Who was Douglas Benefield? 'Black Swan' ballerina Ashley Benefield set to go on trial for killing husband
LAKEWOOD, FLORIDA: Ashley Benefield, a former professional ballerina, swimsuit model, and founder of the American National Ballet company who is accused of fatally shooting her husband Douglas Benefield in 2020, is set to go on trial over the sensational murder case. Reports suggest that Benefield will argue self-defense in the upcoming trial as she previously claimed to have shot her husband to protect herself during a domestic dispute at their Lakewood, Florida home.
The Benefields were reportedly in the middle of a messy custody battle over their two-year-old daughter when Douglas was shot to death, as per the Daily Mail. On Thursday, June 6, Benefield's defense team filed a motion to drop the second-degree murder charges against the ballet dancer, claiming she killed Douglas in self-defense. Benefield's upcoming trial has since been dubbed by the press as the "Black Swan murder trial."
What is known about Douglas Benefield?
Douglas was reportedly a consultant from South Carolina and a former Navy pilot working with technology companies and defense contractors, as per CBS News. He was shot to death by his wife on September 28, 2020. He reportedly met Benefield at a dinner party in Florida in August 2016 while working in Donald Trump's campaign office in Sarasota, Florida. At the time of their meeting, Douglas was 54 while his then-future wife was 24. Despite their 30-year age gap, the duo reportedly fell in love and tied the knot only 13 days after knowing each other.
"He just immediately thought Ashley was the most beautiful, the most amazing person in the world," Alice Robb, a contributing writer for Vanity Fair, told the publication. Benefield reportedly dreamt of making a ballet company that would include dancers from all ethnicities with all body types and Douglas pledged to turn his wife's dream into a reality. The couple soon founded the American National Ballet in Charleston, South Carolina, to welcome ballet dancers from every corner of the country.
While Benefield served as the executive director of the company, Douglas served as the CEO. However, the company soon ended up in legal trouble after being sued by dancers and choreographers, who accused the pair of contract breach, claiming they were fired just weeks after being hired. Douglas and his wife became pregnant with their first child in 2017.
Douglas was also father to Eva, whom he shared with his former partner Renee. Nearly nine months before the former's marriage to Benefield, Renee reportedly died from an undiagnosed heart ailment. While the incident left Eva traumatized, she said that Douglas stepped up to become her biggest support. "After my mom died… he made sure… I could go to him with boy problems, with school drama, with anything. And he would take care of it," Eva told CBS.
However, their father-daughter relationship was impacted after Douglas' remarriage. "He basically told her that I needed somebody… I needed a motherly role in my life. And I didn't think that I needed that," Eva told Axelrod. The tensions intensified after Benefield moved in with Douglas after their wedding. At one point, Douglas and Benefield reportedly began arguing about Eva, prompting the latter to fire a gun into the ceiling of their home.
Several of his friends said the incident was unlike Douglas' character. "I did the dumbest thing I've ever done in my life," Douglas reportedly said after the incident, his friend Cormeny said. A pregnant Benefield reportedly moved back to Florida to live with her mother. However, she returned home one night when Douglas hosted a party for American National Ballet and wrote a four-page letter, listing down Douglas' inadequacies and accusing him of being "possessive" and "controlling."
"I could see the look in his face when he read it. I could just tell his heart was broken," Eva said while talking about her father's reaction to the incident. Despite their growing differences, Douglas and his wife eventually patched up after their daughter was born in 2018. However, Benefield reportedly did not inform Douglas when their daughter was born and did not put his name on her birth certificate.
He was only allowed to see the child six months after her birth. Following their reconciliation, Douglas and his wife stayed together for a year. However, Benefield decided to move to Maryland with their then-two-year-old daughter and her mother, Alicia Byers. While Douglas agreed to Benefield's decision, the pair allegedly had a dispute when the latter was moving out on September 27, 2020 and he was killed by Benefield after she shot him inside their home.
Ashley Benefield was dubbed the 'black swan' after husband's murder
On the day of Douglas' murder, he was reportedly helping Benefield pack the family's possessions into a U-Haul truck. Around 7 pm, the latter's mother took her granddaughter to a park, leaving Benefield and her husband alone in the house. Shortly after, a neighbor heard screams from inside the house and called 911. Meanwhile, Benefield went to another neighbor to confess her crime, Douglas' cousin Tommie Benefield told CBS. "She walks next door, gun in hand. Tells the neighbor…'I shot Doug in self-defense.' The neighbor calls 911."
Douglas was reportedly alive when police arrived at the scene but died from the gunshot wounds an hour later at a nearby hospital. Officials said Douglas was shot twice while he was turned away from his wife, once in the leg and once in the arm. The bullet reportedly traveled into his chest cavity and left him dead in the process. Benefield was arrested on charges of second-degree murder five weeks after the incident.
While she did not make any statement, her mother Alicia and lawyer Faith Brown said that Benefield was living in fear of Douglas for three and a half years. Alicia said Douglas "knows how to play the game" and hence was never charged with a crime even though Benefield's allegation prompted authorities to investigate him. Due to Benefield's history of being a talented and passionate ballet dancer and her involvement in a major crime, she was soon dubbed as the "black Swan," in reference to Darren Aronofsky's classic film 'Black Swan' starring Natalie Portman.
So far, it is not known if Benefield was truly a victim who shot her husband to save her own life or if she was indeed like the "Black Swan" all along.