"The Shield" actor Michael Jace appears in a Los Angeles court where he was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison for killing his wife April Jace in May 2014. (Photo : Getty Images/ Frederick M. Brown)
It was an emotional moment in court on June 10, Friday, when "The Shield" actor Michael Jace was sentenced to 40 years to life in killing his wife, April Jace in front of their two children in 2014. For the very first time, Michael said sorry for what he did and told April's family that there was no justification for what he did.
April's mother, Kay Henry broke down in tears and walked out before the verdict was announced. The 53-year-old actor apologized before his wife's family gave a tearful message during the trial.
" There is no justification for my actions on that night at all," NBC Los Angeles quoted Michael as saying."I am profoundly sorry for the pain that I have caused everyone - everyone who knew April and loved April. There is no replacing April."
The 754 days that Michael served in prison since he has been detained in May 2014 was credited. The jury found that he was guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of his wife. Michael also received charges for using a handgun.
Michael's sentence includes 25 years to life for the gun violation and 15 years to life for the murder charges. The former FX actor was initially charged with first-degree murder for allegedly planning to kill his wife.
During the trial, the couple's 10-year-old son testified and told everyone that he saw his father pulled his mother in the hallway. He also detailed in court how his mother was killed by his father.
Michael was distraught that April wanted a divorce, and he was preoccupied with the idea that she was fooling him with another man. On the night of May 19, 2014, he shot her once in the back and twice in the legs.
The defense lawyer, Jamon Hicks acknowledged that the actor killed his wife, but argued that it was not premeditated. He requested for minimum sentence for Michael because he was a law-abiding citizen, and was never been arrested for any crime.
Michael is popular for his performance as a Los Angeles police officer Julien Lowe in the FX drama. He also played bit roles in "Planet of the Apes," "Boogie Nights" and "Forrest Gump."
Michael and April married in 2003 and share two children together. He was formerly married to Jennifer Bitterman from 1995 to 2002.
It was not the first time that Michael was involved in a domestic violence. He had a reported history of hurting his first wife physically. In a document obtained by TMZ in 2014, it said that Michael choked Bitterman in front of their 6-month-old son while a friend of Bitterman saw how Michael slammed her against a wall.
The incident occurred prior to Bitterman's divorce with Michael. His ex-wife had multiple physical assaults during that time.
Check out more details on Jace's murder trial:
