Benefield trial

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You Might Like. Benfield took the stand on Friday to testify just before lunch, answering questions regarding his whereabouts at the time of the incident as well as his almost four hour interview with detectives Jeff Markland and Mike Little, during which he denied having any involvement in the death of Nolen. After Benfield had been dismissed from the stand, closing arguments began, beginning with state prosecutor Matthew Roark.

You all definitely have that final two to put in that blank to get to The year-old Charleston native was hoping to start a new chapter of his life alongside his wife and young daughter in Maryland at the behest of the former, but he was shot to death before that could ever happen. As a Maryland Youth Ballet graduate, former professional ballerina, and swimsuit model, Ashley Byers was just 24 when she first came across Doug Benefield in August They were both at a Republican party fundraiser in Palm Beach, Florida, and ended up bonding over their shared conservative values and love for guns.

Therefore, despite their year age gap and the fact that Doug had lost his wife just nine months prior, they decided to pursue their connection.

He was supportive of her dream to establish an unconventional ballet academy and even helped her set up the now-defunct American National Ballet, but their personal life was much different. Stephanie Murphy : He had this family that he thought was going to be perfect and happy and faithful, and it fell apart in the most spectacular way. Alice Robb : This is a pretty long letter. Stephanie Murphy : I really think that Ashley thought that that was gonna be it.

But Doug wasn't ready to give up. He sent Ashley text after text, begging her to reconsider. One of them read: "I am on my knees and face before God asking you to forgive me. Eva Benefield : Cops showed up at my house after she left my dad and he wasn't home. I had to answer the door.

I hadn't even seen her in months. Ashley told police that Doug had anger issues and all about the day he fired his gun inside the house. Investigators interviewed Eva. Eva Benefield : I was constantly having people come up to my door and questioning if my dad was a good dad. And it just made me so angry because he was. And I just kept having to repeat myself.

He's never done anything to hurt anyone. He wouldn't hurt anyone. Trip Cormeny : He'd been evaluated by a … psychologist … a full psych evaluation, who said, "There's nothin' wrong with this guy. Michael Wise : By mid-October … we were notified that Ashley was stepping down. Michael Wise : Because there needed to be leadership and Ashley was not being a leader.

Michael Wise : The phone rang. He picks it up. And you hear Ashley screaming, "You took my ballet company away from me. With Ashley gone, Doug brought in new leaders, who made drastic changes. On October 23, , a group of dancers were called into a meeting, told to sign non-disclosure agreements Emmana Hemsley was one of them.

Emmana Hemsley : No. Just like that, half of the company's dancers were gone. Two days later, Ashley posted on the ballet's social media pages: "I am completely devastated by what has been done. Athena Nikolakopulos : What happened hurt. It helped to know that … someone was on our side there and that, you know, this was never the intention. It seemed like a beautiful idea had gone up in smoke. Within months, the American National Ballet was done. His ballet nightmare was over, but his friends say a new one was just beginning.

Ashley now had questions about Doug's first wife, Eva's mother, Renee, and how she died. Ashley texted Doug:. Like bad drugs …? Tommie Benefield : I've read the autopsy report.

It's clear. Died of a heart attack, essentially. It soon became clear why Ashley was so interested in how Renee died. She told Doug's cousin Tommie she thought Doug had poisoned Renee. Tommie Benefield : It — it's out of left field. I'm — I'm really confused by that. Trip Cormeny : It's just preposterous that he would've harmed Renee … He was in love with her. The local police say they closed the case in after they got the coroner's report. But Ashley talked to writer Alice Robb, shared her theory about Renee, and made another shocking allegation.

Alice Robb : She said that, you know, as a dancer she'd always known her body well, and that … she really felt like she — was even more nauseous than she would've expected as a pregnant woman. Stephanie Murphy : Ashley believed that Doug has been poisoning her while she was pregnant with their daughter. They were both big tea fans … and she hearkened back to the times that Doug was bringing her tea in bed.

Because she didn't want to get out of bed. Doug, still hoping for a reconciliation and apparently having no idea about Ashley's suspicions, sent her a birthday gift at the end of November Stephanie Murphy : He had purchased a lovely teapot and teacups and saucers and this specialty tea … that was supposed to be for pregnant women.

Tommie Benefield: She … takes it to the police department … as hazardous materials and claims that it's how he's poisoning her. Tommie Benefield : They treat it as hazardous materials that day. They test it and prove out … it's not any poisonous materials. Ashley also sent her hair to an independent lab for testing to determine if she'd been poisoned.

The report said her hair showed higher than normal levels of aluminum, zinc, and other metals. But Doug's lawyer disputes those findings. Stephanie Murphy : She had gotten plenty of lab work done because she was pregnant. Alice Robb : I don't think she was poisoned, but that doesn't mean she doesn't think she was poisoned. Stephanie Murphy: She was at Tampa General Hospital … claiming … the child had been exposed to heavy metals in utero because her husband had poisoned her.

Ashley also claimed, without any proof, that Doug was physically abusive and had held her prisoner back in Charleston. And even though Doug was hundreds of miles away, she said he had been stalking her in Florida. With no way to know if what Ashley told them was true, the hospital took precautions for her safety and assigned her a new name — Christina. Three days later, doctors performed a C-section. The baby girl was healthy. But Ashley continued to worry her baby had been poisoned.

Robert Cederoth : Both Ashley and her daughter were here every single day, receiving treatments. The news that Ashley had given birth to a healthy baby girl in March took more than a month to reach Doug, says his lawyer Stephanie Murphy.

Stephanie Murphy: The baby was born about three weeks early. Doug had no idea … she had named the child something completely different than they had ever discussed. The child did not have Doug's last name and Doug was not listed as the father on the original birth certificate.

No one was. Stephanie Murphy : Ashley wanted to raise her daughter with her mother, alone … she didn't want to co-parent.