Self-defense or murder? Attorneys lay out arguments in Lakewood Ranch ballerina trial

Opening statements in the Ashley Benefield trial Tuesday morning offered the jury two radically different views of why the ex-ballerina shot and killed her husband in September 2020.

Ashley Benefield, 32, who has already undergone a “Stand Your Ground” hearing, conceded alongside her defense attorney Neil Taylor that she did fatally shoot her husband, Doug Benefield, but is arguing self-defense against the second-degree murder charge. Taylor said Ashley Benefield was a victim of domestic violence and was in fear for her life when she “was forced to shoot him.”

“I’m going to have some strong words about Douglas Benefield, the alleged victim in this case. I say alleged victim because he was anything but that. The evidence is going to show that Douglas Benefield was a very disturbed man, of that I assure you will have no doubt when the case is over,” Taylor said during opening statements.

Prosecutors, however, cautioned jurors against relying too much on the defense’s portrayal of Doug Benefield throughout the trial and said the evidence would show a custody battle over their then 2-year-old daughter, not self-defense, was Ashley Benefield’s motivation for shooting her husband.

“You’re going to hear a lot of information about Doug Benefield. Probably a lot of negative things and not nice things. I just want you to remember who is saying them and why,” Assistant State Attorney Suzanne O’Donnell said.

This case, O’Donnell argued, “is about a woman who very early on in her pregnancy decided she wanted to be a single mother.”

Was Benefield shooting in self-defense?

Ashley Benefield wanted sole custody of their daughter and “would stop at nothing to obtain that goal,” O’Donnell argued, going as far as to withhold the news of their daughter’s birth from Doug Benefield while the couple was separated.

The problem, O’Donnell said, is that Ashley Benefield was running out of legal options to accomplish this goal. Three days before a scheduled custody hearing could take place, prosecutors said Ashley Benefield shot and killed her husband to put an end to the custody battle and prevent the results of psychological evaluation from coming out during the hearing.

During the psychological hearing, O’Donnell said Ashley Benefield acted one way when in sessions alongside her husband and a completely different way when by herself as part of a “ruse” to make it seem like she wanted to repair her relationship with her husband. Prosecutors say she was secretly plotting for sole custody the entire time.

But Ashley Benefield’s defense attorney said the “ruse” prosecutors claim was not manipulation, but rather a common defense response by victims of domestic abuse because “appeasement keeps the abuse at bay.”

“Just do what he wants and you’ll be safe,” Taylor said.

Prosecutors say custody battle sparked fatal shooting

Ashley and Doug were married for four years, and throughout their marriage, Ashley filed several abuse allegations against her husband. She claimed that he hit their dog so hard that he knocked it out, that Doug once shot a gun at the ceiling to “shut her up” and that he tried to poison her.

Prosecutors allege many of these complaints were filed as a way to gain custody over their child.

During testimony Tuesday, Taylor asked Eva Benefield, Doug Benefield’s daughter from a previous marriage, whether she ever heard her father and Ashley Benefield argue. She told the defense she had not and never heard her father yell at Ashley Benefield.

When asked about whether they had a hole in the ceiling of their family home, Eva Benefield confirmed there was.

“Consistent with the size of a bullet?” Taylor asked.

“Yes,” Eva Benefield said.

Eva Benefield also told Taylor there were holes in the wall that were consistent with the size of a fist.

Witnesses testify in fatal Lakewood Ranch shooting

John Sant, the neighbor who called 911 after the fatal shooting, also testified Tuesday. He told the court how Ashley Benefield pounded on his door before he opened it

“He attacked me,” she told him.

“Who?”

“Doug. He attacked me and I shot him,” Sant recalled Ashley Benefield saying.

Sant described her as “stuttering, shaking and sobbing” at the time and described her as “terrified.”

While the 911 call played for jurors in a Manatee County courtroom Tuesday in downtown Bradenton, Ashley Benefield became emotional, closing her eyes, crying and grabbing tissues to wipe her eyes.

When prosecutors asked Sant whether Ashley Benefield appeared to have any injuries from the alleged attack, he told them no and said she made no mention of any injuries at the time.

A deputy with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office testified that Ashley Benefield was “visibly upset” but displayed no signs of injuries following the shooting aside from a small scratch. Ashley’s defense team said they have evidence to show that Doug Benefield “smacked her upside the head” when he realized the relationship was ending.

Taylor said Ashley was about to move to Maryland, but prosecutors countered that Ashley lied and told her husband that he would be able to join her there.

The truth, O’Donnell said, was going to come out at the Sept. 30 custody hearing, but that never happened because Ashley shot Doug to death on Sept. 27.

“This is a long story with a lot of information, but you’ll see this was a custody battle and this mother was going to win at all costs. And the cost was the life of Doug Benefield and that is murder,” O’Donnell said.