Actor Michael Jace taunted wife before shooting her, prosecutors say during murder trial

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Opening statements were made in the murder trial of TV actor Michael Jace in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Michael Jace, who played an officer on the FX series "The Shield," is charged with killing his wife back in May of 2014.

Prosecutors said Michael Jace became obsessed with a belief that his wife April Jace wanted another man.

Officials claimed the actor waited with a gun for his wife to come home and shot her once in the back and then in her legs. Their young sons, ages 5 and 8, saw it happen, prosecutors said.

Members of the Elite Health Club track team were in court on Tuesday to show support for April Jace, who was a competitive runner on a co-ed team.

Prosecutors said Michael Jace was bitter about his wife competing on a co-ed team also.

The couple's 8-year-old son was scheduled to testify that before his mother was shot, his father said, "You like to run so much. Why don't you try running to heaven?"

The defense claimed Michael Jace accepted responsibility for the death at their Hyde Park home, but rejected that it was premeditated, urging the jury to question the prosecution's case, promising there would be first-hand evidence as to what was going on in Michael Jace's mind.

The mother of April Jace, Kay Henry, testified to a chilling text message she said Michael Jace sent her on May 19, 2014.

Henry said it read, "Come to the house. I shot April."

Multiple text messages exchanged on the day of the shooting were scheduled to be viewed during the trial.

Some of the messages, according to prosecutors, show April Jace wanted a divorce and Michael Jace said he wanted a wife committed to God, but that's not what he got.

According to prosecutors, Michael Jace told police that night his wife was cursing him.

"She lunged at me," he stated. "I pushed, she spun I shot her in the legs after she fell down."

Police stated Michael Jace told them the reason he had the gun in the first place was that he was thinking about using it on himself.