Ashley Benefield trial: Testimony begins for Bradenton mother accused in husband’s death
BRADENTON, Fla. - Opening statements began in the trial of a former ballerina accused of shooting and killing her husband in Bradenton in 2020.
A jury was seated on Monday in Ashley Bennefield's murder trial, who was arrested for killing her estranged husband, Doug. She sat and listened on Tuesday as her neighbor, John Sant, recalled September 27, 2020.
"I heard a very loud pounding on my door. It kind of startled me," he told the jury.
READ: Ashley Benefield trial: Jury seated in ex-ballerina murder case
Sant said he opened the door to find Ashley, who told him that her husband had attacked her. Jurors listened to a portion of the 911 call Sant placed.
"She just came over, her estranged husband attacked her, and she said she shot him," he said in the 911 call.
Ashley, who claims she acted in self-defense that night, cried as it was played in court.
As jurors were being walked through the timeline of Ashley and Doug Benefield's time together, his daughter Eva recalled how the two acted together after meeting through Doug's work.
Doug and Ashley
"They were just with each other all the time. They were lovely dovey. PDA. All the time. They never left each other’s side," said Eva.
The two got married in South Carolina 13 days after meeting in 2016. Within a year of marriage, Doug, a retired Naval flight officer, helped Ashley, a former ballerina, achieve her dream of starting a ballet company using his own money and contacts.
He also reversed his vasectomy and Ashley became pregnant three months later.
But, Assistant State Attorney Suzanne O’Donnell said that is when everything changed. Ashley moved to Florida after learning she was pregnant and began fighting for sole custody of their child, accusing Doug of abuse, which a judge never found to be credible.
"About the same time the ballet collapses, Ashley starts complaints against the victim," said O’Donnell.
Prosecutors said she made complaints that she was poisoned and claimed domestic violence, but they were unfounded. Prosecutors argue that the killing was a last-ditch effort to gain custody of their daughter, who was two years old at the time.
But, Ashley’s attorney, Neil Taylor, said she feared him.
"Doug Benefield knew full well on that day that this relationship was over," said Taylor.
O’Donnell said Doug worked at all odds to save their family, while Ashley had no intention of doing so. Doug was killed while in Florida helping Ashley move her and their daughter's belongings to Maryland, where the couple planned to live separately but in the same state.
"This is a long story, this was a custody battle this mother would win at all costs and the cost was the life of Doug Benefield," said O’Donnell.
Protestors, organized by Ashley's pastor, Mike Brown, showed their support for the former ballerina outside of the courtroom on Monday as a jury was seated in her trial.
"We really are standing for Ashley," explained Brown. "We have a group of domestic violence survivors who are standing with us and we really want to see justice prevail."
Doug's cousin, Tommie Douglas Benefield Jr., plans to testify in the case. FOX 13 spoke with him on Monday.
"We have known the facts of the case from very early on. We knew all along he had been fooled. That's because he didn’t want to lose a wife and a second child. He did everything he could."
He said Doug, a Navy veteran, was just trying to do the right thing.
"Just a good guy who fell in love with a woman. Made a really bad choice to marry in 13 days. He did everything he could do to put a family together with his daughter, on very short notice. Bringing a young woman into a home and none of it went well," Tommie said.
On Monday, the defense team attempted to delay the trial by 60 days, asking for a continuance and claiming recent rulings by the court had severely impaired Ashley's ability to present an effective defense.
Judge Matt Whyte denied the motion, saying the defense has had more than enough time to prepare in the 3 ½ years since she was charged in 2020.
A judge has already told Ashley, who's out on bond, that she faces a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison if found guilty.
The trial is expected to last about two weeks.
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