Ashley Benefield defense team tries to delay Lakewood Ranch murder trial. Here’s why
Jury selection began Monday in the case of a former ballerina accused of killing her husband, despite a last-minute attempt by the defense to delay the trial.
Judge Matt Whyte denied an emergency motion filed Friday by Ashley Benefield, 32, and her lawyer that would have delayed the murder trial. The defense asked for a continuance and argued that “recent rulings by the court have severely impaired” Benefield’s “ability to present an effective defense.”
Neil Taylor, Benefield’s attorney, referenced the judge’s earlier decision that paralegal Jack O’Keefe would not be able to sit with the defense at the counsel table during the trial because he is not a fully licensed attorney.
Taylor said in the motion the “denial was issued without providing any reasoning, leaving the defense team suddenly bereft of crucial assistance on the eve of the trial.”
“A continuance is not merely warranted but absolutely necessary to safeguard Mrs. Benefield’s fundamental rights and the integrity of these proceedings,” Taylor wrote.
But Whyte said the defense has had more than enough time to prepare an adequate defense in the more than three-and-a-half years since Benefield was first arrested and charged with second-degree murder with a firearm as part of an investigation into the September 2020 death of her 58-year-old husband, Doug Benefield.
Benefield trial set to begin Tuesday
“I think the state has every right to and is ready to go to trial. I think both sides should be ready at this point. There has been more than sufficient time for preparation,” said Whyte.
Taylor also asked the judge to voluntarily recuse himself from the trial, arguing that Whyte’s ruling at a July 2023 Stand Your Ground hearing showed bias against Ashley Benefield.
In the 27-page ruling, Whyte wrote that the evidence showed that the state proved Doug Benefield’s death wasn’t a “singular act of necessary self-defense but was instead the culmination of a lengthy, concerted effort” by Ashley Benefield.
Whyte denied the request to recuse himself and instead moved forward with jury selection. Whyte said he expects the trial to begin Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. and could extend into next week.
Supporters of Ashley Benefield once again gathered in downtown Bradenton in front of the Manatee County Courthouse Monday morning ahead of jury selection with signs that read “We stand with Ashley.”
Supporters, friends and family members, such as Ashley’s mother and her 6-year-old daughter, have marched to show their support ahead of multiple hearings over the last couple weeks.
Was Benefield shooting in self-defense?
On Sept. 27, 2020, a man in the 11300 block of White Rock Terrace in Lakewood Ranch dialed 911 after his neighbor, Ashley Benefield, ran to his house shouting for help. Benefield, then 28, said her husband attacked her and she shot him in self-defense, the Bradenton Herald previously reported.
Deputies with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said they found Doug Benefield with gunshot wounds in his right leg, right arm and right chest area. He died at a local hospital later that night.
Detectives said at the time they found “no evidence that” Ashley Benefield “was acting in self-defense when she fired multiple shots at her husband.”
The couple had been separated and were in the middle of a custody battle over their then 2-year-old daughter, according to court documents.
A little more than a month after the shooting, the sheriff’s office arrested Ashley Benefield and charged her with second-degree murder.
Murder in the second-degree with a firearm is punishable by up to life in prison and carries a minimum mandatory sentence of 25 years in prison, according to Florida Statutes.
Ashley Benefield is out on bond after posting $100,000 in November 2020 and is wearing an ankle monitor, according to court records.
