'Shield' actor pleads not guilty to murder

Michael Jace and his wife, April, are shown at a screening of "The Shield" in March 2004 at the Zanuck Theater in Los Angeles.

• A preliminary hearing for Michael Jace is set for August 1


• The judge set bond at $2 million and ordered Jace to have no contact with his two children


• Jace wore a yellow jail jumpsuit and was handcuffed in a glass holding area for the hearing


• April Jace, 40, died from "multiple gunshot wounds," according to a coroner

Los Angeles (CNN) -- "Shield" actor Michael Jace, appearing in a Los Angeles court Wednesday, entered a not guilty plea in the slaying of his wife.

His attorney did not object when the judge set bond at $2 million and ordered Jace, 51, to have no contact with his two children.

A preliminary hearing, in which investigators are expected to testify about why they arrested Jace in the May 19 shooting death, is set for August 1.

April Jace, 40, died from "multiple gunshot wounds," according to preliminary autopsy results. The Los Angeles County coroner ruled the death a homicide, Deputy Chief Coroner Ed Winter said.

Jace, who played a Los Angeles cop in TV's "The Shield," wore a yellow jail jumpsuit and was kept handcuffed while in a glass holding area for Wednesday's hearing.

'Forrest Gump' actor charged with murder

Actor Michael Jace, right, has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of his wife, April. Jace formerly appeared on the hit FX show "The Shield." His case is the latest of many shocking crimes in the showbiz world:

In 1958, a then 14-year-old Cheryl Crane, daughter of actress Lana Turner, stabbed her mother's boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato. Crane told police Stompanato, who had ties to organized crime, had threatened her mother with a knife. Here Crane is shown with three unidentified men at the time of her trial, which resulted in a ruling of justifiable homicide.

Vladimir "Spider" Sabich was an alpine ski racer who died in March 1976 after being shot by his girlfriend, singer and actress Claudine Longet. Longet was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and sentenced to 30 days in jail. She later married her defense attorney, Ron Austin, in 1986.

John Lennon -- seen here in 1969 with his wife, Yoko Ono -- was shot and killed in December 1980 outside of his apartment building in New York City by Mark David Chapman. Chapman remains jailed.

Probably one of the most famous cases ever involving a celebrity, O.J. Simpson, center, was arrested for the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, in 1994. Here he confers with attorneys Johnnie Cochran, left, and Robert Shapiro, right, during a hearing in 1995. Simpson's friend Robert Kardashian stands behind him. Simpson, a former professional football player, was acquitted in the criminal case.

The murder of rapper Tupac Shakur remains unsolved. Shakur was shot and killed in Las Vegas in September 1996.

The death of rapper Christopher Wallace, known professionally as the Notorious B.I.G., and Biggie Smalls, has never been solved. Wallace was killed in March 1997 in Los Angeles when a gunman opened fire on his vehicle.

The marriage of "Saturday Night Law" star Phil Hartman and wife Brynn ended tragically in 1998 after she shot him to death in their bed and then took her own life.

Sean Combs, then known as "Puffy," is flanked by security and court guards as he leaves the first day of his trial in January 2001 in New York City. The rapper/producer was charged in connection with a 1999 shooting in a New York City nightclub. He was found not guilty of all of the charges.

Actor Robert Blake reacts after being found not guilty of murdering his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, in 2005 in Van Nuys, California. Bakley was shot in the head while sitting in the couple's vehicle.

Music impresario Phil Spector, left, was sentenced to 19 years to life in 2009 for the shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson.

William Balfour was arrested in December 2008 and charged in the murders of the mother, brother and nephew of Oscar-winning actress and singer Jennifer Hudson. He was found guilty in 2012 and received three life sentences.

Tim Lambesis, lead singer of the metal band As I Lay Dying, was arrested and accused in May 2013 of seeking to have his wife killed. He was reportedly sentenced to six years.

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Shocking showbiz crimes

'Shield' actor Michael Jace charged with wife's murder

Police found April Jace shot to death in her south Los Angeles home the evening of May 19, Detective Lyman Doster said.

Michael Jace called 911 to report that his wife had been shot, Detective Dean Vinluan said, adding that he "was on the phone with the operator." Neighbors who heard gunshots also called 911, he said.

Jace's father-in-law also called 911 as he drove to his daughter's home after receiving a message from Jace about the shooting. "My son-in-law called me and texted me and said come get the kids because he shot April, our daughter," he said in a recording released by the Los Angeles Fire Department.

"At this moment, the motive of the murder is believed to be domestic violence," a police statement a day after the killing said.

Two children were in the Hyde Park-area home when their mother was shot, Vinluan said.

Investigators have found no reports of domestic violence between the husband and wife at their residence, another Los Angeles Police Department detective said.

A woman described as a close friend of Jace's first wife said in a sworn statement that she witnessed Jace physically abusing his wife in 1997. The declaration was in court records from Jace's 2005 custody case concerning his son with Jennifer Bitterman.

Jace "choked and hit" his wife and "slammed her against the wall while (their infant son) screamed in his crib next to her," Maria De Le Vegas said in the sworn declaration obtained by CNN.

Jace "was raging and out of control, and seeing the extent of his anger was one of the most terrifying things I have ever seen," she said.

Jace appeared to suffer severe financial strain in recent years, according to court documents obtained by CNN. The actor filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in March 2011, citing $500,000 in debts and an annual income of around $80,000 from residuals from his TV and film work, the documents said.

Jace had defaulted on the $411,000 mortgage on the south Los Angeles home where his wife died, according to the documents.

He married April Jace in June 2003, a year after divorcing his first wife, with whom he shared a son who is now a teen.

The FX police drama "The Shield" provided the biggest and longest-running role in Jace's 22-year acting career. He appeared in 89 episodes as Julien Lowe, who started as a rookie officer in an inner-city Los Angeles police precinct in 2002 and rose through the ranks to become a detective before the series ended in 2008, according to the Internet Movie Database.

He acted on several episodes of "Southland," another TV drama about Los Angeles police, between 2009 and 2012.

Jace often played a law enforcement or military officer on television shows. He is credited with roles in "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "Private Practice," "The Mentalist," "Burn Notice" and "NYPD Blue."

He had the title role of Michael Jordan in the 1999 TV movie about the NBA star, "Michael Jordan: An American Hero."

Jace played Officer Brown in Russell Crowe's 2009 film "State of Play," and he portrayed a Black Panther member in the 1994 blockbuster movie "Forrest Gump."

April Jace had worked for the past year as a financial aid counselor at Biola University, a private school in La Mirada, California, according to the school.

"We are obviously shocked and saddened by this terrible news, to lose a wonderful colleague, mother and friend," Biola President Barry Corey said in a written statement.

"April's radiant personality brought great energy to the financial aid office," financial aid director Geoff Marsh said. "Her love for helping students and families and her great work ethic earned the respect and love of her coworkers. Her smiling face and helpful spirit will be missed by all."