Earlier this week, actor Michael Jace, best known as Detective Lowe from The Shield, was arrested on suspicion of murder charges after he called police to report that he'd shot his wife of 10 years, April Jace.
Police arrived at Jace's Los Angeles home Monday evening after responding to an alleged domestic violence incident. According to NBCLA, police found April, 40, dead inside the house.
On Thursday Jace was officially charged with murder and is being held on $2 million bail. Although there were no previous reports of domestic violence between the couple, Maria De Le Vegas—a woman who CNN says has been described as a "close friend" of Jace's first wife, Jennifer Bitterman—said in a sworn statement that she witnessed him abusing Bitterman in 1997.
The statement, obtained by CNN, says that Jace "choked and hit" his wife and "slammed her against the wall while [their infant son] screamed in his crib next to her," De Le Vegas said.
The Jaces' two children, who were in the house during the shootings, are currently living with family members, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Jace is scheduled to make his first court appearance Thursday afternoon.
Yesha Callahan is editor of The Grapevine and a staff writer at The Root. Follow her on Twitter.
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