The Real-Life 'Black Swan': Ashley Benefield

on prime crime just between you and me this son of a dick has been harassing him and threatening him for the long time now i need a police officer to come and get this weapon it starts as a whirlwind romance legitimately more more like a tornado and 13 days later it culminated in their marriage but it spins out of control and accusations fly they were trying to paint a picture that doug was this abuser there were allegations of abuse verbal threats that she really was someone with a plan and looking to execute it any which way she could then this battle of he said she said turns deadly and you thought he was going to kill me he wouldn't let me leave i tried to leave he stopped me walk into the courthouse and i don't know what's going to happen but here we are hi everybody i'm jesse weber and welcome to prime crime where we break down some of the most compelling and memorable true crime cases from across the country you know how they say opposites attract well here fate ends up bringing together an unlikely couple unfortunately when the passion cools and tempers flare someone loses their life but as you'll see it's not so clear who's at fault this is gabby how can i help you i have john singer on the phone he's saying the neighbor came over female neighbor it was a domestic she's with me now quite upset the weapon is here you want me to go over and look at anything or just wait for them no i want you to just wait for the police okay all right if you could just get them here quick september 27th 2020 a chilling 9-1-1 call breaks the peace of bradenton florida but we're going to have to wait for the police because we're going to have to wait for the police because we're on call breaks the peace of bradenton florida a place not typically known for what police dispatch is about to hear bradenton is just south of the tampa and st pete area it's a tourist town we're south florida where we have you know beaches and nature reserves and there's an art village within the town so bright sunny atmosphere she came in she was quite hysterical i didn't know who was banging on my door and said that he attacked her they've been having trouble all right i know honey i know okay it's not what people think it's not what people think it is i know this young woman ashley was quite beautiful tall statuesque she was a bathing suit model she was a former ballerina ashley was a very young 24 year old she was reasonably nice and was easily persuaded by the charm that doug benefield was able to display doug benefield was a 54 year old basically we're dealing with what we describe as a may december romance even though the age difference even though there was 30 years between them they really were a very attractive couple his family described him as being very loving very caring about them very christian man with you know very home values after meeting at a political event in 2016 they both hit off from the very start doug was besotted was enamored with ashley from the very beginning it seemed this would be the perennial quote whirlwind quote romance but legitimately whirlwind more like a tornado and 13 days later it culminated in their marriage ashley and doug benefield ended up moving in together in a to their south carolina home with doug's then teenage daughter ava benefield who had just lost her mother who died of a heart attack just months before meeting ashley and learning that she was going to be her new stepmother eva was a few years younger than ashley she's a talented young lady who would engaged in a lot of tick-tock videos to come to terms with losing her mother uh so she's had a very difficult time but a lot of people have been asking me about my jewelry especially specifically this necklace i think i wear it a lot because it's my favorite necklace of all time during the first year of marriage things seem to go really well ashley shared with doug um her dreams of opening a ballet company that was more inclusive of a variety of dancers and so doug being a businessman in an entrepreneur and wanting to to make his wife happy tried to gain financing for this company and get it off the ground doug led ashley to believe that he could make this dream come true but things don't exactly go as planned ashley ended up leaving in august of 2017 and moving down to florida shortly after she found out she was pregnant with their daughter in florida ashley lives with her mom who takes care of her and her daughter in florida ashley lives with her mom who takes care of her while doug remains in south carolina managing the ballet company they had hired a few ballerinas made some promises and then were unable to deliver on nearly any of those promises it was extremely painful to ashley when she found out how the structure just imploded and everybody was abandoned as the ballet company fails the benefield's marriage feels the strain i do think the failure of the company affected their relationship greatly i think that if he isn't this wealthy person that can endlessly finance her dreams he all of a sudden becomes slightly less attractive that was a significant blow to the relationship but there were already signs of trouble evo in large measure i believe was responsible for that relationship never being able to gel in a positive sense ava was just upset that she was trying to be this loving stand-in for her mother and ava wasn't accepting that ashley would argue with doug about this tensions would mount and