Ex-ballerina convicted of killing husband in 'Black Swan' case gets 20 years in prison
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) -- Ashley Benefield, the former ballerina convicted of killing her estranged husband, was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison followed by 10 years of probation.
The 32-year-old was found guilty of manslaughter in July for fatally shooting her husband, Doug Benefield, during an argument at her Florida home in September 2020.
The case was dubbed the "Black Swan murder trial" due to Ashley Benefield's ballet background, with comparisons drawn to the protagonist of the 2010 film "Black Swan."
Before her conviction, Ashley Benefield claimed that her husband struck her face while blocking the doorway of her home as she was trying to leave. After that, she said she ran to her bedroom to get her gun, and he followed.
As she pointed the gun at him, she claims he took a "fighting stance" and eventually lunged at her, which is when she fired multiple shots, killing the victim.
Ashley Benefield’s defense described Doug Benefield as a manipulative and controlling man who had violent tendencies throughout the couple’s four-year marriage.
The defendant stopped living with her husband shortly after becoming pregnant with his child in 2017 following a vasectomy reversal.
Taylor told the jury Ashley Benefield was a victim of domestic violence and the night Doug attacked her at her home, she was forced to shoot him out of fear for her own life.
“I was scared to death. I thought he was going to kill me. I didn’t know where to go. I was trapped,” she told jurors during her trial.
However, the prosecution countered that the incident resulted from a custody battle that Ashley was trying to win, not domestic violence.
Assistant State Attorney Suzanne O'Donnell said Ashley Benefield had a conversation with a detective two years before the shooting, in which she said she planned to use the criminal system to affect her court case.
O'Donnell also pointed out that the defendant was the only armed person that night, and that she didn't have to shoot him.
"Because after she killed him, what does she get? Sole custody of the child, and that is murder,” O’Donnell said during the closing arguments of the jury trial.
Four of Doug's family members made victim impact statements during the sentencing hearing Tuesday, including his daughter, Eva Benefield.
"My dad was the best man that I have ever known in my entire life. He will continue to hold that in my mind and in our family’s mind forever. I am really content with the sentencing, the verdict, and I think that I waited so long to be able to speak to her face-to-face and I finally got that for myself personally. I hope prison serves her well," said Eva Benefield.
During her statement to the court, Doug's daughter spoke directly to the woman who took her father's life.
"Ashley, since the day you shot my father, I have only had one question to ask you... Why? Why did you end my dad’s life knowing he was my only living parent and the only person I could confide in and count on for everything I needed as I turned into a young adult? Why did you willingly take away your daughter’s father, knowing the consequences of your actions would leave her without either parent to help her navigate through her own life? You somehow managed to orphan not one, but two young girl," said Eva Benefield in court.
Ashley Benefield's attorneys didn't take questions after the sentencing hearing. They indicated an appeal is forthcoming.