Ex-ballerina Ashley Benefield on trial in Black Swan murder trial

Former ballerina Ashley Benefield is on trial this week in the death of her estranged husband in a case local media has dubbed the “Black Swan murder trial.”

Her attorneys say she acted in self-defense after suffering domestic violence, while prosecutors argue that Benefield killed her husband, Douglas Benefield, because she wanted him out of her and their child’s lives. Here’s what to know about the case.

Highlights of the case

• Ashley Benefield, 32, was charged with second-degree murder with a firearm after fatally shooting her husband in September 2020.
• Prosecutors allege she was upset over a child-custody battle and shot Douglas because he was about to find out she did not want to reconcile.
• Defense lawyers say that Douglas had a history of domestic violence and anger issues and that Ashley shot him when he angrily trapped her during an argument.
• The case has drawn widespread attention. Some trial observers say Ashley’s actions were justified as a victim of abuse who was acting in self-defense. Others have suggested she wanted sole custody of their child and is using those allegations as a false excuse.

Background

The couple met at a political event in August 2016, when Ashley was 24 and Douglas was 54, Assistant State Attorney Suzanne O’Donnell said in opening statements. Douglas was wealthy, according to the prosecutor. They married after a 13-day “whirlwind romance,” according to court documents, and lived in South Carolina.

Within a year of getting married, Ashley and Douglas Benefield had tried to start a ballet company that “crumbled,” according to the defense. Ashley also became pregnant with the couple’s first child and moved from South Carolina to Florida to live with her mother, who could help care for her.

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After Ashley moved away, she began making complaints to local authorities of domestic violence by her husband. Prosecutors allege that she didn’t tell Douglas when her labor was induced and when she gave birth and that she tried to prevent him from seeing their child for the next six months.

Neil Taylor, the defense lawyer, gave a different version of events, presenting Douglas as abusive and saying Ashley left him out of fear. In his opening statement, Taylor described Douglas as “a manipulative, cunning and abusive man who insisted, absolutely insisted, on control” of his much younger wife.

According to Taylor and court documents, Douglas once fired a handgun into the ceiling to stop Ashley from talking, punched their dog unconscious and carried a concealed firearm that was “pulled back and ready to fire.”

The shooting

On the day of the shooting, Ashley, who was living with the couple’s child at her mother’s Florida home, was packing to move to Maryland. Douglas, who lived separately but was moving to a different home in Maryland, came to the house to see her.

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The prosecution said the move to Maryland was part of the couple’s plans to reconcile. The defense argued that Douglas was angry when he arrived at the house because he knew the relationship was over.

Ashley alleged that he grew angry with her about the way she wanted to pack their shared moving truck. She said he threatened and then shoved her.

That evening, Douglas twice slammed his shoulder into Ashley’s as they passed in a hallway, jammed a box into her side and smacked her on the side of her face, according to Taylor. That was when she retreated into her bedroom and grabbed her gun from its storage container, he said.

Douglas allegedly came in after his wife, who told him, “Stop!” according to court documents. The defense alleges that Douglas advanced toward Ashley, who then fired four rounds, hitting him twice. “I thought he was going to kill me,” Ashley testified during the trial.

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The prosecution disputed some of those claims. Court documents showed that authorities did not find any injuries on Ashley except for a scratch on her right side, which they said appeared to be unrelated to what happened. According to the medical examiner’s analysis of Douglas’s entry wounds, Douglas appeared to be facing away from Ashley when she shot him, not advancing toward her. He was also unarmed, documents said.

Douglas suffered wounds to his right leg, right arm and right chest area, according to court filings. He died that evening.

What’s next

Closing arguments began Tuesday afternoon. During the prosecution’s remarks, O’Donnell told the jury that to determine Ashley was acting in self-defense, they would have to find her actions “reasonable” and “necessary.”

She said domestic violence is “absolutely a real problem” but that Ashley was not justified in her actions.

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“This defendant used domestic violence and allegations of it to make progress on her goal,” O’Donnell said. “She wanted sole custody of her child at all costs.”

The defense lawyer said the prosecution used faulty witnesses to paint a false motivation for the killing. He said Douglas had a long history of tormenting Ashley.

“For four years, Ashley Benefield did what any law-abiding citizen can be expected to do,” Taylor said. “She filed complaint after complaint … with no result. … So she kills him? That’s quite a leap.”

Ashley Benefield faces a maximum of a life sentence.

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