he would act out in an outburst according to ashley bennett at one point after holding a firearm against his head douglas benefield then on ashley begged him to please put the gun down doug's response was to actually fire the gun into the ceiling of the kitchen among other things that doug did was he punched their dog so hard that it rendered the canine unconscious he threw their cat down the steps and across the ring in the fall of 2017 ashley benefield has had enough still pregnant she returns to south carolina from florida to pack up her belongings leaving an explosive four-page note for doug ashley had left that four page letter which basically was telling him that she was done with the marriage but also had that list of allegations against him um including the violent outburst that he was being aggressive in the marriage and that she no longer wanted to to be a part of it shortly after she leaves doug she files for a domestic violence restraining order in south carolina which has grabbed it ashley benefield and wants to separate from her husband but he's not letting go this was an individual that was absolutely obsessed ashley on his arm made doug according to doug's perception the envy of all the other males and his major response to being rebuffed was to turn violent it is really the perfect storm for a disaster she did have reason to believe that he could be dangerous in march 2018 ashley benefield delivers her baby daughter emerson but doesn't tell her husband doug so she at that time was living in florida with her mother and she and doug were not talking they had the south carolina injunction in place so they weren't allowed to communicate with each other ashley tried to get sole custody of her child she just wanted her and her daughter and nothing to do with doug at that point ashley genuinely believed that not only was her life in danger but the life-thrown one child was as well this is a 24 year old woman who is pretty overwhelmed by all of this and she was really on the precipice of an emotional breakdown so at that time doug actually reached out to an attorney here in florida just so that he could be in his child's life but ashley benefield claims she's too concerned for her daughter's safety to want doug in their lives when she went to court with doug over the child custody issue the judge ruled that that Doug had a right to see and be a part of his child's lives. In the judge's own words, she didn't believe Ashley's story, saying there wasn't a scintilla of truth in it. - They found no credibility to any of her claims to have sole custody. And in saying that Doug was abusive and would be abusive to her or her child and was an unfit father and was not entitled to any rights of custody, the courts did not believe her in that particular state. - Then suddenly, it seems Ashley Benefield has a change of heart, or at least a change in strategy. - Right around that time, the two seemed to reconcile because Doug had the right to see his child be a part of his child's life, and they were acting almost as a family again, except that Doug, again, was still not living with Ashley. Was this just her way of trying to protect herself and her daughter? The classic symptom of someone who is in a domestic abuse situation where it's, you know, play along to get along. And there was, you know, this fear that Doug might take their daughter away. - However, in the summer of 2020, something happens that seems to change the game. - Ashley is decided because her grandmother has passed away and she has inherited a home in Maryland. She was leaving. - Doug wanting to be close was also going to move to Maryland, but he was going to be living separately in a different apartment. - Ashley accepted, reluctantly, that he would be going to Maryland because he claimed he had business and ties in D.C. - I think the ultimate goal is that she was just trying to get to Maryland to maybe see if that court system would rule in her favor. - In late September, 2020, Benefield, her mom, and her estranged husband, Doug, prepare for the move. - On the evening of September 27th, 2020, Doug arrived at Ashley's mother's home with a U-Haul truck as the couple had decided earlier in the day that he was going to help with the packing and moving of furniture into the U-Haul for their move to Maryland. - This was Doug's last ditch effort to try to win Ashley back. As soon as Doug gets there, he's pretty much, I think, simmering on a slow boil. Doug knew when he arrived at Ashley's house that afternoon that he was losing Ashley. The absolute most dangerous time for a woman who is abused is when the abuser realizes that he is about to lose the focus of his abuse. - They were moving boxes and furniture into the U-Haul, and tensions seemed to start to mount. Doug seemed to have an outburst saying that she was his wife, they should be living together. - Approximately six o'clock, Ashley's mother takes Emerson to the park. - Now, Ashley and Doug Benefield are alone in the house. - As they are packing, there's a couple, a couple of strange incidents where Doug body checks Ashley as they pass in the hallway two times, just to intimidate her. Now, following the two body checks, there's an incident where the cardboard box, where they're passing, Doug takes the cardboard box and rams it in to Ashley's side, is how she describes it. - And Ashley, trying to get the ending to wrap up, said that they could finish packing in the morning, and that she wanted Doug to leave, and he refused. - And Ashley now is-- - In the U.S., there's a break-in every 26 seconds, but when intruders step near, SimpliSafe home security steps up. - Stop, this is SimpliSafe. Police are on the way. - Using AI alerts, U.S.