BRADENTON, Fla. — A Manatee County judge sentenced a woman to 20 years in prison after she was found guilty of killing her husband.
Ashley Benefield was sentenced to two decades, with credit for time served, followed by 10 years probation in a case that's gained national attention as the "Black Swan murder" trial.
The former ballerina was found guilty by a jury in July of manslaughter for shooting and killing her husband, Doug Benefield, in September 2020 after an argument.
During the trial, the defense called up some counselors to the witness stand following Ashley Benefield's emotional testimony. The focus in court was on establishing the state of mind of the defendant and Doug Benefield.
Court documents and testimonies showed not only was a child custody battle at the center of their conflict, but issues related to the couple's own marital status and domestic abuse were also a factor.
Witnesses included a domestic violence expert, the couple's marital counselor, a ballistic expert, a medical examiner and even a realtor.
Vincent Vizzacaro said Doug Benefield tried to buy a home in Lakewood Ranch right behind Ashley Benefield. She said she had moved to her mother's house after getting very sick during her pregnancy and suspected Doug Benefield was poisoning her.
The realtor pointed out that Doug Benefield had contacted him about purchasing the home in early 2018 despite a restraining order instated by a judge in Charleston, South Carolina, around November 2017.
It was also revealed that Ashley Benefield had contacted law enforcement after she said she had seen her estranged husband following her multiple times.
Concerned about a tracking device in her car, she advised them that he violated the court order — however, a clerical error confused law enforcement about whether he could be arrested.
The couple's marital counselor and a domestic violence expert for the defense took to the witness stand to explain what they observed as a cycle of abuse at play in the couple's relationship.
"Doug occurred as someone who was domineering at times. He would be super controlling. He was very dedicated to wanting the relationship to work. He was very interested, despite conversations with some of the very disparaging things that Ashley had said about him, he was very much still wanting this to work and their plans were to move to Maryland," Dr. Jason S. Quintal said.
"The most dangerous times, statistically is when a woman or victim of domestic violence is leaving their abuser and if the abuser is there," said Bruce Ferris, a former detective and domestic violence expert based in Gainesville.
Ferris showed a wheel chart showing the different types and stages of "The Power Cycle" involved in many of the domestic violence cases he has worked on.
"If someone is single and they are being abused, certainly they want to incur the least amount of abuse. But if a child is involved now, they are concerned if they have a strong maternal instinct. Now they're concerned about their own safety and their child safety," Ferris said.
However, state prosecutors tried to establish that in the period leading up to the shooting she could no longer qualify as a victim of domestic abuse as she lived separately from Doug Benefield.
"Certainly if you're asking if they're acting happy, is she still a victim of domestic violence, definitely and it also fits with the whole idea of appeasement. We have to remember that domestic violence comes in layers through the years of events," Ferris said.
A ballistics expert provided an animated visual simulation of what he believed happened on that day based on interviews, crime scene photos, and case documents he reviewed. His presentation included an explanation about the direction of the bullets and concluded that he didn't see any inconsistencies in Ashley Benefield's account.
There was also a retired medical examiner from Miami-Dade, Dr. Emma Lew, who with a presentation provided opinions that supported the self-defense argument.