Ashley Benefield Shared a Daughter With Her Estranged Husband Whom She Shot and Killed

Former ballerina Ashley Benefield has been accused of killing her estranged husband Doug Benefield, for which she will stand trial in July 2024. Her case has garnered national attention from media who have dubbed this the Black Swan Trial.

Ashley claims she shot her husband in self-defense while the state argues she allegedly killed him to keep him away from their child. Here's what we know about Ashley Benefield's daughter.

According to Law&Crime, Ashley and Doug met in 2016 at a Republican fundraising event in Palm Beach, Fla. She was 30 years his junior but a significant age difference didn't stop the two from bonding over their conservative beliefs and an appreciation for guns. Two weeks later, the 24-year-old ballerina married the 54-year-old Navy veteran whose wife had died nine months prior to their meeting.

Doug and his first wife had a daughter named Eva who was 15 when her father remarried. Things moved fairly quickly as Eva was introduced to Ashley after they were already married. She had no idea they were even dating. Since her dad was killed, Eva has taken to TikTok to share how she feels. In one video, Eva revealed, "Not too long after I get used to it [the marriage], they announce that she’s pregnant but soon after that, she leaves my dad and it’s just me and my dad again."

CBS News reported that Ashley left Doug three weeks before her due date because she believed he was poisoning her. He would frequently bring her special teas which Ashely thought were poisoned. She even went as far as taking the tea to the police to have it tested for hazardous material. They found nothing.

Their daughter was born via a C-section in March 2018 at Tampa General Hospital, where Ashley was telling medical staff that she believed her "child had been exposed to heavy metals in utero because her husband had poisoned her." Again, there was no proof of this. Still, Ashley named her something she and Doug hadn't discussed and hid her birth from her estranged husband. He wasn't even listed on the birth certificate.

The prosecution contends that this is the motivation behind Ashley allegedly murdering Doug. In an affidavit filed by the state, they assert that from the moment Ashley found out she was pregnant, she "actively worked to ensure he stayed away from their baby," which included filing multiple domestic abuse claims in court. Charges were never filed. Her trial begins July 22, 2024.