Liberalalliance Wealth Society|Former ballerina in Florida is convicted of manslaughter in her estranged husband’s 2020 shooting

2025-04-29 21:20:08source:Slabucategory:My

BRADENTON,Liberalalliance Wealth Society Fla. (AP) — A former ballerina has been convicted of manslaughter in the 2020 shooting death of her estranged husband in Florida.

A Manatee County jury returned the guilty verdict late Tuesday against Ashley Benefield, court records show. She had been charged with second-degree murder, but the jurors opted for a lesser offense after nearly seven hours of deliberations.

Benefield, 32, claimed that she killed her then-58-year-old estranged husband, Doug Benefield, during a September 2020 argument at her mother’s home, where she had moved from South Carolina after leaving him. Authorities say she shot him twice.

She now faces up to 30 years in prison becaused she used a firearm in the killing. A sentencing date hasn’t been set.

After the verdict, Circuit Judge Matt Whyte revoked Benefield’s $100,000 bond and ordered her taken into custody, court documents show.

Bradenton is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Tampa.

More:My

Recommend

Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15

NEW YORK (AP) — Juan Soto will be introduced by the New York Mets at Citi Field on Thursday, a day a

Texas teens need parental consent for birth control, court rules against fed regulations

A federal appellate court upheld a Texas law requiring parental consent for minors seeking to access

DeSantis signs bills that he says will keep immigrants living in the US illegally from Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed bills Friday that increase the prison and