‘Black Swan’ murder trial: Ashley Benefield convicted of manslaughter

(NEW YORK) — Ashley Benefield, the woman at the center of the “Black Swan” murder trial, was convicted of manslaughter on Tuesday night.

The jury in the trial of the ballerina who had been accused of killing her husband, Doug Benefield, returned its verdict late Tuesday night in a Florida courtroom.

She faces up to 30 years in prison. Her sentencing date has yet to be determined.

Ashley Benefield’s attorney argued that she was trapped in an abusive relationship, stating that Doug Benefield was a manipulative, controlling and abusive man. She had argued she killed her husband in self-defense. Prosecutors had accused Ashley of wanting sole custody of the couple’s daughter Emerson.

“This case is about a woman who, very early on in her pregnancy, decided she wanted to be a single mother,” prosecutor Suzanne O’Donnell said. “Her husband and everything she did from that point on was to attain that goal and she would stop at nothing to attain that goal. When there was no other option, she shoots him and kills him and claims self-defense.”

According to court documents filed by the defense, Ashley claims Doug struck her in an incident on Sept. 27, 2020, hitting her on the side of her head, and then tried to keep her from leaving the room.

Ashley claims she feared for her life, shot Doug multiple times in self-defense, and then ran to her neighbor’s house.