♪ ♪ ♪ this is "nightline." tonight, ballerina on trial. inside the shocking murder case. >> because of your ballet background some people have labeled you the black swan. >> the only person standing in your way is you. >> what does that feel like?

>> the beautiful dancer killing the handsome older man who swept her off the feet marrying just 13 dates after they met. >> people who don't even know me have this idea of a monster. >> she says her once dashing suitor didn't stay that way. >> she alleged that he hit the dog, fired a gun. >> was it murder or self-defense? >> there was always this little thought in the back of my head that said ashley is going to do something to him. plus, the marvelous duo. ryan reynolds and hugh jackman. >> i don't know anything about saving worlds but you do. >> making dreams come true for marvel fans in "deadpool & wolverine." best friends off screen. >> this is what it's like on set every day. >> how did you get work done. >> we're still shooting the film. >> dropping hints. could his real-life wife pop in. the cast gets loose for late night. >> i thought this was "nightline." it's all whispered and hot.

>> and -- celine dion and lady gaga's reportedly going to see paris with rose-colored glasses. >> announcer: "nightline" will be right back. ♪ cool the pain with biofreeze. and keep on going. biofreeze. green means go. (vo) for over 50 years purina cat chow has been helping cats feel at home. and keep on going. with trusted nutrition, no wonder it's the number one dry cat food in america. come home to cat chow.

♪ good evening, and thank you for joining us.

i'm stephanie ramos. tonight, the prosecution resting in the explosive murder trial that has rocked the posh community of lakewood ranch, florida. ashley and doug once seemed to have been an idyllic life but their romance spun into arguments, accusations and finally, the unthinkable. it seemed like a fairy tale, a beautiful ballerina, seen here dancing in "the nutcracker" for the maryland youth ballet swept off her feet by a dashing older man, married only only 13 date, doug and ashley benefield seemed like they had it all but less than four years later, doug would be dead, and ashley charged with murder. her trial in this florida courtroom dubbed "the black swan murder trial." >> the only person standing in your way is you. >> after the movie starring natalie portman.

>> because of your ballet background some labeled you the black swan. >> yeah. >> what does that feel like? >> i think what it comes down to is that the black swan has a catchy ring and it sensationalizes my life and my situation and so they ran with it. and it's sad to me that people who don't even know me have this idea of a monster. >> doug and ashley met in 2016 at a political event. they instantly connected despite their 30-year age difference. doug was a recently widowed father to a teenage daughter, eva. at her stepmother's trial, eva testified about the early days of their romance. >> they were just with each other all the time. it was very lovey-dovey and they

never left each other's side. >> doug reversed his vasectomy so they could have a child together but their whirlwind romance started to crumble. the ballet company they started together failed, soon their marriage fell apart. >> miss banfield was alleging doug had been violent toward her. she alleged that he hit the dog, fired a gun into the ceiling, the biggest allegation was that he was poisoning her and their child in utero with heavy metals. >> in text messages submitted as evidence doug admitted to shooting a gun in the home writing, i shot the gun, how many times did i tell you i was having a nervous breakdown? and punching their dog after an argument about his daughter. i punched the dog because you got me so mad, like you wouldn't stop about eva. always eva. ashley sat down exclusively with

"20/20" co-anchor deborah roberts just before her trial began. >> how are you doing? >> it depends on the moment. yeah, there's good days and rough days. good moments and rough moments. >> you haven't spoken out before. why did you decide to talk >> i am doing it for other people because i know i'm not alone in this. there are women all over the country, all over the world who have gone through or are going through hard situations behind closed doors until you have been there or it's someone that you know and care about, it's not something that you think about. >> while pregnant with the couple's daughter, ashley moved to florida, doug's former attorney testifying ashley didn't tell doug when she had the baby.

