NBC News' Natalie Bennett has the latest on the Florida trial, now dubbed the 'Black Swan Murder Trial.' 32-year-old Ashley Benefield, a former ballerina, is accused of shooting and killing her estranged husband in 2020.
A former ballerina charged in the fatal shooting of her husband was convicted of manslaughter late Tuesday, hours after a jury began considering her claim that the shooting four years ago was in self-defense. Ashley Benefield, 33, had been charged with second-degree murder, but the panel convicted her of the lesser crime for the Sept. 27, 2020, killing of Doug Benefield.
In his closing argument Tuesday, Taylor said his client had done what any law-abiding citizen can be expected to do with an abusive partner: She filed 'complaint after complaint after complaint calling Doug Benefield’s behavior to the attention of authorities with no results. Over and over again with no relief.' No one else was in Ashley's home when she fatally shot Doug, nor was there video of the confrontation.
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