-based live agents help deter break-ins. SimpliSafe, no long-term contracts. Save 60% on a new system with professional support. Professional monitoring during our 20th anniversary sale at SimpliSafe.com/Spotify. - Outdoor deterrence requires a SimpliSafe active guard outdoor protection plan starting at $49.99 a month. Visit SimpliSafe.com/licenses for alarm license information. Tennessee 2-0-1-2. - Beginning to realize that Doug's starting to go over the edge. He says to Ashley, "Hey, I know what you're doing. You're trying to get rid of me. I'm your husband, and I have the right to spend the night here if that's what I want." - When Doug refused to leave, Ashley attempted to leave the house, and Doug blocked her path. - At that point, though, Doug's response is to slap her across the face, and Ashley, now terrified, 'cause he's also holding her by the arm, she breaks free and flees to her bedroom. - Fearing for her life, knowing what she had known previously from, the abuse situations, she ran to her bedroom to grab a gun. - Ashley runs in to the room, slams the door behind her. She hears the door to the bedroom, as she's grabbing the gun, fly open, and she looks up, standing in the doorway, is Doug, jacked up, his adrenaline flowing, and she takes the weapon, Doug advanced. When Doug advances, Ashley goes to pieces. Starts squeezing the trigger. She has no idea how many times she fires the gun. She keeps firing until the gun jams. - Is Ashley Benefield really so afraid of her husband, Doug, that she shoots him to save herself? Or. does she have a different motive? - 30 seconds later, Ashley was running out of the house, crying and screaming with the gun still in her hand. It was the neighbor who had called 911, letting them know that his neighbor had just, was just at his doorstep with a gun in her hand, saying she had to shoot Doug, she had to shoot her husband. - Yeah, I'm just with her. I'm trying to comfort her, explaining it isn't what people think it is when it happens. - Yeah. I'm sure she's pretty shaken up. It's okay. - Well, honey, they want you to stay here. If he isn't, we can't take a chance. That's why I want them to hurry up before he gets out from the car. - The deputies are moving a sash with their hand. They're coming priority. They're coming lights and sirens. They just want to get and make sure that everything's okay. So where in the house is he? - Where in the house is he? - My bedroom. My bedroom. - Her bedroom. - When investigators arrived, they found Doug lying in the bedroom with two gunshot wounds. One to his right leg and one to his chest area. There was also a third grazing on his arm. And so the investigators pulled him out, tried to perform life-saving measures, and he was eventually taken to a local hospital where he died. - Police interview Ashley Benefield's mom when she and Ashley's daughter returned from the park to this terrible scene. - He's been coming after us for three and a half years. Three and a half years. We have been begging for help and nobody has helped us. Nobody. - What violence have you seen with your own eyes? Let's start with recently. What have you seen recently? - You have to understand, this is a man who manipulates. Manipulates and manipulates. And he looks at you and he gets close to you and he will back you in the corner and he will dare you to not agree with him. - So is it more mental violence? Mentally violent? - It's emotional like you wouldn't believe. - Okay. - Ashley Benefield is taken into custody and her lawyer meets her at the police station. She's not under arrest yet, since it seems like she acted in self-defense. - Ashley, I'm Detective Klonczewski. I'm with the Manatee County Sheriff's Office Homicide Unit. I know that we haven't talked yet and we're not gonna be taking a statement from you. That's fine. I have a search warrant. Ashley, can you please stand up? Now, let me ask you this, ma'am. Does she have any of the years that you're aware of right now? That you should photograph in detail? - In observing her, not based on any privileged information or statement, I noticed that there are injuries on her wrists, there's an injury on her stomach, and there are injuries on her legs. The injuries on her wrists and some of her scratches. She does appear to have some redness raised here and then the bruising. It's on her legs. - Benefield is released on a $100,000 bond to live with her mother and daughter. - She had no criminal record. She had no past history of leaving the country on a whim. The likelihood of her returning to court to fight with these charges, it was very likely she would return. So that's why she was released to the custody of her mother. Also, because she was claiming to be a domestic violence victim, that that warrants an in-depth investigation. Ashley Benefield is arrested about a month after her husband's death. Once the investigation is completed, nearly four years later, Benefield's trial begins in Bradenton, Florida. She pleads not guilty, claiming she acted in self-defense. And at the courthouse, supporters turn out for her. So the We Stand With Ashley movement was a community of supporters who had come together and started, you know, this online group to support Ashley. Almost every