Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - 'Black Swan' Ballerina Locked Up For Killing Husband

Episode Date: December 5, 2024

Ashley Benefield, the former ballerina known as the "Black Swan" has been sentenced for the September 2020 shooting death of her husband, Doug Benefield. Ashley claimed self-defense when she shot Doug in their Manatee County, Florida home. Doug's oldest daughter, Eva, and his brothers asked the judge for the maximum sentence. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy goes through the emotional sentencing in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: Get 50% off of confidential background reports at https://www.truthfinder.com/lccrimefix and access information about almost anyone!Host:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5CRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Ashley, since the day you shot my father, I've only had one question to ask you. Why? Why did you end my dad's life knowing he was my only living parent? An emotional day in a Florida courtroom as the Black Swan, Ashley Benefield, learns her punishment for shooting and killing her husband, Doug, his oldest daughter, remembering her father. My dad was the best man that I've ever known in my entire life, and he will continue to hold that in my mind and in every family's mind forever.

I lay out the testimony that could have swayed the judge. Welcome to Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. Ashley Benefield, a one-time ballerina, is now going to spend many years in a Florida prison. Benefield had claimed she acted in self-defense when she shot her husband, Doug Benefield, in their home near Tampa in September of 2020.

Ashley Benefield was significantly younger than Doug. They had a young child together. Ashley claimed Doug was abusive and that she was forced to shoot Doug to save her own life. What does he do at that point? I held the gun like in front of me and I said, stop. And he like turned and he got into this, like, it was like a fighting stance.

He, like, I got low. And he started, like, moving his arms and his hands around. And he was making these, like, jerking motions. What were you expecting when you were holding the gun out in front of you and you told him to stop? I thought when he saw it, he would leave. Did he? No.

At that point, Ashley, what are you thinking? I thought he was going to kill me. Tell us what happens next. He started coming towards me and then he lunged at me and I started pulling the trigger. And he just kept coming and I remember trying to move to get away from him but he kept coming at me. Ashley, would you tell us why, if you're holding the loaded firearm,

you were attempting to move away. I was taken away from him. I was terrified. Alright, so you're firing. He keeps advancing. What happens next? It was like his feet slipped out from under him and his legs went up in the air. When Doug hits the floor, what's your immediate reaction? I ran to get home. Can you tell us how many shots you fired? I have no idea. I was in a panic. The jurors did not buy Ashley Benefield's testimony, or at least part of it. They found Benefield guilty of manslaughter with a firearm, not second-degree murder, which led to the sentencing hearing for Benefield. Ashley Benefield guilty of manslaughter with a firearm, not second-degree murder, which led to the sentencing hearing for Benefield.

Ashley Benefield's lawyers called a psychologist to testify about her mental state. Douglas Benefield exhibited criteria that met the diagnostic categories of narcissistic and antisocial personality disorder. And how, if at all, would that fold itself into being a potential abuser? Well, the antisocial components, as well as the narcissistic components, he had little to no empathy. He really lacked the capacity to take responsibility for his behavior. He had a desire to be admired, to have constant attention. He felt very entitled and demanding to the attention and admiration of other people, whether or not he did anything to deserve it.

And he had little regard for the rights of other people. Do you have an opinion as to whether or not Ashley Benefield, as she sits here today before you, is currently suffering from any specific condition? Yes. Would you tell us what that is? Ashley is suffering from post-traumatic stress. Ashley Benefield was convicted of manslaughter and Doug Benefield's shooting death. And now that she's been convicted, I thought I'd search her on truthfinder.com to see what I might find. Truthfinder is a huge public record search service and it will show you a lot. Ashley Benefield came up in the search results and so did her criminal conviction for manslaughter with a firearm when I looked under the criminal and traffic records tab. So that is going to show up from now on.

