Grace, strength and passion. Ashley, the beautiful ballerina and model, had it all.
And then she met the perfect partner in Doug Benefield. Just 13 days later, they got married.
But their whirlwind romance ended almost as quickly as it began.
On September 27, 2020, just as the sun was setting, a 911 call came in from Lakewood Ranch, a community near Sarasota, Florida.
The caller was a neighbor who told the operator Ashley had shown up at his house, frantic.
She said Doug had attacked her, and she shot him in self-defense.
Detective Dan Dickerman with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office raced to the scene.
Doug was rushed to the hospital, barely alive.
Ashley was taken to the sheriff’s office. However, she exercised her right not to say anything and was free to go.
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