The “Black Swan murder trial” ended Tuesday 31th July 2024 with Ashley Benefield’s conviction for manslaughter in a Florida county court.
Following seven hours of deliberation, the jury returned the guilty verdict to the Manatee County courtroom with the guilty verdict. After shooting her husband, Doug Benefield, on Sept. 27, 2020, Ashley Benefield, 32, was charged with manslaughter, a lesser offense than second-degree murder.
The sentencing date has not yet been set. She faces up to 30 years in prison.
As a result, Manatee County Judicial Center Judge Matt Whyte rejected the former ballerina’s argument, and the trial began on July 23.
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Nearly four years after her husband was shot and killed, and just one week after the trial began, the verdict was read out in a mostly empty courtroom where the victim’s family filled the gallery. According to the jury, Ashley Benefield had a firearm and discharged it, which caused Doug Benefield’s death.
“The sound was as good as the sight,” Doug Benefield’s cousin Tommie Benefield told media following the verdict. In the mostly silent courtroom, the clicking of handcuffs echoed around her wrists. Adding that the sight and sound were beautiful, he said.
Who is Ashley Benefield? Who was Doug Benefield?
In 2016, Ashley Benefield and Doug Benefield met and married after a whirlwind romance. She was 24, and he was 54. According to media reports, they were 24 and 54 years old at the time. During the early years of their marriage, the two founded the American National Ballet, but it failed before it could get off the ground. Ashley graduated from the Maryland Youth Ballet.
During their marriage, the couple faced a tumultuous dynamic that included accusations of domestic violence against Doug Benefield, attending marriage counseling, and engaging in various legal battles in both South Carolina and Florida. Following her pregnancy in 2017, Ashley Benefield relocated to live with her mother in Florida. In her motion to dismiss the case, she asserted that her husband had a history of abuse and was known to carry a loaded weapon. She also stated that he had once fired a gun into their kitchen ceiling as a means of intimidation.
What events led to the shooting?
On Sept. 27, 2020, Doug Benefield arrived at Ashley’s Manatee County home with a U-Haul truck to assist with packing for a move to Maryland. According to court documents and previous testimony, Doug believed that he, his wife, and their daughter would relocate together, with Doug living separately. Defense attorney Neil Taylor informed jurors that tensions rose during the packing process and eventually turned into an argument.
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She grabbed a gun and fired it after Doug advanced toward her with a box, blocked her from leaving a room, and blocked her from leaving the room, said Taylor. Doug advanced toward her and fired the gun. However, the prosecution argued that Ashley Benefield killed her husband to prevent him from learning that she had no intention of reconciling their marriage and that she wanted to be a single mother.
Investigators learned that six gunshots were heard outside the home and that Ashley ran out of the house screaming and crying, still holding a gun, toward a neighbor’s house.
