Why Did Ashley Benefield Kill Her Husband? All About the Black Swan Murder Trial

Former ballerina Ashley Benefield earned the “Black Swan” moniker after fatally shooting her estranged husband in 2020.

Ashley admitted to shooting Doug Benefield, then 58, alleging that he abused her over the four years they were married.

The couple met in 2016, marrying less than two weeks later and attempted to launch their own ballet company. Their marriage crumbled not long after Ashley became pregnant with their daughter, and accused Doug of abuse, alleging that he tried to poison her. A judge later said there was no evidence behind Ashley’s claims.

After several years of separations and reconciliations, Ashley shot Doug, claiming in court that it was in self-defense. Prosecutors, however, painted a picture of a cunning, premeditated effort to keep Doug from seeing their child. On Dec. 3, Ashley was sentenced to 20 years in prison and 10 years of probation after being convicted of manslaughter.

Ashley’s slaying of her husband was nicknamed “The Black Swan Case” because of her history as a ballet dancer. In the film Black Swan, released in 2010, Natalie Portman stars as a ballerina who mentally unravels.

Here is everything to know about the Black Swan murder, as well as the Benefields’ relationship and business dealings before the killing.

Who is Ashley Benefield?

Ashley Benefield was born Ashley Byers and grew up in Maryland. She started studying dance when she was 8 years old, even dropping out of high school to work with the Maryland Youth Ballet. However, by the time she turned 21, her ballet career stalled, leading her to teach dance to children and design costumes.

Ashley also tried her hand at modeling, and though she made a portfolio, she never made a career from it, per Vanity Fair. She was a 24-year-old divorcee when she met Doug Benefield.

Who was Ashley Benefield’s husband, Doug Benefield?

Doug Benefield was born in Palo Alto, Calif., on Oct. 2, 1961, and raised in Huntsville, Ala. He majored in biology at Texas A&M University and enlisted in the Navy after graduating. Doug served as a naval flight officer in San Diego, Calif., for three years before transferring to Charleston, S.C., where he was a mine warfare instructor, later working for the Office of Naval Intelligence before retiring as a lieutenant commander.

Following his military career, Doug became a consultant for government security, defense and communication. He also owned a restaurant in Charleston.

Doug was married twice before tying the knot with Ashley: He welcomed a daughter, Eva, in 2001 with his second wife, Renee Cousar Benefield, who died in late 2015.

How did Ashley and Doug Benefield meet?

Ashley first met Doug on Aug. 25, 2016, at a Republican campaign event at Dr. Ben Carson’s home in Palm Beach, Fla. At the time, she was 24 and he was 30 years her senior. Ashley recalled that Doug was “funny” and that they “clicked right away.”

“He was very loving and attentive, we laughed a lot and he made me feel very special and loved,” she said. Starting the day after they met, Vanity Fair reported, they were in constant communication, and within six days, they exchanged “I love yous.”

Doug and Ashley married on Sept. 6, 2016, at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., after knowing each other for just 13 days. There were no guests or witnesses except for Doug’s friend Trip Cormeny, who officiated the ceremony.

Cormeny said in an interview on 48 Hours: The Case of the Black Swan that he wasn’t thrilled with Doug’s whirlwind wedding, but explained, “I was being loyal to my friend.” Friends of the couple also speculated that Doug and Ashley eloped so that they could be intimate without breaking their faith-based belief in abstinence before marriage.

Why did Ashley and Doug Benefield break up?

Cracks began to show less than a year into Ashley and Doug’s relationship. According to Vanity Fair, in June 2017, Ashley read Eva’s diary and discovered that her stepdaughter — who was only nine years younger than her — didn’t like her. Doug and Ashley argued over it, and Doug allegedly threw a gun at a wall. During other arguments, he allegedly punched a hole in a wall and fired a gun into the ceiling of the family home. Doug also punched their dog Sully (which he later admitted to).

Days later, the pair hosted a wedding reception for family and friends. Doug then reversed a vasectomy he’d undergone previously so he and Ashley could start a family together.

In August 2017, Ashley learned that she was pregnant. Suffering from severe nausea, she and Doug agreed that she’d stay with her mother in Florida while he focused on their fledgling ballet company. They remained in communication regularly until Sept. 18, 2017, when Ashley drove to their Charleston home, according to 48 Hours. While Doug was at work, Ashley packed up her belongings from their house and left Doug a letter saying that she was “completely heartbroken” and that she was leaving him.

In the note, she listed 21 reasons for her ending their relationship, including incidents of alleged abuse, like when Doug once held a gun to his own head, as well as the incidents of hurting their dog, throwing a gun at the wall and firing a gun at the ceiling. Ashley also specified in the letter to not contact her or her mother. Doug texted her later that day, per Vanity Fair, saying, “I just read the note. I don’t even know how to start responding … I will never act the way you talk about again.”

Doug continued texting Ashley, saying he was going to therapy and begging her to reconcile. Ashley became suspicious of how Doug’s ex-wife Renee died and, as 48 Hours reported, told Doug’s brother that she believed Doug was poisoning her tea while she was pregnant with their daughter. (Renee died of a heart condition.)

