. i was five years old when i came to saint jude. i'll try and shorten down the story. so i've been having these headaches that

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♪ you know i'm a dreamer ♪ ♪ but my heart's of gold ♪ ♪ just one more night ♪ ♪ and i'm coming off this long and winding road ♪ ♪ i'm on my way ♪ ♪ i'm on my way ♪ ♪ home sweet home ♪ there's no place like the road home.

receive a $5,500 bonus on a new 2024 audi q5 plug-in hybrid during the season of audi sales event. we're back with the heartless killing of officer jen sabina and the race to find her killer. early christmas eve morning, officer jen sabina lays in the freezing cold snow. her brothers in blue are heartbroken. >> i looked at all of the younger officers, almost like my kids, and tell all the families how we were going to keep them safe and i failed. i failed miserably in this case. i didn't

keep her safe and the next morning, christmas morning, jen's husband ben is inconsolable. >> wauwatosa police are baffled. officer sabina seemed to be loved by all. could there be a crazed cop killer on the loose? three shots to the face. tell them something different clearly indicates that it was very personal. police track footprints in the snow at the scene. at first it leads nowhere, then surveillance cameras in the area around the shooting grabbed this black prius with black rims. it's a shocking development. the prius appears to be identical to the one that belongs to jen's husband, ben sabina. >> his vehicle is basically tracked through the department of transportation cameras from locations up near their residence and all the way down

through the freeways and through the side streets, to where it appears on camera a block away from the murder scene. >> that christmas day afternoon, ben is called back down to the station. he rushes over without hesitation, thinking he's about to get answers about what happened to his wife. instead. >> then something happened that morning. and only you know what happened there. i do not. >> i know you're upsetting me with the fact that you think i. >> i don't mean any disrespect, i mean, i don't think there's anything i can explain to you is that i loved her. >> there's no rage. there was no outburst ever directed at her. and i never would, because i had such true love for her that i couldn't hurt her. >> despite ben's denial, cops searched the couple's house but come up empty. the next day, they continue grilling ben.

>> i would never have hurt her if i was there. i would have saved her. >> i would have stopped on my way. >> i would have i would have done anything to stop this from happening. >> he made so many different statements. it's difficult for me to really gauge how much of it was true and how much of it wasn't. >> despite no physical evidence tying him to the scene, police believe ben is the killer. they returned to the house for a deeper search, and this time they hit investigative gold hidden behind several pieces of insulation in the rafters of the basement. >> we located both the nine millimeter makarov style weapon, and we located jennifer's duty weapon, and cops would soon learn ben was hiding another dark secret. >> i was a marine, and we're trained to kill. we were trained that death is okay. >> in this youtube video made by his church before jennifer's murder, the former marine who

fought in afghanistan and iraq reveals he was battling ptsd. >> the first time i came back from iraq, i was extremely angry and very lost in my ways. i was scared out of my mind and i was angry all the time. >> so angry he would kill the one person he loved the most. >> i think the war and ptsd did make a contribution to his acting out and murdering his wife. i however, i don't think that was sufficient enough explanation. >> doctor ashok betty, a board certified psychiatrist for more than 40 years, is an expert on ptsd. he never interviewed ben sabina, but after reviewing the case, he thinks ben may have been afraid of losing jennifer, and prosecutor mark williams believed ben was insanely jealous. angry about his wife's success as a police officer. >> one of the things that no one knew until he told us is that he

had been stalking her, and he said a lot of this was to because of the jealousy was motivating him. he wanted to find out what she was doing. he obviously made a choice at some point that he would have to kill her in order not to lose her. >> jennifer had been with the department for less than two years in public. she and ben seemed to be madly in love. >> my first encounter with him was actually at jennifer's swearing in, and the two of them were like giddy teenagers in love and all outward appearances, holding hands and giggling and staring into each other's eyes. >> ben's past and secrets weren't clear to cops when they first told him about jen's murder. but they soon concluded it was all an act to throw them off. >> he flipped over the interview table in a fit of rage, and i

think that was just something he probably thought would be appropriate, or something that somebody who just found that out would do. i don't think it was because he was that angry or that upset for 60 grueling hours, police interrogate ben sabina. >> finally, he comes clean. >> confession time. right. >> well, i did it, i did it outright. >> confessing to shooting the woman he claimed to love twice in the back of the head, then pulling out her very own police pistol and firing three more rounds directly to her face. >> i can only hope that it was quick, that it was painless, that her last thoughts were nothing but positive. happy as she walked out of that fire station, ready to continue on her shift, ready to keep doing the job that she loved. >> but right there at her own working headquarters, the former marine war hero calmly describes the vicious attack to the same detectives his wife called her

brothers in blue schroder, and she went down and. >> i don't know, to take another shot. and she started getting up and she started going for her gun. so i went for a gun, and then i shot her with the same pistol again. and then i grabbed the other one and shot her. and one more time just to make sure she was actually around, because. >> schlitter do you think she knew it was you? >> i don't think so. >> ben's ice cold confession sends a chill through the small room. >> why did you shoot her in the face with her? with her own gun? >> i was just because i wanted to make sure she was dead. >> he took the extra time and effort to remove her gun out of her duty holster, and while looking down at his wife, shot her three times in the face. that's personal. that means something that's premeditated. >> but would a diagnosis of ptsd get this iraq war veteran off the hook for murder? coming up, ben's twisted motive for killing his wife is evealed.