day before the trial, they would be outside, outside the courthouse to support her, who believed in her story and that she was a victim of domestic violence and that she was a victim in this case and that she acted in self-defense. But as the trial gets underway, the prosecution isn't buying that Benefield is the victim. This case is about a woman who very early on in her pregnancy decided she wanted to be a single mother. And she did not want the father of this child to have any visitation, her husband. And everything she did from that point on was to attain that goal. She tried several things in the system that you'll hear. The courts, law enforcement, Department of Children and Families, no one got on her side. And at the end, when there was no other option, she shooted. She shoots him and kills him and claims self-defense. The state's theory became Ashley wanted to raise the child for life and did not want Doug to be a part of the child's life. But you'll see that this was a custody battle, that this mother was going to win at all costs. And the cost was the life of Doug Benefield. And that is murder. I'm going to have some strong words. I'm going to have some strong words about Douglas Benefield, the alleged victim in this case. I say alleged victim because he was anything but that. The evidence is going to show that Douglas Benefield was a very disturbed man. 30 years older than Ashley, he was obsessed with her. And he successfully portrayed himself as everything he was not. In an effort to save her. In an effort to win her hand in marriage. Despite promoting himself as a religious, honorable, and decent human being, Doug Benefield was a manipulative, cunning, and abusive man who insisted, absolutely insisted on control. They were trying to paint a picture that Doug was this abuser. And that's what their argument had been, to kind of lead up into, to that self-defense argument that they were presenting for Ashley. The only thing that's going to have been established here, beyond a reasonable doubt, is that Douglas Benefield was a violent abuser. Ashley Benefield's efforts to placate him was absolutely consistent with what abused women do. Especially when, when a child is involved. And that Ashley's result, and resource to deadly force, was absolutely justified under the circumstances. One of the first people to testify, is a familiar person in this story. Doug Benefield's daughter, Eva. When did you first find out about someone named Ashley Benefield? It was August of 2016, about nine months after my mom passed. Okay, and how did you find out about her? My dad was on the phone when he picked me up from school, and he had the, his phone on speaker. And they mentioned him having a girlfriend, and if they were, if he was going to bring his girlfriend to a conference that they had that weekend. And was that the first time you had any information that there might have been a girlfriend? Yes. How old were you at the time? I was 15. At the time, were you upset with him about that? No. I, just told him that I trusted him, and if that's what made him happy, that I would be happy for him. And about how long after that did you find out they were married? It was two days after. How did you and Ashley get along? Um, it was, it was friendly at first. And then what happened? Um, over time, she tried to reprimand me a little bit more and kind of step into a motherly role. And I did not like that because it was so short after my mom passed away. Whenever she had a disagreement with you, how would she act? Um, it was almost temper tantrum-like. She would go directly to my dad and tell him that I wasn't obeying. Eva Benefield is one of the most moving witnesses to testify at the trial of her father's alleged killer, her own stepmom. Ashley Benefield. Did her reactions to you seem to be, um, seem to be on the level of the situation, or did she get more angry at the situation? Um, usually they were overreactions over small things. Okay. And how about interactions with your dad? Did you ever hear her argue with your father? Um, I would, I heard her strongly voice her opinions over and over and over again. Is that something that you did? Was that something that you heard on a regular basis or something you only heard once? It was on a regular basis. When she was voicing her opinions to your father, was he ever reacting to that? No, he would just sit quietly and listen. Did you ever see them fight? No. Verbally fight? No. Okay. Did you ever see them physically fight? No. It's not surprising that she, she would describe him as someone who didn't have these violent outbursts, because her father, her protector, her, her carer, you know, and especially after her mother's passing, he was there in supporting of her and trying to do the best that he could for her at the time. Did you ever hear your dad at any time yell at her? No. Did you ever hear, um, your dad do something or say something that was controlling to her? No. Did you ever see or hear your dad threaten her? No. Did you ever see or hear your dad get physical? No. No further questions. I just testified, and y'all don't know what it's like to have to testify in your dad's murder trial and know that your crush is watching you back home on TV. That's nerve wracking. It was, you know, um, a way for her to, to get the message out, get the story out to the public, to the community, to all those who are watching her, her TikToks. When domestic violence investigator Chris Gillum takes