Ashley Benefield, an ex-ballerina now convicted of manslaughter for fatally shooting her husband Douglas Benefield in 2020, has stirred renewed attention in a podcast where fellow ballerinas describe Douglas’s “angry side.” The creators of the podcast suggest this insight could lend weight to Ashley’s defense that she acted in self-defense after enduring domestic violence.
Ashley and Douglas co-founded a ballet company in 2017, but their marriage soon took a dark turn, ultimately ending in a deadly confrontation three years later. In court, Ashley claimed that the shooting was a desperate act to protect herself, though her conviction this past July indicates that jurors did not find enough evidence of imminent threat.
With testimonies now emerging from her former colleagues, who recount witnessing an unsettling temperament in Douglas, the podcast creators hope to spark new dialogue around Ashley’s defense claims.
