Disclaimer: The article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
A Florida court found Ashley Benefield guilty of manslaughter in the death of her husband, Doug Benefield. Reports indicate that authorities discovered the lifeless body of Doug Benefield inside his mother-in-law’s house in Manatee County, Florida, in September 2020. After authorities arrived at the scene, Doug’s estranged wife, Ashley Benefield, said that she shot him multiple times in “self-defense.” Right before the verdict, Doug’s daughter from his first marriage, Eva, also opened up about her father’s death and claimed Ashley didn’t shoot in self-defense.
According to Inverse, Eva Benefield garnered recognition after creating a custom-made T-shirt for her company. The outlet mentioned that she promoted the clothing apparel on her TikTok and generated impressive results. Her boss then launched a new brand, Ghost Cowboy, so Eva could sell her designs. Although her brand turned out to be successful, Eva used the platform to talk about her father’s death as well. In one of the TikTok videos, she mentioned how she wanted Ashley Benefield to be in prison.
Eva Benefield also runs a podcast about her past. During the interview with Inverse, Eva shared that she feels great about how her videos help people in many ways. She said, “I’ve gotten so many DMs recently from people saying my videos help them somehow, which is really why I’m so grateful for TikTok and the platform that I have. The fact that people have told me I make them feel less alone warms my heart so much.” Although she testified in the Black Swan murder trial, the judge asked Eva Benefield to step out of the courtroom after allegedly violating a rule and giving an interview to a news channel.
What has Doug Benefield’s daughter Eva said about the Ashley Benefield case?
In her interview with ABC News, Eva Benefield opened up about Doug Benefield’s death and revealed that Ashley Benefield did not act in self-defense. Moreover, she alleged that Ashley wanted to take her father’s life. Eva said, “If it was self-defense, why did she shoot — why shoot multiple times? If I was defending myself in a situation I would shoot once and I wouldn’t shoot to kill. I wouldn’t take a life away. And she clearly wanted to take my dad’s life away and ruin her own child’s life and ruin my life.”
During the trial, the judge told Eva Benefield to leave the courtroom after she discussed her interview with a news channel. The defense questioned her for doing the same and allegedly violating the court’s rule.
When the defense attorney asked her about the interview, Eva said, “I was caught off-guard in the hallway [of the court] when I was under extreme emotional distress after being here. Hearing different testimonies about my father’s murder. And, when I spoke to the reporter, I made sure not to talk about any of the testimonies or anything that happened in the court.” Additionally, she stated that she only talked about how she felt about the case and his father’s character.
Before this, Eva Benefield took the stand to testify in the murder case of her father, Doug Benefield. In her testimony, Eva said that she never saw her father and Ashley Benefield fight. Moreover, she testified that she had never seen her father yell at Ashley or get physical with her. She said, “My father would sit quietly and listen to her concerns.”
Since the beginning of the trial, Ashley Benefield has been alleging that she shot her husband, Doug Benefield, in self-defense. The former ballerina told the authorities she shot Doug after he attacked her first. However, authorities couldn’tfind evidence against Doug being the first attacker. Upon her arrest, police clarified that the victim didn’t take any “combative stance” when the accused shot him. After listening to several testimonies, the jury delivered a guilty verdict. CBS News reported that the jury couldn’t reach a verdict initially and sent a note to the judge. However, after deliberating again, they reached the verdict on the same day.
As of now, no date has been set for sentencing.
