Former Florida ballerina evokes 'Stand Your Ground' in 2020 homicide of estranged husband

A former ballerina accused of killing her estranged husband is attempting to have the case dismissed under Florida's Stand Your Ground law, claiming she fired the gun because she feared for her life.

An attorney for Ashley Benefield, 31, filed the motion to dismiss the case and requested a declaration of immunity on Feb. 1, according to court documents. The 105-page document outlines what happened the evening of the shooting from her perspective and, according to the defense, how the couple's tumultuous relationship led to that moment.

Ashley Benefield's attorney, Neil Taylor, said the motion is, in part, their effort to shed light on her side of the story.

"It's pretty horrible. She's had a very, very rough go," Taylor said about how the last three years have been for Ashley Benefield as the case has dragged on because of the coronavirus pandemic and the media attention the case has garnered.

Ashley Benefield was arrested on Nov. 4, 2020, a little over a month after the shooting, according to a probable cause affidavit, and was charged with second degree murder with a firearm. She was released on bond and has been wearing an ankle monitor since her release.

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Previous Sarasota Herald-Tribune reporting states investigators "found no evidence that Ashley Benefield was attacked" by her husband, Doug Benefield. The complaint in the case states that police found Doug Benefield lying in Ashley Benefield's bedroom with two gunshot wounds.

Previous reporting also cited court records that showed Ashley Benefield filed petitions of domestic violence against her husband in 2018 and 2020.

Stephanie Murphy, Doug Benefield's former attorney who is a witness for the prosecution, said she and Doug Benefield's family always expected her to file the motion, but Murphy is surprised it took so long.

"This is certainly not the first time that Ashley Benefield has invented an outlandish story and manufactured evidence to try to perpetuate her own false narrative," Murphy said.

What happened on Sept. 27, 2020, from Ashley Benefield's perspective

Ashley and Doug Benefield first met in 2016, and following a 13 day "whirlwind romance," the two were married, according to the document. Media reports indicate that at the time, Ashley Benefield was 24 years old, while Doug Benefield was 54 years old.

The two were no longer living together, according to the document, with Ashley Benefield having left their Charleston, S.C., home in August 2017 and moved into her mother's home in Manatee County. Ashley Benefield, a graduate of Maryland Youth Ballet, also disavowed her support for the American National Ballet, a company she and her husband founded, shortly after leaving Charleston, according to a post made on the nonprofit's Facebook page.

The defense says he fired a gun at their kitchen ceiling to intimidate her to stop talking during an argument and that he regularly carried a loaded weapon, among other claims.

On the afternoon of the shooting, Doug Benefield came to the home in Bradenton with a U-Haul truck to pack up items for moving. Ashley Benefield, her mother and the couple's young daughter were moving to Maryland. Doug Benefield was also moving to Maryland and would be living separately, according to the document.

As the two were packing, frustrations mounted, escalating into an argument, according to the document.

The defense states Ashley Benefield attempted to de-escalate the situation several times by speaking softly, putting distance between herself and Doug Benefield, and attempting to wrap up for the day.

Instead, Doug Benefield allegedly became physical — body-checking Ashley Benefield with a box, blocking her from exiting a room and then the house, and after she told him to leave, punching her on the left side of her head.

A photograph attached to the exhibit includes a red circle around Ashley Benefield's left eye, below the area where she was hit. Taylor confirmed Tuesday the photo was taken by police and that the circled area shows her eye swelled following the alleged assault.

"Her worse fears realized, Ms. Benefield now believed her life was in danger," the document states.

Ashley Benefield went into her bedroom, grabbed her firearm and pointed the weapon at Doug Benefield who followed her into the room, allegedly advancing toward her. That prompted her to fire.

According to investigators in a November 2020 complaint, Doug Benefield did not appear to be facing his wife when she began shooting. "It also does not appear that Doug had taken any kind of defensive or combative stance," the complaint states.

Witnesses outside the residence told investigators they heard about six gunshots and some 30 seconds later, saw Ashley Benefield run out of the house towards a neighbor's home with a gun still in her hand, screaming and crying.

The dismissal also includes photos showing minor scratches on Ashley Benefield's torso, images of text messages and a couple of house layout diagrams.

The 2020 complaint states that the minor scratches "appeared to be old and very minor" and that a witness said she got the scratch the day before the shooting.

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Stand your ground law: What is it and how does it work?

Florida's Stand Your Ground Law allows a person to use or threaten to use deadly force against another person if they reasonably believe they need to protect themselves against immediate threat and they don't have a "duty to retreat."

This means, if a person in Florida believes they're in danger of being seriously hurt or killed and they're not engaging in a criminal activity, they're justified in defending themselves. Unlike traditional self-defense laws, the person doesn't have to try and get away from the attacker first.

Now that the defense has invoked the Stand Your Ground, the burden of proving that the shooting was not justified falls on the prosecution. Taylor said he expects Circuit Court Judge Stephen Whyte will give the prosecution enough time to read and digest the motion before scheduling a hearing.

Assistant State Attorney Suzanne O'Donnell declined to comment as the case is still open and pending, but an assistant from her office said they are waiting for a hearing date to be set.

Murphy said she and the family have confidence in the assistant state attorney's "ability to prevail against her motion to dismiss" and are ready to see the case go to trial.

Gabriela Szymanowska covers the legal system for the Herald-Tribune in partnership with Report for America. You can support her work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at gszymanowska@gannett.com, or on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: 'Stand Your Ground' defense used by former ballerina Ashley Benefield