The ballerina known as the ‘Black Swan’, who is on trial for the murder of her allegedly abusive husband, has criticised her nickname and claimed she is the victim.
Ashley Benefield, now 32, ran to her neighbor’s house in Bradenton, Florida, on September 27, 2020, after fatally shooting Doug Benefield, 59, whom she married in 2016 after just 13 days of dating.
Before her trial, Ashley went to ABC news and explained why she doesn’t like her “catchy” nickname “Black Swan,” based on the 2010 thriller film starring Natalie Portman.
‘Black Swan has a catchy ring and it makes my life sensational and my situation. It’s sad to me that people who don’t even know i have this idea of a monster when they “Think of me,” she said.
Ashley, who has a child with Doug, maintained that she was a victim of domestic abuse by her husband.
Ashley Benefield (pictured), 32, who is on trial for the murder of her husband, Doug Benefield, 59, said she is a victim of domestic abuse and that her nickname ‘Black Swan’ does not suit her
On September 27, 2020, Ashley ran to a neighbor’s house in Bradenton, Florida and told him she had shot and killed Doug, whom she married in 2016 after only 13 days of dating. (Photo: Doug and Ashley)
‘There are women everywhere country, all over the world, who have gone through or are going through through difficult situations “Closed doors,” Ashley said.
Ashley met Doug—a recently widowed father—at Ben Carson’s Palm Beach, Florida home in August 2016 when she was 24 and he was 54. She had been campaigning for then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
They were married just 13 days later and shortly thereafter founded the American National Ballet, a dance company based in Charleston, South Carolina.
In the early days of their relationship, “they were together all the time,” Doug’s 23-year-old daughter Eva from a previous marriage testified.
“They were lovely, always in public. They never left each other’s side,” she said.
After a year of marriage, Doug, a retired Navy officer, helped Ashley realize her dream of starting her own ballet company, using his own money and contacts.
He served as the company’s CEO, while Ashley took on the role of executive director.
However, shortly after the company was founded, it was sued by dancers and choreographers, claiming breach of contract because they were fired just weeks after being hired.
Doug also reversed his vasectomy and Ashley became pregnant three months later with their daughter Emerson, who is now six years old.
Then everything changed, Assistant District Attorney Suzanne O’Donnell alleged in court Tuesday.
After a year of marriage, Doug (pictured), a retired Navy officer, helped Ashley realize her dream of starting a ballet company, using his own money and contacts
She said Ashley moved to Florida from South Carolina to live with her mother because she was having morning sickness, and she has never lived with Doug since.
‘They continued a long-distance relationship when she first moved to Florida and continued to try to stay together and communicate, but around the same time as the ballet [company] “As the man collapses, Ashley Benefield begins to complain to the victim,” O’Donnell told the jury.
She began accusing Doug of poisoning her and committing non-physical domestic violence against her.
Ashley said Doug kept bringing her tea that she thought contained poison, CBS News reported.
But detectives with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office conducted a five-week investigation and could find no evidence to support her claims of abuse.
Prosecutors now allege that Doug’s killing was a last-ditch effort to gain custody of their daughter, who was 2 years old at the time of the shooting.
“This is a case about a woman who decided early in her pregnancy that she wanted to be a single mother,” O’Donnell argued. “She didn’t want the father of this child to have any visitors.
“This is a long story. This was a custody battle that the mother was going to win at all costs, and the prize was Doug Benefield’s life.”
Prosecutors argued that Doug did everything he could to repair their marriage and keep their family together.
Doug’s 23-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, Eva, testified: ‘They were sweet and kind, always in public. They never left each other’s side’
On the day of his death, Doug came to Ashley’s home to help her and their daughter pack when he was shot four times in Ashley’s bedroom. She then ran to her neighbor and told them about the shooting.
On Tuesday, Ashley was seen crying as her neighbor’s 911 call rang out from the day Doug was murdered.
“I heard a really loud banging on my door,” neighbor Josh Sant testified, according to Fox 13‘It did surprise me.’
Ashley now faces a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison if found guilty. (Photo: Photo of her arrest)
He said he opened the door and found Ashley. She told him that her husband had attacked her and that she had shot him.
Sant then called 911 and told officers, “She just walked by, her ex-husband attacked her and she said she shot him,” according to an audio recording played in court.
In a previously filed motion obtained by Law and crime, Defense attorneys argued that Doug was “cheerful, excited and lively” upon arrival, but that he eventually became “agitated, sullen and intimidating.”
After verbally abusing his wife, Doug allegedly hit her with a moving box, causing abrasions, the defense alleges.
“Doug Benefield knew full well that day that this relationship was over,” Ashley’s attorney, Neil Taylor, argued in court.
He further alleged that Doug was manipulative and “considered Ashley Benefield his property.”
“Despite promoting himself as a religious, honorable and decent man, Benefield was a manipulative, cunning and abusive man who absolutely wanted to be in control,” Taylor added.
He told the jury that Doug had once fired a gun into the kitchen ceiling to stop Ashley from talking, that he had thrown a loaded gun at her, that he had punched their dog in the face, knocking it unconscious, and that he regularly carried a concealed firearm “ready to fire.”
Outside the Florida courthouse Monday, protesters showed their support for the former ballerina who has accused her late husband of domestic abuse
He also claimed that after Ashley and Doug separated, he followed her illegally, often without her permission and sometimes even driving from out of state to keep an eye on her.
Doug is said to have stood in the neighbor’s backyard in the middle of the night at least once to see her.
Outside the Florida courthouse on Monday, protesters showed their support for the former ballerina.
“We really stand behind Ashley,” her predecessor, Mike Brown, told Fox 13.
“We have a group of domestic violence survivors standing with us, ready to make justice happen.”
Ashley now faces a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison if he is found guilty of Doug’s murder after the two-week trial.
“It’s a horrible reality. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. Emerson has been through a lot,” Ashley told ABC News.
“I can’t imagine how this would affect her if the case ended badly at trial.”