GUILTY FL - Doug Benefield, 58, shot and killed by estranged wife, Manatee County, 27 Sept 2020

[Wishbone]

I can’t decide if he’s incompetent or if he’s actively trying to deceive the jury/play gotcha with the state. It all seems desperate. JMO

IMO he knows his client is guilty and is pulling out all the stops.

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

Is this trial set up by the judges rulings that the state isn't permitted to ask AB any "why didn't you do this"?

IMO:
If not then the state missed crucial opportunities to put seeds in the jurors head.

"why didn't you lock the bedroom door behind you when you feared DB was coming after you to kill you"?

"why didn't you run for the other exist in the house to get outside and run for help knowing that your gun would first have to be retrieved from your storage bin and that would take time"?
"Time that you somehow assumed you had before DB caught up with you?"

Most likely AB would have answered that she couldn't think because she feared for her life and believed DB was going to kill her and she needed her gun.
Meanwhile she had no problem thinking that and carrying it through with it ending in her killing DB.

Yes^….. and granted I’ve never been in such a situation…… but with all that elapsed time, if AB was so terrified….. then perhaps get the gun, take a shot at DB and run like you know what……. But no, IIRC she shot him four (4) times from differing angles? Isn’t that in many many cases watched known as ‘overki……’. SMH. MOO

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

Again doing a bit of googling for the "rest of the story" AB was quite the gun lover...carrying with her routinely and a real NRA advocate. Mother seems to be proud of their proficiency with guns.

Yep!….. And IMO proficiency with lawyers too perhaps?

Maybe that odd video of IIRC AB, her mother, the child, and DB filming was shown to show a possible odd dynamic? It was not clear IMO exactly what that brief video was meant to display? Perhaps an intertwined dynamic or relationship is all I could think.

And IIRC, remember the child was with the mom, AB ‘takes care’ of DB, then supposedly either calls her mom or had the mother join at the residence where the estranged husband DB was shot? MOO

 

[turaj]

What I see as an observer of this tragedy:

- husband 30 years older than a wife
Wife - young& beautiful seems to be a "trophy wife"

- they got married after 2 weeks of "dating"
Love-bombing at its worst

- husband had been married twice before

- Previous wife who died 9 months before accused him of DV

- husband had a teen daughter who was completely oblivious that Dad got married again

- husband tortured animals
(dog hit unconscious,
cat thrown down the stairs)

- husband fired a gun in the kitchen with wife inside

- husband threw
a loaded gun at wife / made a hole in the wall during rage attack

- during divorce proceedings husband spied on the wife

- one night he was in the yard of the house she was living and spying on her

- husband hit her with a full, heavy box

- husband hit her in the face/head

Did I miss anything?

Well, ladies and gentlemen
I see a woman mentally/psychologically abused for a long time and on every level.
Manipulated, intimidated, fearful.

A woman fearing escalation,
fearing for her safety.

And fearing for the safety of her young daughter.

And the last thing
mind-blowing for me:
I also see a lot of misogyny

JMO

Anywhere where I can find out more about the relationship with Renee? You indicated she was abused. Where did that come from...I am just now getting into this story and boy to me that is important but I imagine the "prior bad acts" were not allowed in early in the lead up to this trial?

 

[turaj]

Yes^….. and granted I’ve never been in such a situation…… but with all that elapsed time, if AB was so terrified….. then perhaps get the gun, take a shot at DB and run like you know what……. But no, IIRC she shot him four (4) times from differing angles? Isn’t that in many many cases watched known as ‘overki……’. SMH. MOO

If she was so scared of him why did the mother go to the park with the daughter??? Is that the correct story??? Can you imagine leaving her there??? Something off with this whole story.

 

[Dotta]

Anywhere where I can find out more about the relationship with Renee? You indicated she was abused. Where did that come from...I am just now getting into this story and boy to me that is important but I imagine the "prior bad acts" were not allowed in early in the lead up to this trial?

Texts from R. were found by Ashley and presented in Court.

 

[Dotta]

If she was so scared of him why did the mother go to the park with the daughter??? Is that the correct story??? Can you imagine leaving her there??? Something off with this whole story.

Chaos of packing is not a good place for a small child -
easy to get hurt by heavy boxes or accident.
A young child is like quicksilver.

Better for a child to spend time outdoors playing in the park with loving Granny.

JMO

 

[turaj]

Chaos of packing is not good place for a small child -
easy to get hurt by heavy boxes.
Better for a child to spend time outdoors playing in the park with loving Granny.

JMO

Well the timing is sure interesting. No way did she have any concerns about him...he was welcome into the home to pack and in fact be there alone with her. 2+ 2 not = 4 here. The one shot was enough to give her a chance to get out of there if she perceived danger.

 

[Izzylizzy]

Yes^….. and granted I’ve never been in such a situation…… but with all that elapsed time, if AB was so terrified….. then perhaps get the gun, take a shot at DB and run like you know what……. But no, IIRC she shot him four (4) times from differing angles? Isn’t that in many many cases watched known as ‘overki……’. SMH. MOO

I don't believe her story.

If he was on her tail he could have stopped her before she got to her bedroom where she retrieved the gun.
Just grabbing her hair could have stopped her.

The layout of the front entrance, LR, DR daughter's bedroom , AB's bedroom and bath were shown as evidence.
Missing was the kitchen and I assume a rear exit that she could have run to get outside and run for help or whatever.

It wasn't even like she knew her gun was out in the open in her bedroom.
It was in a storage container.
She boxed herself in her room with a gun that could have been used against her.

For all we know she could have been in her bedroom for quite awhile before he came in.

Curious if there's a timeline available from when he got there until she killed him?

 

[Izzylizzy]

I have to think they are in the gallery.

