Lakewood Ranch woman charged with second degree murder

The Manatee County Sheriff's Office has arrested Lakewood Ranch's Ashley C. Benefield, who has been charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of her husband, Doug G. Benefield, at a Central Park home on Sept. 27.

Ashley Benefield turned herself in at the Manatee County Jail Wednesday night.

A Manatee County Sheriff's Office release said detectives determined the woman shot her husband twice during a domestic argument but detectives found no evidence she was acting in self-defense. The release stated that Ashley Benefield, 28, claimed her husband was attacking her, but detectives found no signs she had been physically abused.

The release said the couple had been separated and were in the midst of a custody battle involving their daughter. Ashley Benefield was staying at the home of her mother on the 11300 block of White Rock Terrace in Central Park and Doug Benefield, 58, was living elsewhere. He had come to see his wife the evening of the shooting and no one else was in the home at the time.

After detectives determined probable cause, a second degree murder warrant was issued.

The case is still being investigated.