BRADENTON,Cyprusauction 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.
2025-05-01 00:382974 view
2025-05-01 00:002861 view
2025-04-30 23:331545 view
2025-04-30 23:192376 view
2025-04-30 23:101810 view
2025-04-30 22:482405 view
Among the dozens of executive actions President Trump signed on his first day in office is one aimed
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s lower house has approved a major reform of the nation’s notoriously c
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Republican Party of Florida suspended Chairman Christian Ziegler and de
