DRAMATIC

‘Black Swan’ Ballerina Learns Fate After Shooting Husband Dead

Former ballerina Ashley Benefield said she shot her husband in self defense.

Former ballerina Ashley Benefield was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the death of her husband on Tuesday, following a case that became known as the “Black Swan” murder. Benefield was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 20 years in prison with credit for time served, followed by 10 years of probation. The case garnered national attention, with some comparing Benefield to the protagonist of the 2010 film Black Swan. Benefield shot her estranged husband, Doug, in 2020 during an argument in what she claims was self defense. Benefield, now 32, and her husband, who was 58 at the time of his death, first met when Benefield was 24, 48 Hours reported. They married after knowing each other for less than two weeks, but the marriage was fraught. Benefield accused her husband of poisoning his first wife, who died nine months before they met, and now poisoning her. The claims were investigated and no charges were filed. The couple had a child together in 2018, but Benefield allegedly kept the baby from her husband until a judge intervened. Benefield’s lawyer said that she had been plotting to leave her husband at the time of the shooting, but worried that he had “gotten wind” of the plans.