"Black Swan" Florida Ballerina Convicted Of Manslaughter.

A six-person jury, made up of five women and one man, in Florida convicted Ashley Benefield of manslaughter on Tuesday night over the fatal shooting of her husband in 2020 after more than six hours of deliberations. She had been charged with second-degree murder, but the jurors opted for a lesser offense.

In the "Black Swan Murder Trial," Benefield, 32, claimed that she killed her then-58-year-old estranged husband, Doug Benefield, during a September 2020 argument at her mother’s home over child custody, where she had moved from South Carolina after leaving him. Authorities say she shot him twice.

Benefield’s lawyers have argued that the case should have been thrown out based on Florida's "Stand your ground" law because she was acting in self-defense after suffering domestic violence from Douglas and that her use of deadly force was justified given the circumstances. Benefield testified that she feared for her life when she shot her husband and that he blocked her from leaving her home that day, striking her and lunging at her while she had a gun drawn.

Prosecutors argued that the evidence from the day of the killing did not match Benefield’s description of the confrontation, and that Benefield had been upset about the custody battle. They alleged she wanted sole custody of their daughter and killed Douglas to prevent him from learning that she had no intention of reconciling their marriage.

“This was a custody battle that this mother was going to win at all costs,” prosecutors said during the trial, according to video footage of the trial. “And the cost was the life of Doug Benefield, and that is murder.”

Eva Benefield, Doug's daughter from a previous marriage and the stepdaughter of Ashley, celebrated the verdict on social media.

"She was convicted of manslaughter," Eva Benefield said in a TikTok video following the verdict. "After four years of waiting, my dad got the justice that he deserves."

She faces up to 30 years in prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

Ashley Benefield.Photo byGetty Images