Another thing I love about Truthfinder, it will also show you possible relatives, social media accounts, phone numbers, and addresses. It will even show you the sex offenders who live near you. If you'd like to try Truthfinder, I have a great deal for you. You can get 50% off. Log on to www.truthfinder.com slash lccrimefix and start accessing information about almost anyone. On cross-examination, prosecutors questioned the analysis of the relationship and said Ashley was the one with a personality disorder.

Are you familiar with something called histrionic personality disorder? Yes. Can you explain that? Histrionic personality disorder is a pervasive pattern of a person being very melodramatic to gain attention. And are you aware that the defendant in this case has been diagnosed with that? I'm aware that that's a false diagnosis, but yes. Then the judge heard from family members of Doug Benefield, including his oldest daughter, Eva Benefield. Although I did not get to see him as much as I liked, he was always a text or a phone call away.

After my mom died, my dad knew it was important for him to answer the phone as soon as he could. He was out of town when she passed, and I had been trying to call and text her after school for what felt like hours of waiting in the carpool pickup line. After finding her later that evening, any time my dad didn't answer it sent me into a spiral. My brain automatically went to the worst possible outcome, thinking something terrible happened. My dad's colleagues can attest to the fact that even if he was in the most important meeting of his life, when I called he would step out immediately and let me know that he was in a meeting and he would call me back as soon as possible. Eva Benefield spoke about the morning she found out that Ashley

had shot and killed her father. My dad usually woke up in the very early hours of the day. The first thing he sent me was always a Bible verse followed by good morning pumpkin. This was his way of letting me know, good morning, pumpkin. This was his way of letting me know that when he was awake and he was available for me to call him when I woke up and tell him about the day I had ahead of me. The morning of September 28th, I woke up to no messages from my dad. I wasn't alarmed quite yet. Sometimes he rushed to the gym or had to immediately get to his computer for work. As the morning droned on, I anxiously awaited a phone call or a text message from him. Around lunchtime, I began Googling about traffic accidents in Sarasota, Florida.

I told my friends I was worried, and they let me know I had nothing to worry about, that my anxiety-ridden brain was just flocking to the worst possible outcome. 9.24 a.m. good morning 1042 hello 1043 you're kind of scaring me 1120 you should definitely text me so I know you're okay 1148 I'm about to text Ashley 1149 just kidding I don't have her number. 1203. This is freaking me out. 1255. Please, please, please answer. 1256. Great, now my texts aren't going through. 1257. I hate this so much. It was about an hour later that I received a phone call from my uncles that my dad had been

shot the night before. Is he okay? I asked. My uncle responded with a hesitant no. My next question before hanging up the phone was, she did it, didn't she? I am sure no one can imagine being in Eva Benefield's shoes. She'd already lost her mother. Now her father was also gone, dead at the hands of his wife. She continued. Ashley, since the day you shot my father, I've 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 girls. Unlike Emerson, I am fortunate enough to have known my dad for a full 19 years before you ended his life. He taught me how to paint. He attended every extracurricular activity I had. He took me to dinner on Valentine's Day. He drove almost an hour out of his way every day to drop coffee off in the school office for me and my friends. When he was in too much pain to surf with me, he would sit under an umbrella on the

beach all day during the hottest months of the year. He would cut fresh flowers from the garden every morning before my mom woke up and left them on her bedside table. While I ran in the mornings before school, he cooked breakfast so it would be ready on the table when I got home. Every Saturday, we made oatmeal cookies together. Every Sunday, we would go to church and get a coffee after. When you moved into my childhood home, I watched my dad fix the door frame with a crack in it from where the neighbor had to knock the door down to get into the house after my mom died.

I watched my dad paint over every memory in every corner of that house, changed the furniture, rid the house of every bit of my mom that was left so you could enjoy life without remnants of my dad's late wife and soulmate. Ava described Ashley Benefield's behavior when they lived in the same home. I had to come home from school to see you barely clothed sitting on the countertops my mom used to cook our family dinner on. I had to live in a house stripped of memories I still cling to so I can remember the happy childhood my parents gave me. Not only did you make my home nothing more than a house with four empty walls and a roof while I was grieving the loss of my mother, you tried to bring my mother's sweet spirit into your soulless world by spreading lies that she was killed by my own dad.

