Actor Michael Jace, who is best known for his role in the TV show The Shield, was found guilty of killing of his wife in front of their two children in 2014.

Jace admitted to shooting April Jace once in the leg, but the court heard he shot her in the back and told her to 'run to heaven' before firing two more bullets into her legs.

Defense lawyers argued Jace should be convicted of voluntary manslaughter because he acted in the heat of the moment after his wife asked for a divorce earlier that day.

But the jury found Jace guilty of second-degree murder today after prosecutors said it was a premeditated act.

Jace, who played a police officer confused about his sexuality on the FX TV series The Shield, said he had planned to kill himself with a revolver that belonged to April's father.

But he said he lacked the courage and shot his wife instead at their Los Angeles, California, home.

Deputy District Attorney Tannaz Mokayef told jurors that Jace lied about leaving the house and waited for her to return with their sons from a youth baseball game.

According to Jace, he shot his wife after she lunged at him and he pushed her away.

'I was just angry,' Jace told investigators. 'All I intended to do was shoot her in the leg. And then I shot her in the leg and that was it.'

Evidence, however, shows she was shot three times - once in the back and twice in the legs.

The final shots were delivered in a hallway of the couple's home in the presence of their two sons, aged eight and five at the time.

According to the testimony of one son, now 10, Jace said, 'If you like running, then run to heaven,' before firing the shots into his wife's legs.

April was an avid runner, and Jace said he wanted to inflict pain on her.

Jace's attorney Jamon Hicks said the actor was distraught because his wife asked for a divorce
earlier that day.

Prosecutors said he believed his wife was having an affair - an accusation April denied in text messages she sent to Jace before her death.

The jury, made up of six men and six women, came to the decision in less than three hours after a week-long trial.

Deputy District Attorney Mokayef said Jace could be sentenced 40 years to life in prison.