the stand, he testifies that Ashley contacted him back in December 2018. He said he was concerned about Doug's behavior. Generally, what were the circumstances without getting into a lot of detail? waiting room unexpected unannounced during that conversation with her did she say anything that struck you as interesting during that conversation with her well she had explained um previously and then repeated it then that once she was able to relocate to maryland she wanted to establish residence that she had in essence research and knowing that if she had established residence for at least six months she could then appeal to the authorities in maryland to basically have full custody of emerson and so she had used the phrase during that conversation that she would take matters into her own hands so the prosecution was really a very did a very good job of putting the motive right out there right in the very beginning they did present and make the argument that she was outlining all of her abuse because she was going to go at it again in another state and try and get ultimately what she wanted once the prosecution rests ashley benefield herself takes the stand describe the kind of things that would be done to intimidate you he would get in my face he'd yell at me he'd come at me like he was gonna hit me how would you describe if you were using adjectives his behavior possessive controlling manipulative aggressive scary unpredictable how would you deal with them i tried to do all the right things and keep him happy um kind of just go with the flow i didn't want to rock the boat ever when ashley benefield takes the stand it's her one shot at convincing the jury she acted in self-defense in ashley's case you know this was her opportunity to tell the jury her side of the story the perspective that was being shown by the state was that she was trying to manipulate the system so that she could get her her daughter was there an incident ashley in june of 2017 that you vividly recall yes please explain it we were having a an argument and it started getting really out of hand and he he pulled a gun out and he was like waving it around and then he threw it at me and it hit the wall behind me punched a hole in the wall so i went to run to try to leave he pulled the gun out and held it to his head he said that he's gonna blow his brains out and i was gonna have to watch him and he pulled the trigger and he shot a hole in the ceiling in the kitchen ashley at that point what were you thinking about your marriage he wasn't anything like i thought he was i feel like i had made a really big mistake marrying him it was like i was just living in this nightmare i never knew what i was gonna get how did you feel about your personal safety when you left dog i was scared what was it that made you uncomfortable there's a lot of things like punching her dog and shooting the gun and different things he would say and do and were you afraid for just you i was pregnant at the time i was scared for the baby it seemed to start out fine when the defense attorney was questioning her but then at cross-examination she seemed to me to get flustered and not be able to understand why she was afraid of the baby she was scared of the baby she was scared of the baby she was scared of the baby she was scared of the baby answers to questions about her behavior and about her continuing to be with someone that she was so afraid of okay so i want to get to the night that all this happened so you knew doug was coming over yes you invited him over yes to help you move stuff in the house um well specifically stuff in the garage but yes and when he came over your mother and every person went to the park um i believe they were uh headed there you weren't so afraid that you wanted your mother to stay there and watch no we were just packing to move okay so you weren't afraid i definitely didn't expect this to happen um i do believe the cross-examination by the prosecutor brought out a different side of her and i do think that the prosecutor was able to show and ask the correct questions her behavior did not correlate to what she was alleging her behavior didn't make any sense so if i heard you right during your direct you said he bumped your shoulder twice body check i don't know if that's what you called it he walked into you with a box right yes and then at the end you say he slapped you he he hit me i don't i wouldn't know how to classify it he struck me he hit me and you thought he was going to kill you he wouldn't let me leave i tried to leave he stopped me so you go into the room and you grab your firearm is it in a holster i don't remember okay and you claim that doug does what he came and slammed the door open he was standing in the doorway he said you're done he said you're done and that made you fear for your life yeah in defending herself she had to tell that jury what was going through her mind she had really had no choice there would have been no way for them to find and understand what was going on if she didn't tell them and try and portray to them that she was so afraid and she had no other alternative but to fire this gun and save herself so you start shooting and he does what you're coming at me okay so then you keep shooting again and he falls down on his back his legs went up in the air and were you still shooting at the time i don't remember so you have both sides of whether she came across as someone who either was really a victim who was having a tough