What led a former ballerina to fatally shoot her husband?

After nearly four years, the trial of Ashley Benefield , the former ballerina charged with second-degree murder for shooting her estranged husband Doug, began in the summer of 2024. In the lead-up to the trial, a small group appeared near the courthouse to support Ashley's claims of self-defense. Among the supporters was Ashley's mother Alicia and Ashley and Doug's 6-year-old daughter Emerson, who stopped to speak to a reporter.

Emerson : It feels like I'm standing up for the right thing and that I'm doing the right thing for her. Emerson's public show of support caught the attention of her half-sister, Doug's daughter Eva Benefield. Eva, known as " evathefreakindiva " on TikTok, let her half million followers know just how she felt.

EVA BENEFIELD (On TikTok): So, I think that we should probably stop shoving cameras in 6-year-old's faces when they have no idea what's going on ...

A JURY CONSIDERS: DID ASHLEY BENEFIELD KILL IN SELF-DEFENSE OR WAS IT MURDER? Lead prosecutor Suzanne O'Donnell said she believes Ashley killed Doug to guarantee she'd always be No. 1 in Emerson's life. Suzanne O'Donnell : I think Ashley wanted sole custody of her child and was very afraid that she was going to lose custody altogether.

In her opening statement to jurors, O'Donnell outlined the state's theory of the case. SUZANNE O'DONNELL (in court): This was a custody battle that this mother was going to win at all costs. And the cost was the life of Doug Benefield.

And that is murder. Defense lawye.