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Black Swan Trial: Ballerina Ashley Benefield declared guilty of manslaughter over husband's murder
On Tuesday, former ballerina Ashley Benefield was convicted of manslaughter in the fatal shooting of her husband.
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Ashley Benefield, accused of murdering her husband, was found guilty of manslaughter on Tuesday
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Benefield fatally shot her husband, Doug Benefield, in September 2020 after an argument
TRIGGER WARNING: This article contains references to homicide.
Ashley Benefield, a 32-year-old former ballerina, was found guilty of manslaughter for killing her husband, Doug Benefield. On Tuesday, July 30, the verdict was declared in a Manatee County, Florida courtroom. According to PEOPLE, a sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date.
Ashley Benefield was charged with second-degree murder
Benefield was first charged with second-degree murder for allegedly shooting and killing her husband after an altercation in 2020. As reported by NBC News, the judge revoked her $100,000 bond and custody of the Manatee County Sheriff's Office.
The case was dubbed the Black Swan murder trial and attracted widespread media coverage, with some seeing comparisons between Benefield and the lead character in the 2010 motion picture Black Swan.
Benefield argued killing Doug out of self-defense
Benefield stated in her testimony last week that she shot her husband dead out of fear for her life after what she called a horrific fight at her house south of Tampa. She was accused by prosecutors of falsifying domestic violence claims to gain sole custody of their child, arguing that the evidence from the day of the murder did not match her account of the encounter.
The Florida jury started deliberations and arrived at its decision on Tuesday. It sent a note to the judge early on Tuesday night stating that it could not reach a unanimous decision, but it later resumed talks and made some progress before reaching the verdict.
What did Ashley Benfield do?
Doug and Ashley got together in 2016 during a Republican party gathering at the Palm Beach home of former presidential contender Ben Carson. Their love was short-lived since they were married in 13 days. Doug and Ashley founded The American National Ballet to hire dancers of all shapes and sizes.
But things started to go wrong very soon. August 2017 saw Ashley relocate from South Carolina to Florida, to live with her mother. However, they kept up a distant relationship and tried to stay in contact when she first moved to Florida. But around the time the ballet collapsed, Ashley Benefield started to submit complaints against Doug.
As Fox 13 reported, prosecutors claim Ashley attempted to cut Doug off by accusing him of mental abuse and saying he had tried to poison her with heavy metals. According to the prosecution, she didn't tell Doug about the birth of their child until she asked for a restraining order against him.
Doug visited Ashley's mother's house on September 27, 2020, to help Ashley with packing for their planned transfer to Maryland, where he was also planning to settle. A nearby resident reported hearing abrupt yelling and called 911. When authorities arrived they discovered Doug shot to death and bleeding in three different. Ashley informed the authorities that she had shot her partner in self-defense after he attempted to attack her.
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