Breaking news:’Black Swan’ Had a Gun in Her Bra the Night She Met Her Husband. 4 Years Later, She Killed Him

The couple met at an elegant political dinner in 2016, and the woman — who would later be dubbed the “Black Swan” ballerina by the media — carried a gun in her bra.

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‘Black Swan’ Had a Gun in Her Bra the Night She Met Her Husband. 4 Years Later, She Killed Him
In July, a jury convicted Ashley Benefield of manslaughter in the shooting death of her estranged husband, Douglas Benefield

By Emily Palmer Published on September 6, 2024 04:11PM EDT
Doug Benefield was killed by his wife Ashley, a dancer.
Douglas and Ashley Benefield.
In her bedroom, Ashley Benefield fired four times, hitting her estranged husband twice on Sept. 27, 2020. Douglas Benefield succumbed to his injuries later that night
Investigators collected evidence suggesting she shot him because she wanted to be a single mother. She claims she fired at him in self-defense
On the stand this summer, the former ballerina said that she had bragged about owning multiple guns

The couple met at an elegant political dinner in 2016, and the woman — who would later be dubbed the “Black Swan” ballerina by the media — carried a gun in her bra.

Four years later, Ashley Benefield shot her estranged husband, Douglas Benefield, twice inside her Bradenton, Fla. home.

On July 30, Ashley was found guilty of manslaughter, according to the verdict sheet obtained by PEOPLE.

The bombshell admission that she had been carrying a gun the night she met him came in trial testimony examined in an upcoming broadcast of 48 Hours on CBS. (The two-hour broadcast, “The Case of the Black Swan, Part 1 and Part 2,” airs Saturday, Sept. 7, from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET/PT, and will also stream on Paramount+.)

The testimony was confirmed to PEOPLE by Chief Homicide Prosecutor Suzanne O’Donnell, who grilled the former dancer on the stand.

You actually bragged … about having guns, correct?” O’Donnell asked the defendant.
“Yes,” Ashley testified.

O’Donnell followed up: “During the time that you met Doug at a political event, you had one of the guns in your bra?”

“Yes,” she responded. “That’s where I conceal it, carry it.”

From the evening of the Sept. 27, 2020, shooting, Ashley has claimed she shot her husband in self-defense, according to a transcript of the 911 call submitted into evidence at trial and obtained by PEOPLE.

Shortly before 7 p.m., her next door neighbor, John Sant, told the dispatcher that she had come to his home “quite hysterical,” telling him that her husband “attacked her and she shot him,” while her mother and young daughter were playing at the park.

He added that she had brought “the weapon” with her.

First-responders found Douglas on her bedroom floor, shot in the leg, with a second bullet skipping “across the right bicep” and entering “his chest cavity from his right side,” per the criminal complaint obtained by PEOPLE.

He was pronounced dead at 9 p.m.

Detective Justin Warren said in the complaint that Ashley had sustained “no injuries aside from a minor scratch on her right side,” which he described as appearing “old and very minor.”

“Based on the entry wounds on Douglas it does not appear that he was facing Ashley when she began shooting,” Warren wrote in the complaint. “It also does not appear that Douglas had taken any kind of defensive or combative stance.”

Following the shots, her estranged husband had seemingly fallen to the ground, striking his head on the wall “on the way down,” according to Warren.

That night police took Ashley to the precinct – where her lawyer was waiting for them – for questioning, and she allegedly commented, per the complaint, that “her ears were still ringing.”

It was not the first time Ashley had made claims against her husband, Warren alleged in the complaint, noting that “since the time Ashley found out that she was pregnant,” she had filed “numerous cases,” all of which had been closed as unfounded and none of which alleged domestic violence.
An online search of her name in Manatee County Circuit Court records reveals four closed “domestic relations” cases filed between April 2018 and May 2020.

“Based on these cases and Ashley’s actions leading up to the murder of Douglas Benefield it appears that the main focus of these complaints was to keep the child away from Douglas,” Warren alleged in the complaint, noting that “in one of the most recent cases,” a judge “openly advised that she did not find Ashley’s story to possess a ‘scintilla of truth.’”

“At this point, it appears that Ashley had exhausted all legal means of keeping the child away from Douglas before the shooting,” Warren added in the complaint.

Slated for sentencing on Oct. 22, Ashley faces up to 30 years behind bars, and O’Donnell tells PEOPLE that she plans to ask for the maximum sentence.

Ashley will return to court prior to sentencing for a Sept. 16 hearing in which the judge will decide if her defense attorneys – who claims to PEOPLE that there is “irrefutable evidence of juror misconduct” – may interview the jurors about issues at trial in the hope of securing a new one.

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‘Black Swan’ Had a Gun in Her Bra the Night She Met Her Husband. 4 Years Later, She Killed Him
In July, a jury convicted Ashley Benefield of manslaughter in the shooting death of her estranged husband, Douglas Benefield

By Emily Palmer Published on September 6, 2024 04:11PM EDT
Doug Benefield was killed by his wife Ashley, a dancer.
Douglas and Ashley Benefield.
In her bedroom, Ashley Benefield fired four times, hitting her estranged husband twice on Sept. 27, 2020. Douglas Benefield succumbed to his injuries later that night
Investigators collected evidence suggesting she shot him because she wanted to be a single mother. She claims she fired at him in self-defense
On the stand this summer, the former ballerina said that she had bragged about owning multiple guns

The couple met at an elegant political dinner in 2016, and the woman — who would later be dubbed the “Black Swan” ballerina by the media — carried a gun in her bra.

