‘Shield’ actor Michael Jace due in court for wife’s shooting death
“The Shield” actor Michael Jace is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday on charges that he shot his wife to death this week shortly after she arrived at their South L.A. home with their two kids.
Jace, who played LAPD Officer Julien Lowe on the FX show, was arrested on suspicion of murder after he called police on his cellphone and said he’d shot his wife. He’s being held in lieu of $2-million bail.
April Jace, 40, suffered multiple gunshot wounds to her upper torso, police said.
Two children, both reportedly younger than 10, were inside the pink stucco home on a quiet street at the time of the shooting, police said.
“At very least they heard the shots,” LAPD Det. Sal LaBarbera said. “It is a terrible tragedy, made all the more worse by their children being there.”
Neither child was hurt.
By 3 a.m. Tuesday, Jace had been booked on suspicion of murdering his wife, a well-liked financial-aid counselor at Biola University, an evangelical Christian college in La Mirada.
Neighbors were shocked by the incident and said there were no hints of trouble inside the Hyde Park home.
“They were the Huxtables on the block,” neighbor Tonja Edwards said, referring to the fictional family in the long-running sitcom “The Cosby Show” in the 1980s and ‘90s.
LaBarbera said investigators searched the home in the 5400 block of Brynhurst Avenue and recovered a handgun after the killing. The weapon will be tested to determine whether it was used in the shooting.
April Jace and her sons had been home for about 15 minutes after baseball practice before their mother was shot, detectives said.
Beforehand, neighbors reported seeing Michael Jace pull into the driveway, walk in and leave the front door ajar. A few minutes later, a neighbor heard popping sounds and took cover.
Police said they arrived to find an unarmed Jace standing in the doorway, his wife’s body visible in a hallway.
They handcuffed the actor. Paramedics arrived soon after and pronounced his wife dead.
The veteran actor, dressed in a short-sleeve shirt, appeared to show little emotion as flashing lights from police cars reflected off his face outside the home.
More to Read
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.