'Black swan' killer ballerina found guilty of shooting husband dead faces 30 years in jail

A former ballerina has been convicted of manslaughter in the shooting death of her husband in Florida .

Ashley 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, where she had moved from South Carolina after leaving him. Authorities say she shot him twice. She now faces up to 30 years in prison because she used a firearm in the killing. A

A Manatee County jury returned the guilty verdict late Tuesday against Benefield, court records show. Dubbed the 'Black Swan', she had been charged with second-degree murder, but the jurors opted for a lesser l after nearly seven hours of deliberations.

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After the verdict, Circuit Judge Matt Whyte revoked Benefield’s $100,000 bond and ordered her taken into custody, court documents show. Bradenton is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Tampa.

Benefield, a graduate of the Maryland Youth Ballet, says she shot her husband in self-defence and argued the case should be thrown out on the grounds of Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law. After being found guilty, Benefield was placed in handcuffs, with the victim's cousin saying "the sound was as good as the sight", reports USA Today.

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After meeting in 2016, Ashley and Doug Benefield married 13 days later when she was 24, and he was 54, before she became pregnant the following year. The couple went on to open the American National Ballet. The court heard how the couple had a volatile relationship tumultuous - with Benefield claiming her husband had been violent towards her.

Their tumultuous relationship came to a head on September 27, 2020, when Doug Benefield arrived at Ashley's Manatee County home with a truck to help pack for a move to Maryland - with a plan he, his wife, and his daughter would move together, while Doug would live separately. However as they packed for the move an argument broke out and ended with Doug being shot dead.