‘Black swan’ ballerina blasted for her courtroom performances as victim’s family say she faked tears and was ‘dry crying’

The family of the man murdered by ‘black swan’ Ashley Benefield have teared up in emotional court appearances, claiming she had feigned tears and ‘dry-cryed’ in front of the judge.

Ashley Benefield, a 33-year-old former ballerina, was charged with second-degree murder in the 2020 death of her 58-year-old estranged husband, Doug Benefield, but was convicted on the lesser charge of manslaughter.

During her trial, Ashley took the stand to tell her side of the story, giving a tearful account of her tumultuous relationship with Doug, which she alleged involved abuse leading up to the fatal shooting.

However, her emotional testimony did not go down well with some of the key figures in the case.

Tommie Benefield, Doug’s cousin, was outspoken in his criticism, claiming that Ashley’s tears were an act.

Ashley Benefield, a 33-year-old former ballerina, was charged with second-degree murder in the 2020 death of her 58-year-old husband, Doug Benefield, but was convicted on the lesser charge of manslaughter

In a recent podcast interview, Tommie described the performance as “a good show,” but pointed out that there were no real tears.

“She’s been pretending to cry for ten, fifteen minutes, and she’s putting on a good show, but there are no tears,” Tommie said in a recent podcast interview.

“And the judge tells her at one point, ‘Hey, there’s a box of Kleenex if you need it,’ because he can’t see that she’s not crying. But everyone in the courtroom and the jury can see that she is not crying.”

Ashley’s testimony, given on July 26, included moments when she appeared to be sobbing and shaking, describing her alleged abuse by her husband and the day she shot him.

The emotional display was a focal point of the trial and even inspired an episode of Black Swan Murder, a true crime podcast produced by Law & Crime. The sixth episode delved deeper into her testimony and the impact it had on the proceedings.

Prosecutor Suzanne O’Donnell also took issue with Ashley’s emotional outbursts. There was a point during the trial when the court had to pause the proceedings due to Ashley’s apparent hysteria.

O’Donnell recalled that although Ashley appeared to be crying, her behavior did not match the intense emotion she was expressing.

“There was a point where we had to stop, because she was crying so hysterically, and take the jury out and take a break,” O’Donnell said. “And she didn’t seem like she was crying. She looked exactly the same as before, so that was not lost on the jury.’

O’Donnell also questioned the credibility of Ashley’s portrayal of fear and self-defense, suggesting that Ashley’s account of the events surrounding the shooting was exaggerated.

“I didn’t feel like most of it was real,” O’Donnell said. “I thought most of it was exaggerated.”

During her trial, Ashley took the stand to tell her side of the story, tearfully recounting her tumultuous relationship with Doug, which she alleged was abusive leading up to the fatal shooting.

Ashley’s emotional testimony did not go down well with some key figures in the case, as they claimed she dry cried to gain sympathy from the jury.

Despite the dramatic nature of Ashley’s testimony, jurors deliberated for six hours before returning a verdict of manslaughter, a lesser charge than the second-degree murder initially sought by prosecutors.

Tommie said the conviction was not surprising given the complexity of the case.

“We knew it was confusing enough that they would have difficulty getting a second-degree murder conviction,” he said.

Ashley’s attorney, Neil Taylor, expressed disappointment at the verdict, stating that he and his team believed they had successfully defended their client.

“We really can’t get over it because we all thought we won,” Taylor said.

In the aftermath of the trial, the defense team filed a motion for a new trial, citing possible juror misconduct.

Taylor pointed to a suspicious online post from someone identified as “That Hoodie Guy,” who accurately predicted the jury’s decision in real time. The defense alleged that a juror may have smuggled a phone into the deliberation room and used it to access outside information.

“Sure we have chat rooms, you can say anything you want, but we can’t get to the uncanny accuracy of these messages,” Taylor said.

After conducting a background check on the jurors, the defense discovered a disturbing revelation.

One of the jurors had a history of domestic violence, including filing a restraining order and being named as a suspect in two domestic violence cases.

The juror did not disclose this information during jury selection, nor did she reveal that she had been involved in a custody dispute with her ex-husband.

“Now we know, oh my God, this juror lied,” Taylor said.

Despite ongoing legal challenges, Ashley Benefield’s sentencing has been set for December 3.