Trial for Lakewood Ranch mother accused of murdering estranged husband begins next week

MANATEE COUNTY (WFLA) — Nearly four years ago, authorities were called to the 11300 block of White Rock Terrace in a subdivision called Central Park at Lakewood Ranch for reports of a shooting.

A 911 caller told said his neighbor, Ashley Benefield, ran to his house claiming to have been attacked by her husband, Doug Benefield, who she then shot.

After five weeks of investigation, deputies charged the then-28-year-old Benefield with second-degree murder.

Officials with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said throughout the course of the investigation, detectives found no evidence that the woman was acting in self-defense when she shot and killed her 59-year-old husband. A MCSO report stated entry wounds indicate Douglas was shot while facing away from his wife.

The couple was separated and in the middle of a custody battle involving their 2-year-old daughter at the time of the shooting. Investigators learned that since the time Benefield learned she was pregnant, she made several allegations against her husband, but none of the cases involved allegations of physical domestic violence.

During an injunction hearing before the shooting took place, a judge “openly advised that she did not find Ashley’s story to possess a ‘scintilla of truth'” and granted Doug access to visitations with the child.

“It appears that Ashley had exhausted all legal means of keeping the child away from Douglas before the shooting,” a law enforcement report stated.

Last year, Benefield claimed the shooting was a Stand Your Ground case; however, the court system ruled that defense did not apply to this case.

Benefield, who is out on bond, appeared in court Tuesday for the final hearing ahead of the start of her murder trial.

Outside the courthouse, loved ones, including Benefield’s daughter marched along Manatee Avenue, chanting for her freedom. Some of their signs read “punished for surviving,” “we stand with Ashley” and “make self defense legal again”.

Following a series of motions Tuesday, Judge Mathew Whyte told Benefield that if she is found guilty, she is facing a minimum mandatory sentence of 25 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison.

Benefield’s attorney declined to comment following the hearing Tuesday.

Jury selection in the case is set to begin on Monday, July 22. The trial is expected to last around two weeks.

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