Husband kills wife in car, turns gun on himself HOWELL - A township woman who filed for divorce in January was shot and killed by her husband as she sat in her car in the parking lot of a local shopping center on the afternoon of Feb. 11. A short time later, the man shot and killed himself in the driveway of a township residence as a police officer looked on. According to information provided by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office on Feb. 12, at about 3 p.m. Feb. 11 Howell police officers responded to multiple 911 calls of a man shooting into a car that was parked in front of a Dress Barn store in the Howell Commons shopping center at Route 9 north and Locust Road. Upon arrival, the officers found a woman who was identified as Gina Marie Sgambati, 51, of Howell, slumped over in the front seat of her car, a Chrysler PT Cruiser. Sgambati was identified as an employee of Dress Barn. She also worked as a teacher's aide at the Taunton School, Howell. According to the prosecutor's office, witnesses told police they saw a man in a black Mercedes sedan stop in front of Sgambati's car, blocking it from pulling out of the parking space. The witnesses said the man ran from the Mercedes to the front driver's side of the woman's car and fired a handgun through the front driver's-side window numerous times before fleeing from the scene in the Mercedes. A description of the man and the Mercedes was provided to police. Shortly thereafter, a Howell police office spotted the Mercedes and attempted to perform a motor vehicle stop. However, the vehicle continued traveling nearly two miles to a home in the Candlewood section of Howell. According to the prosecutor's office, as the Mercedes pulled into the driveway of a home on South Westfield Road, the officer pulled in behind it. At that point the driver, who was identified as Sebastian Robert Sgambati, 64, of Howell, stepped out of the car with a gun in his hand. The officer ordered Sgambati to get back into his vehicle. Sgambati took one step forward and shot himself in the head, according to the prosecutor. Authorities said the South Westfield Road home belongs to Sebastian Sgambati's adult daughter from a previous marriage. Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis A. Valentin, praised the witnesses at the shopping center and the Howell police officers for their quick response to the situation. "The civilian witnesses to the brutal murder of Mrs. Sgambati must be commended for immediately communicating with police and for their outstanding cooperation. The Howell Police Depart-ment should be recognized for its highly professional response to a volatile and dangerous situation. These deaths constitute a senseless family tragedy. "The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office and the Howell Police Department extend our heartfelt sympathies to the Sgambati family, their friends and the community which has been affected by these deaths," Valentin said. Autopsies were performed on the Sgambatis on Feb. 12. The prosecutor's office did not immediately return a reporter's telephone message at the Tri-Town News deadline on Feb. 13 seeking additional information. Sgambati was identified as a self-employed contractor. The Sgambatis were the parents of two children. Valentin said the investigation into the incident is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Howell Detective Christopher Nagy at (732) 938-4111 or Detective Daniel Baldwin of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office at (800) 533-7443.