>> if there's anything i can explain to you is that i loved her. >> when we come back, my moderate to severe crohn's symptoms kept me out of the picture. >> now i have skyrizi. i've got places to go, and i'm feeling free. >> controlling my crohn's means everything to me. control is everything to me. >> and now i'm back in the picture. feels significant. symptom relief at four weeks with skyrizi, including less abdominal pain and fewer bowel movements, skyrizi helped visibly improve damage to the intestinal lining. and with skyrizi, many were in remission at 12 weeks at one year, and even at two years. >> don't use if allergic, serious allergic reactions, increased infections, or lower ability to fight them may occur before treatment. get checked for infections and tb. tell your doctor about any flu like symptoms or vaccines. liver problems leading to hospitalization may occur when treated for crohn's. >> now's the time to take control of your crohn's. control is everything to me. ask your

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university. >> set a course for change. >> was i going to just kill myself? why didn't you just. she went and killed herself after that. >> it was a truly twisted defense. but after hours of interrogation, ben sabina's warped reality had him telling detectives he wanted to die, but believed if jennifer committed suicide, she would go to hell. he tells investigators he was doing her a favor. pilittere maenalanen. >> so i didn't want her to be dealing with it anymore because it was just too much for her. >> it's a lot of hatred if you want to make sure someone is not suffering, you should. they be the heart. as a soldier, he would know that that shooting someone in the face is not the way to kill someone. that's anger. >> now this self-admitted killer is charged with first degree intentional homicide. initially, he pleads not guilty. then he

changes his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity. >> the defense has to prove is that that benjamin could not determine right from wrong. >> cops say everything he did after gunning down his wife proves he knew the difference. running from the scene, hiding the guns in the ceiling, denying it through 60 hours of interrogation. >> if there's anything i can explain to you is that i loved her. there's no rage. there is no outburst ever directed at her. and i never would, because i had such true love for her that i couldn't hurt her. >> he came across as somebody who felt as though he was going to get away with this. he believed he was smarter than everybody in the room. he believed he was smarter than everybody on this police department. up until the point that he confessed. >> but once in court, sabina changed his plea. >> what's your plea to that charge? >> guilty, your honor. >> guilty to first degree intentional homicide. his mother

pleads with the judge to remember her son was sick. >> our military is skilled in training our young men and women how to fight and to kill. but when their service contracts are fulfilled and they come back home, they fail to teach them how to live again. >> his parents also send an impassioned seven page letter, writing in part, we ask for mercy. ben, in his illness, thought he was helping his wife. before sentencing ben, sabina offered an apology to jennifer's family. >> i was in a place where i. i didn't have anything else left for me. and after our discussion, i didn't want to do that to her. and i'm sorry that i took away your daughter. and i'm sorry i took away your sister. if i could replace my life with hers right now, i would do it. >> the judge sentences ben sabina to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 35 years. >> mr. sabina will be about 65

or 66 years old when he's allowed to petition for release. >> the fact that jennifer was such a good person and through through our investigation, we learned and that ben was truly an evil person. it's not like this was a crime of anger in the moment, a crime of passion in the moment. this was a calculated, evil person laying in wait for somebody that they supposedly loved and then just completely, violently killing her. >> jennifer sabina only served as an officer for two years, but she touched so many hearts, especially those proudly wearing the wauwatosa police badge. they carry on with the motto in mind that we've all heard so many times. >> never forget as we are present here today, remembering jen. as we are present here today. remembering honor jen, a

piece of us is gone, one that can never be replaced. rest in peace, our sister in blue. you have joined the ranks of heaven's angels. we have your watch from here. >> in handing down that harsh sentence, the judge invoked a military reference. he told iraq war vet ben sabina, quote, you brought an act of war to wauwatosa. you took from this earth the person who probably loved you more than any one. end quote. we'll be right back. >> right now, in our world, habitats are being destroyed and wildlife is facing an extinction crisis. but this holiday season, you can take action to protect wildlife and give the most meaningful gift of all. visit this website or call this number, or simply scan the code on your screen. donate just $16 a month to support wwf's global

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>> on the next true crime news. a crazy driver with road rage terrorizes a young mom and her boyfriend. we're going to tell us they're going to show us crashing into them and taking her at knifepoint. >> i was too far away to do anything. he just looked at me and he said, i'll kill both of

you. >> the chilling 911 call with an ending you won't believe. >> leslie. >> leslie, where are you on the next true crime news? for the latest breaking crime news, go to true crime news.com. watch more exclusive content on our youtube channel, listen to our podcast and follow us at my true crime news. that's it for today's true crime news. i'm anna garcia. see you next time, everyone. cri nev (intense percussive music) - describe the scene when police arrived. - she did have some white foam coming out of her mouth and officers started asking, "what happened?" - it's an unimaginable thing to watch your loved one drowning. - the manner in which he claims she drowned is just a huge stretch. (intense percussive music) (sirens howling) - [nancy] police searching for answers. - they had a lot of questions for him. - is there any way this could have been an accidental death?