Ashley visited several doctors and even went on medications for what she said were sharp pains in her abdomen, but nothing helped. When Doug sent her a tea set as a gift for her birthday in November 2017, she brought it to local police, who deemed it not hazardous or poisonous.

Ashley, however, still believed her ex was poisoning her, sending a hair sample for testing to a Colorado company, which alleged she had elevated levels of heavy metals in her hair.

When did Ashley and Doug Benefield have their baby?

In March 2018, Ashley checked into a Florida hospital and alleged that Doug was abusive and poisoned her. The hospital let her check in under her middle name to protect her safety, and doctors delivered Ashley and Doug’s daughter, Emerson, via C-section three weeks before Ashley’s due date. The new mom didn’t put Doug’s name on Emerson’s birth certificate, nor was he informed of the birth until she filed a restraining order against him.

Ashley’s court documents also included efforts to retain sole custody of Emerson and keep Doug from seeing her. In court, Ashley denied that her pregnancy was “uncomplicated” and insisted she believed Doug poisoned her. Judge Diana Moreland said there was “not a single scintilla of credible evidence” that Ashley had ever been poisoned, per audio obtained by 48 Hours.

After this, Doug was allowed to see Emerson and hoped he and Ashley were on their way to a romantic reconciliation. The pair even began going to couples therapy together in November 2018, per Vanity Fair.

However, Doug eventually became suspicious of Ashley when he continuously had trouble getting a hold of her. Vanity Fair reported that he hired a private investigator to look into the matter, who told Doug that Ashley was seeing another man. They continued couples counseling until that November when their therapist realized Doug had been recording their sessions, at which point she refused to treat them together but still counseled Ashley individually.

In May 2020, Ashley agreed to meet with Doug, and they began going on dates. By the summer, the pair made plans to move together to Maryland, where Ashley grew up, and raise Emerson as a family. Though emails obtained by Vanity Fair indicated that Doug still distrusted Ashley, he rented a moving truck in mid-September to prepare for their move.

When did Ashley Benefield kill Doug Benefield?

On the evening of Sept. 27, 2020, Doug came with his rented moving truck to Ashley’s mother’s house in Florida, where she’d been staying with Emerson, to prepare for their move to Maryland. Around 7 p.m., a neighbor called 911: Ashley had shot Doug, then gone to the neighbor’s home, gun still in hand, saying Doug attacked her and she was defending herself.

When police arrived, Doug was lying on the floor of Ashley’s bedroom in her mother’s home. He had been shot in the leg and arm — the second bullet also entered his chest.

In an affidavit obtained by PEOPLE, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office wrote, “Based on entry wounds on Douglas it does not appear that he was facing Ashley when she began shooting. It also does not appear that Douglas had taken any kind of defensive or combative stance. Douglas was not found to have any weapons on his person or near him.”

Doug was taken to a local hospital, where he died of his injuries. He was 58 years old.

Why did Ashley Benefield kill her husband?

Ashley and her attorneys maintain that Doug was abusive and controlling throughout their marriage, leading her to live in fear for herself and their daughter. In footage obtained by 48 Hours, Ashley said on the stand, “He would throw things or break things or smash things. He would come at me like he was gonna hit me. He told me I was lucky that he punched walls instead of me.” She also accused him of screaming at her and driving erratically when he was angry.

Ashley also alleged that Doug had hit her in the face just before she shot him, claiming during questioning that was the first time he’d been physically violent against her.

In court, Ashley’s attorneys also presented a text message to Doug from his late wife Renee, who accused him of kicking her “so hard” on their honeymoon and holding a gun to his own head on at least two occasions, as 48 Hours reported.

Prosecutors, however, alleged that Ashley fabricated stories of abuse, including her poisoning allegations, because she wanted to keep Emerson away from Doug. Police and witnesses, including the neighbor who called 911, said Ashley did not have any visible injuries other than a small scratch that appeared to have occurred days before the slaying.

Doug’s cousin, Tommie, claimed her motive was financial. “She found him at his most vulnerable,” he told PEOPLE. “He was her mark. She took his money, his peace, and eventually she took his life. And he loved her until the end.”

What was the verdict in Ashley Benefield’s murder trial?

Ashley was charged with manslaughter and second-degree murder for shooting and killing Doug. On July 30, 2024, a jury convicted Ashley of manslaughter and found her not guilty of second degree murder.

Ashley’s $100,000 bond was revoked and she was placed in custody of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office while awaiting sentencing, NBC News reported.

Tommie told WFLA after the verdict, “Even though her story was not corroborated by evidence, it’s still confusing to get to that second-degree homicide level. But we were always comfortable that it would at least be manslaughter with a firearm [charge] and we’re happy and comfortable with that.”

What is Ashley Benefield’s sentence?

Ashley was sentenced on Dec. 3, 2024, to 20 years in prison with 10 years of parole after her legal team attempted to overturn the conviction, alleging juror misconduct.

On Nov. 27, the judge denied Ashley’s request for a new trial, ending a one-month delay in her sentencing, per the Bradenton Herald.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.