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Black Swan Murder Trial Update · Murder Files Unsealed

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  Speaker 1: A former ballerina, has been found guilty of fatally shooting
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  her estranged husband four years ago. On the evening of
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  July thirtieth, twenty twenty four, Ashley Bennifield, a thirty three
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  year old woman from Florida, was convicted of the murder
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  of Douglas Doug Benefield, which occurred in twenty twenty. This
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  verdict followed seven hours of deliberation by a jury in
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  Manatee County, as reported by the Fox Tampa Bay affiliate
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  w TVT. Although the mother of one claimed that she
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  acted in self defense, she was initially charged with second
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  degree murder, but was ultimately convicted of lesser charges of manslaughter.
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  Assistant State Attorney Suzanne O'Donnell, representing Florida's twelfth District, argued
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  that Ashley did not kill her husband for self protection,
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  but rather to gain an advantage in an ongoing custody
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  dispute regarding their young daughter. According to NBC News, this
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  was a custody battle that this mother was determined to
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  win at any cost. O'Donnell stated during her opening remarks,
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  the cost was the life of Doug Benifield, and that
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  constitutes murder. Ashley Benifield now faces fifteen years in prison.
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  How did Doug Benefield die? On September twenty seventh, twenty twenty,
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  at approximately seven p m, deputies from Manatee County arrived
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  at the residence of Ashley's mother in Bradenton, located about
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  fifty miles south of Tampa. Upon their arrival, they discovered
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  the fifty eight year old victim severely injured and struggling
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  for survival on the bedroom floor. The emergency responders were
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  summoned to the scene after Ashley, reportedly still holding the firearm,
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  appeared at a neighbour's home and confessed to the murder.
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  As reported by CBS News. According to an affidavit, Doug
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  had suffered a gunshot wound to his leg, along with
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  another that penetrated his bicep before entering his chest. Additionally,
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  two bullets were recovered from the wall. As previously noted
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  by Oxygen dot Com. The victim ultimately succumbed to his
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  injuries after being transported to a nearby hospital. At the
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  time of the incident, Ashley informed investigators that she shot
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  Doug only in self defense after he had assaulted her. However,
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  authorities expressed skepticism regarding her account from the outset. Based
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  on the entry wounds on Douglas, it does not appear
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  that he was facing Ashleigh when she began shooting. It
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  also does not appear that Douglas had taken any kind
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  of defensive or combative stance. The affidavit stated. Douglas was
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  no not found to have any weapons or anything near him.
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  Investigators reported that there were no signs indicating that Ashley
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  had been harmed. More about the couple. In twenty sixteen,
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  doug a fifty four year old technology consultant and U. S.
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  Navy veteran, met Ashley for the first time at a
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  Republican Party fundraiser. As previously reported, he had recently become
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  a widower, having lost his wife, Renee, to a heart
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  condition just nine months prior. At that time, Ashley was
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  a twenty four year old actively supporting then presidential candidate
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  Donald Trump. Their connection was immediate, leading to their marriage
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  less than two weeks later. The following year, Ashley, a
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  former professional ballerina, and Douglas endeavored to establish a dance
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  studio named the American National Ballet in Charleston, South Carolina.
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  This venture aimed to provide ballet instruction to dancers of
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  all shapes, sizes, styles and colours, but it ceased operations
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  in twenty eighteen, coinciding with Ashley's pregnancy with Doug's child
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  and her subsequent move to Florida to be nearer to
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  her mother. After Doug's tragic death, Detectives reported that Ashley
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  began to allege domestic violence against him shortly after discovering
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  her pregnancy. As indicated in the charging documents, Authorities noted
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  it appears that the main focus of these complaints was
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  to keep the child away from Douglas. Detectives from Manatee
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  County investigated Ashley's claims, which included accusations of Doug poisoning
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  her tea and purported involvement in his late wife's death,
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  among various other allegations. However, none were substantiated. Ashley sought
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  an injunction to prevent Doug from being near the baby,
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  but the presiding judge found no sintilla of truth in
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  her assertions. Doug was granted visitation rights. The affidavit concluded
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  that at this point it appeared that Ashley had exhausted
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  all legal means to keep the child away from Douglas
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  before the shooting. The Black Swan murder trial. In his
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  concluding statements, Ashley's defense counsel, Neil Taylor, emphasized that his
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  client had submitted numerous complaints regarding Doug Benefield's conduct to
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  the authorities, yet received no response. As reported by NBC News, repeatedly,
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  there was no assistance provided. Ashley recounted her experiences in court,
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  detailing instances of persistent abuse, which included an occasion when
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  Doug discharged his firearm into the ceiling, threats of suicide,
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  damaged walls with his fists, and rendered the couple's dog
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  unconscious through physical violence. I felt as though I was
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  trapped in a nightmare, Ashley expressed to the court, I
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  could never predict what happy