They very well could be.
Usually reporters figure out who's who in the gallery and ask for comments then report on it.

Nor info about or comment's from AB's ex-husband or the guy she was said to be engaged to who gave her a ring..IIRC: the state did mention his name?

 

[Dotta]

I have a question.
When is the end of trial?
Closing speeches?
I think I will tune in when the Jury will be sent to deliberate

 

[Sustained]

IMO - it is nonsensical to think AB was "packing" to move to Maryland for a fresh start with DB. I believe AB had no intent to ever move given that her mom was in Bradenton and the "packing" was part of the plan to do away with DB in the chaos of moving. All premeditated ...

 

[Izzylizzy]

Anywhere where I can find out more about the relationship with Renee? You indicated she was abused. Where did that come from...I am just now getting into this story and boy to me that is important but I imagine the "prior bad acts" were not allowed in early in the lead up to this trial?

AB also was a snooper.

When Doug and Ashley Benefield Started a Ballet ...​

Vanity Fair
https://www.vanityfair.com › Style › new york city ballet




Sep 2, 2021 — In June, Ashley found Eva's diary and read it, learning that her stepdaughter hated her. Doug and Ashley argued. They yelled. Doug grabbed a ...

 

[Izzylizzy]

IMO - it is nonsensical to think AB was "packing" to move to Maryland for a fresh start with DB. I believe AB had no intent to ever move given that her mom was in Bradenton and the "packing" was part of the plan to do away with DB in the chaos of moving. All premeditated ...

AB's mother inherited a house in Maryland and that's were they were supposedly going to live .

AB with her daughter and her mother.
DB had already gotten a job there and was to live in a different house/apt.

 

[Izzylizzy]

Has anyone else heard that DB was alive when AB ran to the neighbors and he died at the hospital?

 

[Kakidoll]

What I see as an observer of this tragedy:

- husband 30 years older than a wife
Wife - young& beautiful seems to be a "trophy wife"

- they got married after 2 weeks of "dating"
Love-bombing at its worst

- husband had been married twice before

- Previous wife who died 9 months before accused him of DV

- husband had a teen daughter who was completely oblivious that Dad got married again

- husband tortured animals
(dog hit unconscious,
cat thrown down the stairs)

- husband fired a gun in the kitchen with wife inside

- husband threw
a loaded gun at wife / made a hole in the wall during rage attack

- during divorce proceedings husband spied on the wife

- one night he was in the yard of the house she was living and spying on her

- husband hit her with a full, heavy box

- husband hit her in the face/head

Did I miss anything?

Well, ladies and gentlemen
I see a woman mentally/psychologically abused for a long time and on every level.
Manipulated, intimidated, fearful.

A woman fearing escalation,
fearing for her safety.

And fearing for the safety of her young daughter.

And the last thing
mind-blowing for me:
I also see a lot of misogyny

JMO

I don't see ANY of this as fact. I see this as "HER STORY'

 

[Wishbone]

Has anyone else heard that DB was alive when AB ran to the neighbors and he died at the hospital?

Police and EMT's assisted Doug who had been shot twice in his right leg and arm. Police noted that the bullet from his arm traveled into his chest cavity. Doug lived for an hour but died at nearby Doctors Hospital.

Did a former ballerina accused of murder shoot her husband in self-defense?

To some, Ashley Benefield is a woman who fought back from alleged abuse. To others, she's a manipulative murderer who shot her husband so she would not have to share custody of their daughter.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[scapa]

I don't see ANY of this as fact. I see this as "HER STORY'

That's part of what's at issue here IMO -- facts independently determined seem to be in short supply anywhere in the testimony laid out thus far.

I would only add that, as a mandated reporter who has also witnessed and treated far too many DV-related cases earlier in my career, my default position is to listen to, believe in and advocate for the victims of such abuse, both directly and elsewhere in the network of those affected. In these cases, IME, there is often a trail to follow back to specific instances of harm, clinical of otherwise, which then form a pattern of acts that make a powerful case for intervention -- not always taken in time, or at all. The case of Lauren Johansen is horrifically familiar in terms of dynamics (and systemic failings), if not in speed of escalation.

That default position is, of course, open to rare cynical manipulation, which is in its own way deeply misogynistic and dangerous. Whether that's the case here or not will be up to the jury to decide -- IMO neither the state or defense have gotten there yet.

The LJ case is so horrific I've not revisited the thread, but the link is below.

MS - Lauren Johansen, 22, body found ‘mutilated,’ wrapped in sheets at cemetery, Harrison County, 2 July 2024 *Arrest*

(WLOX/Gray News) - A missing Mississippi woman’s body was found ‘mutilated’ in sheets and trash bags at a cemetery, according to authorities. Her ex-boyfriend is now being charged with her death. According to officials, around 3 p.m., deputies received information about a vehicle belonging to...

www.websleuths.com

 

[Izzylizzy]

Police and EMT's assisted Doug who had been shot twice in his right leg and arm. Police noted that the bullet from his arm traveled into his chest cavity. Doug lived for an hour but died at nearby Doctors Hospital.

Did a former ballerina accused of murder shoot her husband in self-defense?

To some, Ashley Benefield is a woman who fought back from alleged abuse. To others, she's a manipulative murderer who shot her husband so she would not have to share custody of their daughter.

www.cbsnews.com

Thank you!
I'm curious if anything was ever said by Medics or the ER doctor had AB called 911 immediately after shooting DB and not left him lying there and ran to the neighbor who called 911 that his life may have been saved?

 

[Izzylizzy]

Help!
I can't find this online.

I thought I had read that very soon after their first meeting DB took a business trip to Israel.
AB also took a cruise with her mother and girlfriend.
I would like to know if they did this at the same time?
Also I think his trip was within the 13 days between meeting her and marrying her?
tia