Current:Home > reviewsFormer ballerina in Florida is convicted of manslaughter in her estranged husband’s 2020 shooting -ProfitZone
Former ballerina in Florida is convicted of manslaughter in her estranged husband’s 2020 shooting
View
Date:2025-04-17 23:14:40
BRADENTON, 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.
veryGood! (5)
Related
- Where will Elmo go? HBO moves away from 'Sesame Street'
- Rocker bassinets potentially deadly for babies, safety regulator warns
- Supreme Court to consider Texas and Florida laws regulating social media platforms
- Here's How True Thompson Bullies Mom Khloe Kardashian
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- Kelsea Ballerini Shuts Down Lip-Synching Accusations After People's Choice Country Awards Performance
- What would it mean if PEPFAR — the widely hailed anti-HIV effort — isn't reauthorized?
- Ryder Cup getting chippy as Team USA tip their caps to Patrick Cantlay, taunting European fans
- 'Most Whopper
- Emerging election issues in New Jersey include lawsuits over outing trans students, offshore wind
Ranking
- The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
- North Carolina radio station plans to reject broadcasts of 'inappropriate' Met operas
- Iowa book ban prompts disclaimers on Little Free Library exchanges
- People's Choice Country Awards 2023 winners list: Morgan Wallen, Toby Keith, more win big
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Subway franchise owners must pay workers nearly $1M - and also sell or close their stores
- Flooding allowed one New Yorker a small taste of freedom — a sea lion at the Central Park Zoo
- Seattle Officer Daniel Auderer off patrol duty after laughing about death of woman fatally hit by police SUV
Recommendation
Tarte Shape Tape Concealer Sells Once Every 4 Seconds: Get 50% Off Before It's Gone
Lego moves in another direction after finding plastic bottle prototype won't reduce emissions
Las Vegas Raiders' Chandler Jones arrested for violating restraining order
An Ecuadorian migrant was killed in Mexico in a crash of a van operated by the immigration agency
Biden administration makes final diplomatic push for stability across a turbulent Mideast
When Kula needed water to stop wildfire, it got a trickle. Many other US cities are also vulnerable
Is Messi playing tonight? Inter Miami vs. New York City FC live updates
Georgia judge declines to freeze law to discipline prosecutors, suggesting she will reject challenge