You got medical records pulled and you were moments away from getting her removed from her own grave. She then spoke about things she had seen and experienced with Ashley. When he left my dad the first time, I watched his face as he read the letter you left on the bed for him. The house was quiet that day and while I felt sorry for my dad because I saw the pain in his eyes, I was secretly excited to have my dad back those few months that he received nothing but radio silence from you I was able to finally regain the relationship we once had things finally felt normal again Easter weekend of 2018 my dad insisted that I drove to Florida with him so I could enjoy Easter Sunday with

my half-sister the night before Easter you and Alicia pulled me aside before dinner to try and convince me that my dad was a monster, that he killed my mother, that he was evil and I was unsafe. There were times when the defense objected to some of the statements that were being made because they weren't considered appropriate for sentencing. Doug Benefield's oldest daughter ended her statement this way. I watched him bend over backwards for your every need. For years, he gave you everything he had time and time again, trying to show you, Emerson and Alicia, nothing more, but nothing but love. He wanted nothing more to show you what true acts of love are. You took advantage of his willingness to give and he gave you his life. After my dad passed, there were a lot of sleepless nights, contemplating if my life was even worth living.

I had no financial help, no parental guidance, and no will to live. The idea of ending my own life oddly gave me some sort of satisfaction, knowing you would have to live the rest of yours with blood of two benefields on your hands. Shortly after those dark days, I realized I would selfishly be doing my parents a disgrace to not live every day to its fullest as they had taught me before they passed. I also realized that not only would you not care if I was dead, it would probably be beneficial to you. I'm the only one who can speak truthfully on behalf of my father and fight for his justice. While the grief of my parents will always live within me, what hurts me the most is not the thought of not having my dad anymore,

because I will always have him around in spirit as I continue to implement the lessons he taught me during my adult years. What breaks my heart the most is thinking about how he found you at such a vulnerable part of his life, gave you everything you asked for. After you shot him while he was unarmed, he laid there bleeding out, unable to speak or to breathe, completely helpless and dying alone. The judge also heard from Doug Benefield's brothers. David Benefield spoke about his memories of his older brother. I remembered him letting go of the sissy bar on my first bike ride without training wheels and laughing as he shouted, You can do it. Just keep pedaling. I remembered his encouragement at my first high school wrestling match.

He was a very successful athlete and was always a state contender in wrestling. I was hyperventilating at my first match, and he was there to encourage me and help me overcome my fears. I remembered him taking me to a New Year's Eve jazz concert in Austin, Texas during my first year in college. He knew I didn't have the money and he paid for everything. I remembered even the little things that he made so special on that trip. Like my first bagel covered with cream cheese and jelly when I didn't even know what a bagel was. To this day, every time I eat a bagel and cover it with cream cheese and jelly, I think of him. David also said his brother was not the monster that Ashley painted him out to be.

The defense presented a slander campaign based upon gross exaggerations of Doug's own testimony and unverified allegations from Ashley. Ashley's verbal, emotional, and legal abuse for over three years and was still willing to reconcile with her, even serving her up until the time of his death. The month before Doug was killed, I spent four days with him in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. He expressed to me his desire to help bring healing to Ashley and her mother from the trauma that they had experienced in the past. Doug realized he might not be able to salvage the marriage. He was resigned to being a single father and working with Ashley to care for Emerson. He was not angry or bitter, but filled with mercy and resolve to make the best of the situation. That was the brother I knew. Doug Benefield's cousin Tommy also spoke. Right now, here's just some of the patents that are in use under Doug's name. Lighting control devices and methods.

Task ambient heating and air conditioning systems for distributed space conditioning. Methods and systems for air quality analysis, diagnostics, and environmental controls. Heating and air conditioning fire suppression systems. And even the most craziest one of all is called free space optical transmission system for vehicle networking. The reason that your cars, more, our special operators all around the world in the Western world can data transfer from sole operators behind enemy lines to their command and control is because Doug John 10.10 says to us, The thief comes only to steal and destroy, as opposed to Christ who's come that they may have life and live it to the full.

