Los Angeles police investigators have successfully hacked an iPhone of April Jace, 40, who was killed in 2014 allegedly by her husband, "The Shield" actor Michael Jace. The LAPD detectives were able to bypass the security features of the slain victim's white iPhone 5S earlier this year at the time when FBI was demanding Apple Inc. to unlock the iPhone 5C of San Bernardino shooting suspect Syed Rizwan Farook.
United States law enforcers have been struggling to crack the security features of digital devices which may contain potential evidence for criminal investigations. However, the LAPD found an expert who could override the iPhone's locked function.
The iPhone has been at the focus of the criminal case against her husband who is charged to have carried out her killing. It was not revealed what operating system was on the victim's smartphone, but she was killed before Apple rolled out iOS 8 which came with more enhanced encryption.
The iPhone 5C is an earlier version of 5S and does not have Secure Enclave, an additional security layer on Apple's smartphones, according to Digital Trends. A search warrant of the case stated that an Apple technician helped the LAPD access information from April's phone, but investigators sought an alternative way to bypass the lock.
Investigators contended that the couple Michael and April argued through text messages before the husband opened fire. Michael's lawyers countered that the wife, who was a well-liked financial aid counselor at Biola University in La Mirada had an extramarital affair. A judge delayed the actor's trial, when his defense attorneys argued that April's phone should be investigated further, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Investigations over April's killing were hindered by her iPhone being passcode-protected. An L.A. judge ordered an Apple technician in June 2014 to help the police extract data from the phone's hard drive. The technician met with detectives in February 2015 when LAPD received the hard drive.
An investigator in the L.A. Country district attorney's office tried to extract data from April's phone in late January but could not. The contents of the phone's SIM card were the only ones accessible.
In March, authorities sought the help of a forensic cellphone expert to pass through the security features of the device and allow the authorities to view the contents of the phone. In April, the district attorney's office had examined April's iPhone.
The 53-year-old suspect is now awaiting trial. It was about 8:30 p.m. on May 19, 2014, when authorities received a call about the crime. Two children, who were reportedly below 10 years old, were inside their home during the incident. Authorities recovered a handgun from their house at 5400 block, Brynhurst Avenue.
Michael played L.A. Police officer Julien Lowe in "The Shield." The other films he starred in were "Boogie Nights," "Forrest Gump" and "Planet of the Apes."
The video below reports FBI dropping its fight with Apple over unlocking an iPhone.