Law enforcement sources have told The Times that "The Shield" actor Michael Jace has confessed to shooting his wife to death. Allegations by Los Angeles police that "Shield" actor Michael Jace shot his wife to death at their Hyde Park home Monday night shocked longtime neighbors who described the couple as loving and friendly, but it isn't the first time he's faced accusations of domestic violence. Los Angeles police said in a statement that the motive for the shooting "is believed to be domestic violence" — an accusation levied against Michael Jace nearly two decades ago when he divorced his previous wife, Jennifer Bitterman. In addition to the two sons she had with Michael Jace, April also had an older son from a previous relationship. "He's a very good dad who always played with his kids," said Brandon Cook, 35. Dwight Flowers/AP The body of April Jace is removed from the couple’s home. It was not the same picture painted by Jace's neighbors in Hyde Park, who on Tuesday said they never saw or suspected any violence in the home. This was after Jace allegedly threatened to kill Bitterman if she “went to war” over visitation — and after a friend of the first wife described in divorce records how the actor slammed Bitterman against a wall as then-6-month-old Jordan screamed in his nearby crib.
– The Shield actor accused of murdering his wife was a pretty terrifying father, according to his ex-wife. During a 2004 custody case, Jennifer Bitterman said Michael Jace used an "intimidation style of discipline" on their young son, Jordan, according to court records obtained by the New York Daily News. Jace spanked him "for crying or being afraid," and once threatened him for "failing to stand up to his stepbrother," Bitterman said, adding that Jordan was afraid to be alone with his father and once called her "inconsolably sobbing" because Jace refused to take him home from an overnight visit. The court documents also reveal that, according to Bitterman, Jace threatened to kill her if she "went to war" over visitation with Jordan. And, the Los Angeles Times reports, another filing shows that one of Bitterman's friends testified that she saw at least four violent incidents between the couple before they divorced, including one in which Jace "choked and hit" Bitterman and then "slammed her against the wall"—as Jordan, then 6 months old, cried in his crib nearby. Jordan is now grown, but Jace's two young sons with April Jace were home when he allegedly killed their mother. Money problems may have been behind their fight.