I believe that the people who have supported Ashley have been deceived. They've had stolen from them their time and their effort. Ashley Benefield's attorney asked for a lighter sentence. It's called a downward departure from the sentencing guidelines, arguing that Doug Benefield was abusive toward Ashley. And in those admissions, Doug Benefield not only admitted to various acts of domestic violence, I don't think an act such as firing a firearm in the kitchen of a home into the ceiling,

specifically acknowledging that you did it to intimidate your wife into stopping to speak, is the kind of act that one is able to say, gee, you know, in hindsight I've thought about it and I was wrong. Forgive me. There are certain acts that manifest a much deeper problem. And those of us that are members of society who have never so much as contemplated such an act realize that that it speaks to a much deeper problem so we not only have Doug Benefield's admissions under oath of these various domestic violence incidents, I want to make it very, very clear

that despite the exposure that Ms. Benefield faces to the court's potential sanction, she adamantly maintains her innocence, that she acted out of fear for her personal safety and shot Douglas Benefield in self-defense. Ashley Benefield's attorney reiterated that there was evidence that Ashley Benefield was being abused. There's nothing that can replace the loss of Dunn Benefield's life. There's nothing that anyone's going to say to the Benefield family that's gonna make them feel better than they feel now. What I can only remind the court

is that the independent evidence, from Doug Benefield's side, the family thinks only the best. From Ashley Benefield's side, all the supporters think only the worst. We're compelled to look to the independent perception of Doug Benefield. And even were the court to discount Dr. Russell's testimony, that still leaves Bruce Ferris and Dr. Kintal. But the prosecution argued against the downward departure, disputing evidence cited by the defense. The defense also said that Dr. Ferris said that Doug was a classic abuser. The court, in the state's opinion, correctly ruled that that was inappropriate opinion testimony and was not allowed in front of the jury. And again, there are all kinds of reasons why that's not appropriate evidence to be considered by the jury.

And I would say it's inappropriate for the court to consider that as fact in a sentencing. So what we do end up having is bits and pieces of a rocky marriage that in the state's argument do not rise to prior acts of domestic violence. Doug Benefield had problems. He lost his temper sometimes. So did the defendant. They had arguments. It was a marriage, and that happens in marriage.

The victim, excuse me, was never an abusive husband the way the defense keeps trying to represent. That is a fictitious idea that Ashley Benefield has put forth and guided through this entire process. The judge said he found that Ashley Benefield acted under extreme duress, but didn't meet the other criteria for the downward departure and I consider all of the facts and evidence that have been presented to me, my ultimate conclusion, Ms. Benefield, is that this is not a downward departure case. So with that said, the sentence of the court will be as follows. I'm going to sentence you to 20 years in Florida State Prison.

That's to be followed by 10 years of probation. Upon your release, and the Florida State Prison was, of course, with all credit for time served, you must initially report to the Bradenton Department of Corrections. We'll be able to provide you a map of where that is. Cost of supervision will be a condition of supervision. Based upon the testimony of Dr. Russell today regarding you suffering from and being diagnosed with PTSD, the court is going to order as a condition of your probation that you obtain a mental health evaluation at your expense within 60 days of beginning your probation. You're to

complete any recommended treatment, including residential treatment and aftercare if it's recommended. So Ashley Benefield was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The sentence will not bring Doug Benefield back, but it brings some comfort to his family. Our family is happy with the sentence. We believe that it was fair. We know that the second-degree murder was not a guilty verdict. The manslaughter with the firearm was that was below the minimum of 45 but still took into account Doug's killing by her. My dad was the best man that I've ever known in my entire life and he will continue to hold that in my mind and in every family's mind forever.

I'm really content with this, this verdict. And, and, you know, 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. So I hope prison serves her well. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.