Ashley Benefield Trial
FL v. Ashley Benefield Trial Coverage
Ashley Benefield is accused of killing her husband, Douglas Benefield, in September 2020. Prosecutors argued that she shot Doug during a custody dispute, while the defense argued that she acted in self-defense after alleged abuse.
This page collects trial coverage, pretrial coverage, witness lists, and video links from the Florida v. Ashley Benefield proceedings.
ASHLEY BENEFIELD TRIAL
Trial Coverage Overview
Ashley Benefield is accused of killing her husband, Douglas Benefield, in September 2020. The case centered on conflicting arguments about self-defense, domestic abuse allegations, custody conflict, and forensic evidence related to the shooting.
DAY 1
FL v. Ashley Benefield Day 1
Day 1 included opening statements and the first state witnesses.
- State Opening Statement, ASA Suzanne O’Donnell
- Defense Opening Statement, Neil G. Taylor
- State witness 1, Tommie Douglas Benefield, Jr.
- State witness 2, Eva Benefield, daughter of Douglas and Renee Benefield
- State witness 3, John Sant, the neighbor who made the 911 call
- State witness 4, Deputy Thomas Baurle, Patrol Division
- State witness 5, John Jones, Property Crimes Detective
- State witness 6, Detective Tyler Ackerman, Violent Crimes Task Force
- State witness 7, Meghan Dvorack, Crime Scene Technician
- State witness 8, Amanda Conlon, Crime Scene Technician
DAY 2
FL v. Ashley Benefield Day 2
Day 2 continued the state’s case with family, law enforcement, domestic violence, and clinical witnesses.
- State witness 9, Alicia Byers, defendant’s mother
- State witness 10, Dr. Barbara Russell, LCSW
- State witness 11, Lt. Daniel Dickerman
- State witness 12, Stephanie Murphy, family law attorney
- State witness 13, Det. Chris Gillum, domestic violence investigator
- State witness 14, Det. Brian Moreland, Crimes Against Children detective
- State witness 15, Dr. Brad Broder, clinical psychologist
- State witness 16, Dr. Jason Quintal, Ph.D., LCSW
DAY 3
FL v. Ashley Benefield Day 3
Day 3 continued trial testimony and coverage of the state’s case.
DAY 4
FL v. Ashley Benefield Day 4
Day 4 continued video coverage of the trial proceedings.
DAY 5
FL v. Ashley Benefield Day 5
- Defense witness 4, Bruce Ferris, licensed mental health counselor
- Defense witness 5, Gianna Torchia, ex-employee for Stephanie Murphy
- OJP issue over police report argued outside the jury’s presence
- Defense witness 6, Vincent Vizzaccaro, Realtor
- Defense witness 7, Dr. Jason Quintal, Ph.D., LCSW
DAY 6
FL v. Ashley Benefield Day 6
Day 6 continued video coverage of the Ashley Benefield trial.
PRE-TRIAL
FL v. Ashley Benefield Pre-Trial
During a pretrial hearing for the ballerina murder trial, the judge expressed confusion about the nature of defendant Ashley Benefield’s case. The state filed a motion to have a domestic violence specialist testify during the trial, but this was denied after the judge stated the court was less than a week away from trial and still unclear about what kind of case it was.