Four years later, Ashley Benefield shot her estranged husband, Douglas Benefield, twice inside her Bradenton, Fla. home.

On July 30, Ashley was found guilty of manslaughter, according to the verdict sheet obtained by PEOPLE.

The bombshell admission that she had been carrying a gun the night she met him came in trial testimony examined in an upcoming broadcast of 48 Hours on CBS. (The two-hour broadcast, “The Case of the Black Swan, Part 1 and Part 2,” airs Saturday, Sept. 7, from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET/PT, and will also stream on Paramount+.)

The testimony was confirmed to PEOPLE by Chief Homicide Prosecutor Suzanne O’Donnell, who grilled the former dancer on the stand.

Ashley Benefield is accused of killing her estranged husband, Doug Benefield, and is attempting to have the case dismissed under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law. The hearing on the justifiable use of force immunity defense began Thursday, July 6, 2023 at the Manatee County Judicial Center in Bradenton, Florida and is expected to last two days.
Ashley Benefield at a hearing on the justifiable use of force immunity on July 6, 2023 at the Manatee County Judicial Center in Bradenton, Fla. Mike Lang/USATNSYNDICATION
Did Ballerina Kill Husband Because She ‘Wanted to Be a Single Mother’ — or Was It Self-Defense?
“You actually bragged … about having guns, correct?” O’Donnell asked the defendant.

“Yes,” Ashley testified.

O’Donnell followed up: “During the time that you met Doug at a political event, you had one of the guns in your bra?”

“Yes,” she responded. “That’s where I conceal it, carry it.”

From the evening of the Sept. 27, 2020, shooting, Ashley has claimed she shot her husband in self-defense, according to a transcript of the 911 call submitted into evidence at trial and obtained by PEOPLE.

Shortly before 7 p.m., her next door neighbor, John Sant, told the dispatcher that she had come to his home “quite hysterical,” telling him that her husband “attacked her and she shot him,” while her mother and young daughter were playing at the park.

He added that she had brought “the weapon” with her.

ashley benefield
Ashley Benefield in 2020 mugshot. Manatee County Sheriff’s Office
‘Black Swan’ Trial Verdict: Former Ballerina Ashley Benefield Guilty of Manslaughter in Death of Husband
First-responders found Douglas on her bedroom floor, shot in the leg, with a second bullet skipping “across the right bicep” and entering “his chest cavity from his right side,” per the criminal complaint obtained by PEOPLE.

He was pronounced dead at 9 p.m.

Detective Justin Warren said in the complaint that Ashley had sustained “no injuries aside from a minor scratch on her right side,” which he described as appearing “old and very minor.”

“Based on the entry wounds on Douglas it does not appear that he was facing Ashley when she began shooting,” Warren wrote in the complaint. “It also does not appear that Douglas had taken any kind of defensive or combative stance.”

Following the shots, her estranged husband had seemingly fallen to the ground, striking his head on the wall “on the way down,” according to Warren.

That night police took Ashley to the precinct – where her lawyer was waiting for them – for questioning, and she allegedly commented, per the complaint, that “her ears were still ringing.”

ashley benefield and husband doug
Douglas and Ashley Benefield.
What’s Next for Ashley Benefield After ‘Black Swan’ Trial Results in Manslaughter Conviction?
It was not the first time Ashley had made claims against her husband, Warren alleged in the complaint, noting that “since the time Ashley found out that she was pregnant,” she had filed “numerous cases,” all of which had been closed as unfounded and none of which alleged domestic violence.

An online search of her name in Manatee County Circuit Court records reveals four closed “domestic relations” cases filed between April 2018 and May 2020.

“Based on these cases and Ashley’s actions leading up to the murder of Douglas Benefield it appears that the main focus of these complaints was to keep the child away from Douglas,” Warren alleged in the complaint, noting that “in one of the most recent cases,” a judge “openly advised that she did not find Ashley’s story to possess a ‘scintilla of truth.’”

“At this point, it appears that Ashley had exhausted all legal means of keeping the child away from Douglas before the shooting,” Warren added in the complaint.

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Slated for sentencing on Oct. 22, Ashley faces up to 30 years behind bars, and O’Donnell tells PEOPLE that she plans to ask for the maximum sentence.

Ashley will return to court prior to sentencing for a Sept. 16 hearing in which the judge will decide if her defense attorneys – who claims to PEOPLE that there is “irrefutable evidence of juror misconduct” – may interview the jurors about issues at trial in the hope of securing a new one.

O’Donnell denies any misconduct in the case.

Neil G. Taylor, who represents Ashley, says he doubts the county court will grant a new trial but is “98% confident the appellate court will.”

“At least in Manatee County – where politicians routinely campaign on the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms – you would be quite surprised at how many women are armed each and every day,” Taylor added.