'You like to run so much. Why don't you try running to heaven?': Shield actor Michael Jace 'taunted his wife before shooting her to death in front of their two young sons'

Actor Michael Jace, who played officer Julien Lowe on The Shield, taunted his wife before shooting her to death while their two young sons watched, prosecutors said Tuesday.

They made the accusations against Jace during opening statements at his murder trial, before playing a 911 call in which the actor calmly told a dispatcher: 'I shot my wife.'

Jace's attorney acknowledged in front of the court in Los Angeles that his client had killed his wife and said the defense would try to explain why he had done it.

April Jace was 40 years old when she died in May 2014 at the home she shared with Jace, her husband of 11 years, and their two sons.

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Actor Michael Jace (pictured previously in court), who played officer Julien Lowe on The Shield, taunted his wife before shooting her to death while their two young sons watched, prosecutors said Tuesday

'This case is not about who did it. We acknowledge it. We accept responsibility,' Defense attorney Jamon Hicks said in his opening statement Tuesday.

'This case is not about how it was done. We acknowledge it. We accept responsibility. This case is about why it was done.' 

Jace pleaded not guilty in his wife's murder case back in June 2014.

His defense team doesn't dispute that he killed her but says data from her iPhone 5S could explain his state of mind as he gunned her down, according to the Los Angeles Times.

This model of smartphone does not have the robust security that prompted the FBI to demand Apple's help to crack a newer type of iPhone during the investigation into the San Bernardino mass shooting. 

Jace had been drinking and told his wife in a text message that he had left their home but was actually waiting for her with a loaded revolver, Deputy District Attorney Tannaz Mokayef said in her opening statement.

When she arrived, the prosecutor said, Jace shot her in the back before firing two more rounds into her legs within sight of their sons, who were eight and five years old at the time.

April Jace (pictured in 2004 with Jace) was 40 years old when she died in May 2014 at the home she shared with Jace, her husband of 11 years, and their two sons 

In addition to his role on the FX series The Shield (pictured), Jace worked steadily in small roles in films such as Planet of the Apes, Boogie Nights, Forrest Gump and the television series Southland

April Jace was an avid runner and the actor shot her in the legs because he wanted her to feel pain, Mokayef added.

The prosecutor said one of the boys will testify that he heard his father tell his mother: 'You like to run so much. Why don't you try running to heaven?'

Mokayef also provided new details about the 2014 killing, including a 911 call in which the actor calmly told a dispatcher: 'I shot my wife.'

The recording was later played in court and Jace could be heard saying: 'My intent was not to kill her.'

Jace also gave instructions on how officers should enter the home so they could find the gun and not think he was still armed, according to Mokayef.

He told detectives that he shot his wife in the back after she lunged at him, she added.

The evidence will prove Jace planned the killing because he believed his wife was having an affair and wanted a divorce, Mokayef told the court.

He spent much of April Jace's last day texting her, trying to guess who she was sleeping with.

'You will hear that on May 19, 2014, the defendant took a loaded gun, a revolver, and waited for his wife to come home and then shot her in the back and then shot her two more times in front of their kids,' Mokayef told the jury of six men and six women.

The prosecutor called it a 'really sad story of obsession and control.'

In addition to his role on the FX series The Shield, Jace worked steadily in small roles in films such as Planet of the Apes, Boogie Nights, Forrest Gump and the television series Southland. 

Jace and his previous wife, Jennifer Bitterman, were divorced in 2002.

The actor filed for bankruptcy in 2011, citing debts of more than $500,000. He could be convicted to spend 50 years to life in prison.

Jace pleaded not guilty in the murder case in June 2014. His booking sheet (pictured) shows that he was taken in at 3.37am on May 20, 2014