'Black Swan' Murder Trial: Wife Charged With Killing Husband During Custody Battle Ends With Manslaughter Conviction
In the final bow of the "Black Swan" murder trial, Ashley Benefield has been found guilty of manslaughter.
In 2020, former ballerina Ashley Benefield shot her then 58-year-old husband to death. She claimed this was done in self-defense.
Benefield was charged with second degree murder. The prosecution argued that Benefield had not acted in self-defense because she was desperate to have her husband out of her daughter's life.
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"This case is about a woman who very early on in her pregnancy decided she wanted to be a single mother. And she did not want the father of this child to have any visitation," the prosecution, Assistant State Attorney Suzanne O'Donnell, argued. Benefield "would stop at nothing to obtain that goal."
This argument was bolstered by findings from the Sheriff's office. The Manatee County Sheriff's Office found, upon examining the crime scene, that it did not make sense Ashley's husband, Doug Benefield, attacked her based on where his wounds were.
However, Benefield's defense team argued that Doug was abusive and tried to attack the young dancer, forcing her to act in self-defense.
Neil Taylor, Ashley's representative, asserted that, "Thirty years older than Ashley, he was obsessed with her and he successfully portrayed himself as he was not in an effort to win her hand in marriage. Despite promoting himself as a religious, honorable, and decent human being, Benefield was a manipulative, cunning, and abusive man who insisted absolutely insisted on control."
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Prior to the shooting, Ashley filed a restraining order against Doug in 2018. The two also had a voracious custody battle.
Ashley, a former ballet dancer, faces up to 30 years in prison. Her sentencing date has yet to be determined.