>> gosh, we didn't know for a good five or six weeks after she was born. >> he only found out when ashley filed a restraining order. >> and so on may 6th, i saw that miss benefield had filed a petition for protection against domestic violence and in that filing there was -- she identified the birth, date of the child as well as i think the child's name which is the first final we learned about that too. >> okay. >> in opening statements prosecutors claiming ashley wanted doug out of her life so she could raise their daughter alone. >> this case is about a woman who very early on in her pregnancy decided she wanted to be a single mother. when there was no other option, she shoots him and kills him and claims self-defense. >> but ashley's attorney countering that she was trapped in an abusive relationship. >> doug benefield was a manipulative, cunning, and abusive man, who insisted,

absolutely insisted on control. >> reporter: doug's cousin tommy sitting down with "20/20". >> i'm here to tell doug's story because he's not here. we want to tell the truth. we want to acknowledge his flaws, his mistakes like he did. but we want him to be remembered for the great human, man that he was. >> things came to a head on september 27th, 2020. doug was helping ashley load a u-haul at her mother's house. they were planning on moving to maryland with doug living separately. according to court documents filed by the defense, ashley says doug struck her hitting her on the side of her head and then tried to keep her from leaving the room. the clinical psychologist who had previously evaluated ashley and doug testifying. >> when i saw her after the incident, there was swelling on the side of her face.

>> ashley claimed she feared for her life and shot him multiple times in self-defense before running to her neighbor's house. >> she's with me quite upset. the weapon is here. we need the police before the mother -- her mother and the little girl gets back from the park. i don't want him to find it. >> now 32, ashley choking back tears as jurors heard that 911 call. >> she came in, she was quite hysterical. i didn't know who was badging on my door saying he attacked her and she shot him. they've been having trouble. >> doug's adult daughter eva telling "20/20" she doesn't believe it was self-defense. >> if it was self-defense why did she shoot multiple times, you know? >> if i was defending myself in a situation, i would shoot once and i wouldn't shoot to kill. i wouldn't take a life away. >> in court the medical examiner testified that the gun was fired from at least three feet away.

>> i determined the manner of death to be homicide. >> no one is disagreeing that doug benefield died at the hands of another. the question is, whether or not that death was justified by what ashley benefield perceived in that moment. >> there was always this little thought in the back of my head that said ashley is going to do something to him. ashley is going to sabotage him somehow. so when that happened i was obviously shocked, but that little voice in the back of my head said i was right. that she did. she killed him. >> outside court, advocates for survivors of domestic violence have rallied around ashley including her mother and daughter emerson now 6 years old. >> we want the truth. we want everything out there so people will see that ashley is not guilty for what they say she is. >> the prosecution rested their case today. the defense begins tomorrow. >> the defense is going to put on witnesses and evidence to try

to argue that she had reason to fear for her life based on the months and years of abuse. >>s jury of five women and one man are expected to begin deliberating ashley's fate next week. >> you could possibly go to jail for a very long time. >> it's a horrible reality. i wouldn't wish this on anybody. emerson's already been through a lot. i can't imagine how this would affect her if things were to go poorly at trial. >> when we return, ryan reynolds and hugh jackman bring their bff energy to "nightline" and the big screen in marvel's first ever r-rated blockbuster "deadpool & wolverine." has wavy edges that tear so much better.

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♪ welcome back. marvel fans are legendary for their loyalty and enthusiasm and "deadpool & wolverine" is their dream come true. and if the energy of the film that the biggest stars brought to "nightline" is any indication they'll need a bigger universe. here's rhiannon ally. >> don't just stand there. give me a hand up. no, i'm okay. thank you very much. >> the mash-up marvel fans have been waiting for, "deadpool & wolverine" joining forces in one of this summer's hottest blockbuster. >> the most wholesome r-rated

move and that's the highest compliment i heard about this. >> did you think it was wholesome, hugh? >> he's right. >> but will viewers agree? marvel's first r-rated movie and the claws are out. hugh jackman and wolverine like you've never seen him before. >> come again? >> and ryan reynolds as the witty yet raunchy mew tent hero de deadpool. >> i'm sort of on the tick, tick, so upsy-daisy. >> is this "nightline"? >> yes. >> are we on "nightline"? >> wow, so much of this is inappropriate. >> i thought this was night "nightline." >> offscreen it's nonstop laughter to the point of tears. >> this, by the way, thank you for demonstrateing. >> this is a disney company. >> but now you asked what was it like every day? exhibit a. >> sorry. >> so what made you feel an honest to god costume?

mine is red so they can't see me bleed but i could see how yellow would be useful too. >> director shawn levy telling us what it's like to work with these two megastar. >> this is what it's like on set every day. >> how did you get any work done. >> barely did. like two shots a day and the rest was banter. >> we're still shooting the film. >> these are dear friends in real life and wolverine and deadpool are at each other's throats for a lot of the movie. >> deadpool enlists the hip of wolverine to save his world from extinction. >> why would i go with you? >> because, unfortunately, i need you and even more unfortunately, my entire world needs you. >> it's a movie that almost didn't happen after jackman declared back in 2017 that he would never play wolverine again following the release of "logan." >> logan, you still have time.

