Who is Ashley Christina Benefield? Ex swimsuit model who shot husband dead ran 'Trump campaign office' in 2016
In a startling revelation, a former swimsuit model and ex-ballerina who shot dead her estranged husband, was earlier a 2016 campaign manager for sitting President Donald Trump, according to reports. Ashley Christina Benefield turned herself in at Lakewood Ranch, Florida, on November 9. The woman was accused of shooting her husband Doug Benefield on September 27 this year. They divorced on August 18, 2014.
During the fatal shooting incident, the 28-year-old model allegedly opened fire on her 58-year-old husband, Doug Benefield, while he had his back to her inside a house in the gated community of Lakewood Ranch. The ex-ballerina alleged that her husband hit her first but detectives reportedly found no sign that she had been a victim of physical abuse.
They reportedly dismissed that she was acting in self-defense, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said as reported by New York Post. Detectives stated Ashley fired four times with a .45-caliber handgun, hitting Doug twice, with two other bullets found lodged in a wall, as per an affidavit.
According to reports, the cause of the deadly dispute between the separated couple had been the couple’s daughter whom the ex-ballerina reportedly wanted to keep away from her husband. “It appears that the main focus of these complaints was to keep the child away from Douglas,” the affidavit mentioned. Court documents reportedly reveal that the dancer began to file domestic violence against her husband Doug, soon after she became pregnant.
“Ashley had tried to file an injunction to keep Doug away from their daughter, but the judge in the case found that her story of abuse did not have 'a scintilla of truth', the court document states,” as reported by New York Post. Now reports have surfaced showing she worked for Donald Trump’s campaign.
Ashley Christina Benefield and her Trump connect
Ashley Christina Benefield is a former swimsuit model and ex-ballerina who graduated from the Maryland Youth Ballet. According to latest reports, she was a former Trump campaign office manager and a former Florida Director of Women for Trump in 2016. The Sun can confirm that Ashley was a registered Republican in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, from the age of 21, according to voter records.
The publication reported that the 28-year-old was on Trump payroll as a Florida office staffer getting $3,000 a month plus expenses. She had an account at ModelMayhem.com under the name "Christina Alessia" and was given the task of managing the campaign office in the Sunshine State for the POTUS Trump in Sarasota. According to various reports, she traveled on at least one occasion to other states “to warm up crowds at rallies and heat Street.”
Ashley was introduced as “retired ballerina” at Illinois GOP Convention in May 2016, Washington Times reported at that time. The publication further mentioned a now-defunct Facebook page that showed her modeling photos and reported that Ashley, “danced for many professional ballet companies along the east coast including Ballet Theatre of Maryland, The Baltimore Ballet, Sarasota Ballet, Ballet Pensacola, The Brandon Ballet and The Wilmington Ballet Company."
"At the end of the 2014-2015 season, after dancing professionally for 6 years, I (Ashley) announced my(her) official retirement from the dance world so I(she) could pursue a full-time career in modeling,” she wrote in her Facebook bio in 2016.
Under the current case, Ashley was arrested and charged with second-degree murder after she shot her estranged husband Doug over a domestic argument. The woman is being held at the Manatee County Jail.