"Black Swan" defendant Ashley Benefield had a gun in her bra the night she met her husband

The stormy relationship between Doug and Ashley Benefield, the star-crossed couple at the heart of the notorious "Black Swan" murder case, began and ended with a .45 caliber gun, according to what was revealed publicly over the years.

During testimony at Ashley Benefield's murder trial in July 2024, she said that the evening she met Doug Benefield at an upscale political dinner, she was carrying a .45 caliber gun in her bra.

Assistant State Attorney Suzanne O'Donnell, who prosecuted the homicide case for Manatee County, Florida, put this question to Ashley during the trial: "You actually bragged … about having guns, correct?"