time expressing that reliving that situation on the stand and then you had those of course who who viewed it the other way where this was someone who was just again trying to manipulate the jury and um the legal system to to her uh benefit as the trial winds down prosecutor suzanne o'donnell and defense attorney neil taylor deliver their closing arguments remember the defendant sat right there and said doug benefield never punched her ever never choked her never kicked her never came at her with a knife never came at her with a club never came at her with a bat and she was the only person armed in that room doug benefield was not armed he had no weapons he was laying on the floor dying and she goes to the neighbor and not once asks for an ambulance and he dies either on the way to the hospital or in the hospital she had an agenda and it worked for what she wanted and she got what she wanted because after she killed him what did she get sole custody of the child and that's murder thank you i've presented to you everything that i possibly could to show you the dynamics of what took place on that day and why they took place and what ashley knew about doug at the time they took place to show you that her action and using deadly force was reasonable ladies and gentlemen ashley benefield is not guilty of murder in the second degree she's also not guilty of manslaughter it is not manslaughter if the shooting was justifiable if it was in self-defense manslaughter is a compromise ashley is not looking for a compromise she's entitled to more than that we're confident you will return a verdict of not guilty in this case the jury deliberates for six and a half hours before announcing their verdict ma'am has the jury reached a verdict yes we have is the verdict unanimous yes it is verdicts we the jury finds as follows as to the defendant in this case the defendant is guilty of manslaughter a lesser included offense she shoots him twice i think she got very lucky to only be convicted of manslaughter so it could be that they were compromising in a way saying well he did have some issues and he did have some problems so some of her fear is founded so we could see how she could pull a gun but they didn't see that she actually actually intended to kill him at the sentencing hearing almost a half year later doug benefield's loved ones expressed their grief at his tragic passing on monday morning september 28 2020 eva benefield my niece called she worried that she had not heard from her dad he was not answering the calls which was very out of character for him and soon after I received a phone call that my brother was dead. On the call that included my cousin Tommy Benefield and Doug's family law attorney we added to Eva to the call. Eva immediately asked what was up with her dad. I was in a state of disbelief and shock. I couldn't get the words out of my mouth before I could muster up the words to answer her. Eva exclaimed, she killed him, didn't she? When Doug's daughter Eva gives her own statement, she wears a jacket with red hearts marking the places her father was shot. 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? You somehow managed to orphan not one, but two young girls. Thank you for the statements regarding your relationships with Douglas Benefield and how his loss has impacted each of you. The sentence of the court will be as follows. I'm going to sentence you to 20 years in Florida state prison, to be followed by 10 years of probation. I think there's an innocent woman that has been sentenced to. Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Now, I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited premium wireless for $15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made $15 bills, but it turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial. Try at mintmobile.com/switch. Upfront payment of $45 for three months, $90 for six months, or $180 for 12 month plan required. $15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. Initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes. May slow when network is busy. See terms. 20 years in prison. So it is less, sir, than if she were convicted of murder, but it's still a steep sentence. It's 20 years in prison is a lot of time. We never denied that she did it. It would have been absurd to deny that she did it. The issue was, why she killed him. As I sit here today, you truly believe there was reaction to an abusive relationship, a horribly abusive relationship. This was clearly a self-defense shooting that took place. It took a very long time in the justice system for there to be a defense of being abused and justifying murdering your abuser. So when somebody stands up then and says, I am a victim, I am a victim, I am a victim, and the evidence doesn't back that up, it's wrong. It's wrong to do that. And it dilutes the rights of true domestic violence victims when you truly aren't one, but you're using it for your benefit. Is there anything you want people to know about your dad or your family? 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 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. This is a case that shines a light on how hard it can be to find the truth in a domestic violence situation and how the children who are left behind, they become the ones who lose the most. That's all we have for you here on this episode of Prime Crime, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Jesse Weber. And as always, stay safe.