BRADENTON, Fla. (Court TV) — A former ballerina convicted of manslaughter will remain behind bars during her appeal, after a judge denied her request for bond.
Ashley Benefield appears in court during a bond hearing on Jan. 23, 2025. (Court TV)
Ashley Benefield was sentenced to 20 years in state prison for fatally shooting her husband, Douglas Benefield, in her bedroom in Sept. 2020, though her defense claimed it was done in self-defense.
On Feb. 6, two weeks after he presided over a bond hearing featuring testimony from several witnesses supporting Benefield’s request for bond, Judge Stephen Matthew Whyte formally denied the request.
At the Jan. 23 hearing, Benefield’s defense argued that she had strong community ties and a job waiting for her if released and emphasized her previous good behavior while she was free on bond before her murder trial.
The prosecution had opposed the bond request, arguing that Benefield’s conviction for manslaughter was serious and that she had been dishonest in the past. Doug Benefield’s cousin, Tommie Benefield, also spoke against granting bond, expressing concerns about Ashley Benefield’s credibility and how Doug Benefield was portrayed during the hearing.
In his decision, Judge Whyte acknowledged the testimony from friends and Benefield’s former probation officer but said ultimately that the severity of the sentence and her “insufficient ties to the community” mean she should stay behind bars.
