Ashley Benefield supporters march in Bradenton ahead of ex-ballerina murder trial

More than two dozen protesters gathered outside of the Manatee County Courthouse in downtown Bradenton on Wednesday morning in support of a former ballerina accused of murdering her estranged husband, a charge advocates say is unjust as she claims self-defense.

Ashley Benefield, 32, is charged with the second-degree murder of her husband, Doug Benefield, in a case set to go to trial on July 22. In the more than three-and-a-half years after she was first arrested and charged, the case has gained widespread media attention, inspiring podcasts, sparking interest from true-crime TV shows like CBS’s “48 Hours,” and drawing Court TV coverage.

But friends, family and supporters of Ashley Benefield continue to argue she shot her husband in self-defense and that there shouldn’t be a murder trial happening in the first place. Supporters showed up Wednesday with signs that read “We stand with Ashley,” “There is nothing illegal about defending your life,” “Believe victims of domestic violence” and more.

“Ashley Benefield was doing what every American has a right to do, and that is defend her life in her own home,” said Barbara Russell at Wednesday’s protest.

Russell, a social worker and mental health professional who was among the demonstrators outside the courthouse, called the charges against Ashley Benefield a “miscarriage of justice” and said the state is “well aware they’re prosecuting a victim.”

“That’s why people are out today demanding justice,” Russell said.

Circuit Judge Matt Whyte previously denied a motion to dismiss the case on the basis of self-defense at a Stand Your Ground hearing in June 2023, according to court records.

Per Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, “a person is justified in using or threatening to use deadly force if he or she reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony” and that in such an instance a person “does not have a duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground,” according to Florida Statutes .

Prosecutors opposed a February 2023 motion filed by Ashley Benefield and her attorney asking to dismiss the case and requesting immunity, saying that she fired the gun because she was afraid for her life.

Judge Whyte wrote that Ashley Benefield was “not entitled to court-ordered immunity from criminal prosecution, as she was not justified in using deadly force” that day in September 2020.

The shooting

On Sept. 27, 2020, a man in 11300 block of White Rock Terrace in Lakewood Ranch dialed 911 after his neighbor, Ashley Benefield, ran over to his house shouting for help. Benefield, then 28, said her husband attacked her and she shot him in self-defense, the Bradenton Herald previously reported .

The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said Douglas Benefield, who was 58 at the time, had gunshot wounds in his right leg, right arm and right chest area. He died at a local hospital later that night.

Four .45 caliber casings were located on the floor of Ashley Benefield’s bedroom, with another bullet found on the floor and two more embedded in the walls, according to an arrest report.

According to court documents, the Benefields, who once opened a ballet company together, had a history of domestic-related issues. The couple had separated and were in the middle of a child custody dispute.

The case

In the time since the 2020 shooting, Ashley Benefield and her lawyer have argued she was a victim of her husband’s repeated patterns of abuse, which she said included stalking, physical violence and Douglas Benefield allegedly shooting a gun into a ceiling.

But Judge Whyte’s 27-page order following the Stand Your Ground hearing said that prosecutors Suzanne O’Donnell and Rebecca Freel proved that Ashley Benefield was not entitled to immunity from prosecution, saying that the state showed during the hearing that Douglas Benefield’s death wasn’t “a singular act of necessary self-defense, but was instead the culmination of a lengthy, concerted effort.”

For supporters like Catherine Dolan, who marched alongside her 13-year-old daughter Carolina at Wednesday’s protest, this outcome was disheartening for survivors of domestic violence and victims’ advocates.

Dolan, a survivor of domestic violence herself, said prosecuting someone in this scenario may discourage others from defending themselves when faced with a similar situation. She said she hopes some kind of positive outcome that can lead to change comes out of the Ashley Benefield case once it’s all over.

Ashley Benefield’s lawyer, Neil Taylor, told the Bradenton Herald in an email Wednesday afternoon that their law firm “supports and stands behind Ashley Benefield 100%” and wrote that “domestic violence is an epidemic in America and bias against” women “permeates all our institutions.”

The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office previously said that detectives determined there was “no evidence that” Ashley Benefield “was acting in self-defense when she fired multiple shots at her husband.”

Detectives said at the time they “ found no signs that she had been physically abused.”

Benefield is set to appear in court Thursday morning for a hearing, according to court records. Her trial is scheduled for July 22 at 8:30 a.m.

Benefield faces a charge of murder in the second-degree with a firearm, which is punishable by up to life in prison, according to Florida Statutes .

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