Killer ballerina on trial for murdering 'abusive' husband slams her 'Black Swan' nickname and insists SHE'S the victim

The ballerina known arsenic nan 'Black Swan' connected proceedings for murdering her allegedly abusive hubby has slammed her nickname and claims she is nan victim.  

Ashley Benefield, now 32, ran to her neighbor's location successful Bradenton, Florida connected September 27, 2020 aft she shot and killed Doug Benefield, 59, who she joined successful 2016 aft making love for conscionable 13 days.

Ahead of her trial, Ashley sat down pinch ABC News and explained why she dislikes her 'catchy' nickname 'Black Swan'- based connected nan 2010 thriller movie starring Natalie Portman. 

'Black swan has a catchy ring and it sensationalizes my life and my situation. It's sad to maine that group who don't moreover cognize maine person this idea of a monster erstwhile they think of me,' she said. 

Ashley, who shares a kid pinch Doug, besides insisted that she was nan unfortunate of home unit astatine nan hands of her husband. 

'There are women each complete the country, each complete nan world, who have gone done aliases are going through difficult situations behind closed doors,' Ashley said.  

Ashley met Doug- a recently-widowed father- astatine Ben Carson's location successful Palm Beach, Florida successful August 2016 erstwhile she was 24 and he was 54. She had been campaigning for then-Republican statesmanlike nominee Donald Trump.

They sewage joined conscionable 13 days later and soon after, launched nan American National Ballet, a creation institution based successful Charleston, South Carolina. 

In nan early days of their relationship, 'They were conscionable pinch each different each nan time,' Doug's 23-year-old girl from a erstwhile marriage, Eva, testified.

'They were lovey dovey, PDA each nan time. They ne'er near each other's side,' she said.

After being joined for 1 year, Doug, a retired Naval formation officer, helped Ashley execute her dream of starting a ballet company, utilizing his ain money and contacts. 

He acted arsenic nan CEO of nan company, while Ashley took connected nan domiciled arsenic executive director.

But, soon aft nan company’s founding, it was sued by dancers and choreographers who alleged their contracts were breached erstwhile they were fired conscionable weeks aft their hiring.

Doug besides reversed his vasectomy, and Ashley became pregnant 3 months later pinch their girl Emerson, now six-years-old. 

That is erstwhile everything changed, Assistant State Attorney Suzanne O'Donnell claimed successful tribunal connected Tuesday. 

She said Ashley moved from their location successful South Carolina to Florida to unrecorded pinch her mother arsenic she started to acquisition greeting sickness, and from that constituent on, she ne'er lived pinch Doug again.

'They continued a long-distance narration erstwhile she first moved to Florida and continued trying to support together and communication, but astir nan aforesaid clip arsenic nan ballet [company] collapses, Ashley Benefield starts complaining against nan victim,' O'Donnell told jurors.

She began accusing Doug of poisoning her and of non-physical domestic violence.

Ashley said that Doug would perpetually bring her teas that she thought contained poison, CBS News reported.  

But detectives from nan Manatee County Sheriff's Office conducted a five-week investigation and were incapable to find immoderate grounds to support her claims of abuse.

Prosecutors now reason that sidesplitting Doug was a last-ditch effort to summation custody of their daughter, who was 2 years aged astatine nan clip of nan shooting.

'This is simply a lawsuit astir a female who, early connected successful her pregnancy, decided she wanted to beryllium a azygous mother,' O'Donnell argued. 'She did not want nan begetter of this kid to person immoderate visitation.

'This is simply a agelong story, this was a custody conflict this mother would triumph astatine each costs, and nan costs was nan life of Doug Benefield.'

The prosecutors based on that Doug was doing everything successful his powerfulness to rectify their matrimony and support their family together.

On nan time of his death, Doug arrived astatine Ashley's location to thief her and their girl battalion erstwhile he was changeable 4 times successful Ashley's bedroom. She past ran to her neighbour and told them astir nan shooting. 

On Tuesday, Ashley was seen sobbing while her neighbor's 911 telephone played from nan time Doug was murdered. 

'I heard a very large pounding connected my door,' neighbour Josh Sant testified, according to Fox 13. 'It benignant of startled me.' 

He said he opened nan doorway to find Ashley, who told him that her hubby attacked her and she changeable him.

Sant past called 911, telling officers, 'She conscionable came over, her estranged hubby attacked her and she said she changeable him,' according to an audio signaling played successful court. 

In a previously-filed mobility obtained by Law & Crime, defense attorneys based on that Doug arrived 'happy, hyper and animated,' but yet became 'agitated, sullen and intimidating.'

After verbally insulting his wife, nan defense claims, Doug rammed her pinch a moving box, leaving abrasions.

'Doug Benefield knew afloat good connected that time that this narration was over,' Ashley's attorney, Neil Taylor, based on successful court.

He went connected to declare that Doug was manipulative and 'viewed Ashley Benefield arsenic his property.'

'Despite promoting himself arsenic a religious, honorable and decent quality being, Benefield was a manipulative, cunning and abusive man who insisted, perfectly insisted connected control,' Taylor added. 

He went connected to show nan assemblage that Doug erstwhile fired a handgun into a room ceiling successful an effort to get Ashley to extremity talking, threw a loaded weapon astatine her, punched their canine successful nan look - knocking it unconscious, and regularly carried a concealed firearm that was 'ready to fire.'

He besides claimed that aft Ashley and Doug were separated, he illegally tracked her, often pursuing without her consent and moreover driving from retired of authorities to support tabs connected her.

At slightest once, Doug allegedly stood successful a neighbor's backyard successful nan mediate of nan nighttime to get a glimpse of her.

Outside of nan Florida courthouse connected Monday, protesters showed their support for nan erstwhile ballerina.

'We really are opinionated for Ashley,' her pastor, Mike Brown, told Fox 13.

'We person a group of home unit survivors who are opinionated pinch us, fresh to spot justness prevail.'

Ashley now faces a minimum condemnation of 25 years down bars and a maximum condemnation of life successful situation if recovered blameworthy of Doug's execution pursuing nan two-week-long trial. 

'It's a horrible reality. I wouldn't wish this connected anybody. Emerson's already been done a lot,' Ashley told ABC News. 

'I can't ideate really this would impact her if things were to spell poorly astatine trial.'