Episode 78, Season 5 - Ashley and Doug Benefield – Dance of Death

Despite a thirty-year age difference and only knowing each other for a whopping thirteen days, restaurateur Doug Benefield and ballerina Ashley Byers fell deeply in love and tied the knot.

The marriage gets off to a great start, but, predictably, things rapidly start going south for the couple when there are accusations of domestic violence, torture and even attempted murder.

And in the blink of an eye attempted murder becomes the real thing.

Listen to the episode HERE.

Photo caption (L-R) Doug Benefield, a restaurateur and military veteran and Ashley Beyers, a former ballerina who had segued into politics, met and married a whopping 13 days after meeting each other (credit: NBC News); On the surface, Doug and Ashley seemed madly in love, but from almost he beginning, the relationship was marred by jealousy, possessiveness and violence (credit: CBS News); Doug's first wife, Renee, died suddenly of a heart attack at 57. Ashley would insinuate that Doug killed her (also pictured: Doug and Renee's daughter, Eva- credit: CBS News); Ashley had dreams of opening a ballet company. It would go up in smoke in a matter of months (credit: PEOPLE magazine); Ashley posted a note to Facebook disavowing her support of the American Ballet Company, which she and Doug had launched with grand plans that ultimately went nowhere (credit: CBS News); The house where Ashley shot and killed Doug (credit: PEOPLE magazine/State's Attorney's Office); Doug had rented a U-Haul to move with Ashley to Maryland from Florida for what he thought was a fresh start in their marriage (credit: WWSB-TV Sarasota); The murder weapon, recovered from the scene (credit: WWSB-TV Sarasota); The crime scene; Doug was only armed with flip-flops when Ashley shot him (credit: WWSB-TV Sarasota); Ashley on the stand during her murder trial, describing the moment she shot Doug (credit: ABC News/The Braedenton Herald/AP); Ashley with her and Doug's daughter, Emerson (ABC News)

Transcript*:

*provided transcripts are lightly edited.

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