Ashley Benefield takes the stand in 'Black Swan murder' trial
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Published 2024-07-26
Tearful most of the first 20 minutes of her testimony, Benefield explained to the court what led up to the shooting. The court took a break for her to compose herself after she got emotional and resumed her testimony shortly after. Ashley Benefield is still on the stand continuing with her testimony.
Benefield is accused of killing her husband back on Sept. 27, 2020, after they had an argument at her mother's house in Lakewood Ranch.
The local case gained national attention as the "Black Swan Murder" after "48 Hours" showcased the investigation during an episode.
On Thursday, the prosecution rested their case after some revealing testimonies including from the state medical examiner, who testified about Douglas Benefield's fatal wounds, as well as a ballistics expert. The court got to see some of the couple's text messages among other testimonies.
A data forensics detective with the Manatee County Sheriff's Office technical services unit reviewed text messages between Doug and Ashley. The texts were sent within the week leading up to the shooting including ones sent around 5 p.m. on Sept. 27, just hours before the shooting.
"2:52. She laughed at the image 2:53. She responds with 'Ha ha! OMG' 2:54. He responds with 'trucker on the way' and that's at 5:32 pm," said Brian Quiles, Manatee County Sheriff's Office.
"At 5:32 p.m. was that the last communication between these two?" asked state prosecutor Suzanne O'Donnell.
"I believe so yes," Quiles responded.
The state prosecutor hoped to lay out a cordial, loving, and light-hearted conversation between the victim and the defendant which would be in sharp contrast to her claims of abuse and aggression.
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All Comments (2)
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Okay her lawyer is the worse lawyer I’ve ever heard he must have called Ashley name over 25 times his interrogation of her is horrible. It’s not a very good war lawyer.
