The Black Swan Murder focuses on how this lovely dancer and creative spirit came to be accused of something so repulsive. The piece, which Jim Axelrod, a contributor to “48 Hours,” reported, aired on Saturday, June 4 at 10/9c on CBS and is streamed on Paramount+.

Former ballerina and swimsuit model Ashley Benefield established a ground-breaking ballet company. She is currently accused of killing her husband, Doug Benefield, in Florida.

What happened between Dough and Ashley?

Ashley and Doug first connected during the presidential campaign in August 2016 at a dinner party in Florida. Ashley was 24, while Doug was 54.

The two were married by Trip Cormany, a close friend of Doug’s and an ordained Episcopal minister, after only 13 days of dating.

After Doug’s wife’s death, their daughter went through severe trauma. Consequently, she was very close to her dad, Doug.

However, after Ashley moved in, their close friendship worsened; Eva claimed she felt like Ashley was stealing her best friend.

Tensions with Eva grew more and more intense. Doug snapped and shot a gun into their home’s ceiling one day following a fight with Ashley over Eva. 

Ashley temporarily moved home with her mother since she was pregnant and ill. Doug nodded in agreement, but Ashley went further than Doug had anticipated.

Ashley drove back to his house on the night he was having a party for ANB and left a four-page letter outlining all his shortcomings.

Ashley described Doug as possessive and controlling in the note. She stated that she was fearful for her life and the safety of her unborn child following the event in which he fired a gun into the ceiling.

Doug was the target of a barrage of accusations from Ashley. Investigations of her claims turned up nothing to support them.

For a year, the couple appeared content after working out their differences and moving in. 

In the spring of 2020, the couple moved in with their daughter, who was two and a half years old, and her mother, Alicia Byers, to Maryland. 

After, on an arbitrary day, Ashley and Doug were home alone while Ashley’s mother brought her granddaughter to a local park.

A nearby resident heard screams at once and dialed 911. Ashley visited another neighbor. 

The cousin of Doug, Tommie Benefield, added that she walks next door with a gun in her hand.

She claimed to the neighbor that she had shot Doug in self-defense.

Doug was still breathing when police and emergency personnel arrived, but he could not communicate. 

He was transferred to a nearby hospital but didn’t survive. He died an hour later. Ashley didn’t speak with the sheriff’s deputies, but her mother and attorney, Faith Brown, did.

Investigators discovered that Doug had been shot twice, once in the arm and once in the leg, and one of the shots entered his chest.

Only Ashely is aware of all the details but has remained silent throughout. Ashley was taken into custody and charged with second-degree murder five weeks after the shooting. 

She made a not-guilty plea. She spent nearly two weeks in jail before getting released on bail. 

It is still uncertain whether Ashley honestly thought she was going to lose her life or if she is a cunning “black swan” straight out of a Hollywood production. 

It’s anticipated that her trial will start in 2023.

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