MILWAUKEE — An Iraq War veteran charged with ambushing his wife Christmas Eve as she worked as a Milwaukee-area police officer told investigators he shot her in the head repeatedly because he didn't want her to suffer before she died.

Benjamin Gabriel Sebena, 30, acknowledged to detectives that he was a jealous husband, police said. Still, they declined to speculate on a motive for the killing, saying Thursday their probe was ongoing.

Investigators said Ben Sebena told them he had been stalking his wife, Jennifer Sebena, for a few days. He said he waited a few hours near the fire department where officers often take breaks, and when he saw her squad car he rushed her and opened fire. They said when the officer reached for her weapon, her husband grabbed it from her holster and used it to shoot her three or four times in the face.