April Jace (born April Denise Laune; May 6, 1974 – May 19, 2014) was an American masters track and field athlete who ran in sprinting competitions. She was the 2011 world champion in the women's over-35

4 × 100 meters relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hi ...

Early life

April Laune attended Hawthorne High School in Hawthorne,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. She attended college at

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public research university in Fullerton, California, United States. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the California State ...

Athletic career

Jace ran with the Elite Health team and later with the Trojan Masters Club. She was the 2013 Southern California

USATF USA Track & Field (USATF) is a United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running, and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and 1 ...

W35 champion at

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

. Jace finished second in the W35 Invitational race at the Mt. SAC Relays behind only American record holder Joy Upshaw. She was ranked as high as number 5 in the United States and was a 2011

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

finalist individually in the

and won a gold medal on the USA 4×100 meters relay team.

Personal life

Jace was the wife of actor Michael Jace. The couple were married for ten years and had two sons.

Murder and trial

Late in the evening on May 19, 2014, police were called to the couple's address in the 5400 block of Brynhurst Avenue, in the Hyde Park neighborhood of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where April was found shot to death. Michael was taken into custody the following day on suspicion of homicide; on May 22, he was charged with murder. In the trial, based on detective interviews, Deputy District Attorney Tannaz Mokayef said, "April Jace was an avid runner and the actor shot her in the legs because he wanted her to feel pain." Later, Mokayef attributed another quote to her husband: "You like to run so much, why don't you try running to heaven." On May 31, 2016, a jury convicted Michael of second-degree murder in the shooting death of April. On June 10, 2016, he was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison. He is incarcerated at the

California State Prison, Corcoran California State Prison, Corcoran (COR) is a male-only state prison located in the city of Corcoran, in Kings County, California. It is also known as Corcoran State Prison, CSP-C, CSP-COR, CSP-Corcoran, and Corcoran I. The facility is just nor ...

Corcoran, California Corcoran is a city in Kings County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 22,339, down from 24,813 2010 United States census, (2010 census). Corcoran is located south-southeast of Han ...

. April's family released a statement to the

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calling her shooting "a senseless act of domestic violence." Her memorial was held at the Oasis Church in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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page was created in support of her three children (aged 5, 8, and 18 at the time of her death). Jace had previously worked for the

Los Angeles Unified School District Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a State school, public school district in Los Angeles County, California, United States of America. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the List ...

and was "a well-liked financial aid counselor" in

Biola University Biola University () is a private, nondenominational, evangelical Christian university in La Mirada, California. It was founded in 1908 as the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. It has over 150 programs of study in nine schools offering bachelor' ...

's Financial Aid department at the time of her death. The office was closed in her memory, and the Director hailed her work ethic and service to the university's students. A memorial was held at the university's Calvary Chapel. Biola University has set up a Memorial Scholarship in her name.

References

External links

Memorial page
at

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Candid moments video
at

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

April Jace my friend tribute video
at YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Jace, April 1974 births 2014 deaths African-American track and field athletes American female sprinters American murder victims Biola University California State University, Fullerton alumni Deaths by firearm in California Female murder victims People murdered in California Murdered African-American people Sportspeople from Hawthorne, California Track and field athletes from California 21st-century American sportswomen 21st-century African-American sportswomen Hawthorne High School (California) alumni 2014 murders in the United States