>> but in 2022 i had an epiphany. >> i saw "deadpool 1" three days after announcing i was done and i was like, hmm, i might have been premature because i could see it two years ago, august 14th. 2022, randomly driving my car, going, i've got to do it. so i rang him. >> no one calls anyone. he called -- i was like, is hugh dead? if he's dead how is he calling but turns out he was fine. he just wanted to hang out. >> while previous "deadpool" movies have gently poked fun at wolverine. >> it does rhyme with pulverine. >> it is the first collab with the two hollywood stars. >> there's so much references in the first and second film, that tiny music box at the start of the second film. >> i still have it. one of my most prized possessions. >> you haven't given it to hugh? >> no, screw that guy. oh, sorry, i didn't see you there. >> were all those moments in the

first two films leading up to this film? >> i guess so. i mean i don't want to turn this into a, you know, friggin' ted talk with this is how i did it. "deadpool" and ryan a little obsessed with hugh/logan and wolverine. it felt like the perfect matchup. >> you just confirmed you are obsessed with hugh jackman. >> i think everybody knows that. not everybody has seen my tasteful lower back tattoo of hugh. >> are you going to show us. >> i'm one step from a retraining order here. >> reynolds has come a long way since his early days starring in "blade trinity" in 2004. >> what the hell do you think you know about vampires. >> for starters i used to be one. >> he met make lively on the set of "green lantern" in 2010. >> i see it. the ability to overcome fear. >> the couple married in 2012 and have four kids together. jackman, one of the most dynamic performers of our time, and at 55 is still making gory fight

scenes like this look easy while captivating audiences on broadway and as p.t. barnum in the film "the greatest showman ♪ ♪ so tell me do you want to go ♪ >> the latest film in the "deadpool" franchise marks many firsts for disney. was there ever a moment where you thought, this might be too much for disney? it is the first r-rated marvel film. >> it's such a tempting narrative to say that, like, you know, it was an uphill battle. we had to grind them, no, they were amazing. >> they were a couple of moments off camera and ryan is saying some lines and i'm like, that's not going to be in the movie. that's not -- and in it's the movie. it was just -- making fun of some really powerful people who were paying our salary. >> yeah. >> and somehow they love it. >> villains cassandra nova

played by emma corps rum and matthew mcfadden best known for his role on "succession." >> you have appeared to have soiled yourself while unconscious. >> both making their marvel debut and your character, one of the deadliest villains, what was it like playing that. >> i think i had the most fun. i didn't have a single thing on green screen. all the stunts real. yeah, and the sets were functional. >> what do you think fans are going to take away from this movie? >> ooh. >> they're going to go mental. >> and perhaps the film's biggest superhero. >> i'm here with the real star of the movie, dogpool. >> a canine gentlemen gettic anomaly named peggy. >> what about dogpool? >> i know. is she the real star of the movie. >> yeah, hardly does any press. she holds back everything. >> no, peggy won this ugliest dog in britain contest but

actually she was literally plucked from security. she had never been trained. i imagine like a whole rocky training montage with her tongue hanging out. >> rumors circulating reynolds' wife blake lively is playing the role of lady deadpool seen at the premiere in a deadpool-inspired outfit. some wonder whether they will suit up together again. >> what's the future of "deadpool & wolverine." >> i love the fact that we'll enjoy something with everybody you foe and love if you like and leave with that complete story, soy it's a one-off. >> in the middle of summer in 2024 when it's hard out there for for everyone and we get to work in a job that gets to dispense joy. >> our thanks to rhiannon. when we return, lady gaga and celine dion set to be bringing a rose-colored kickoff to the olympics. the return to the spotlight fans have been hoping for. ♪ la vie en rose ♪ 're living wi, imagine being good to go without daily hiv pills.

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finally tonight, celine dion's reported historic return to the spotlight with lady gaga. the two superstars in france reportedly set to perform together at tomorrow's opening ceremony of the paris olympics. they're expected to sing, edith piafter's "la vie en rose," which was performed in "a star is born" and would mark celine's triumphant return to the stage after four years after being diagnosed with stiff person's syndrome spotted in paris today signing autographs for fans posting on social media she is so happy to be back.