wait. so it's good as long as the food tastes good. okay i got a question for you. what flavor of ice cream were you getting at? mitchell's? i ended up, i didn't get avocado. i got pumpkin because it's seasonal. i got pumpkin ice cream. but my favorite from mitchell's is new york cheesecake. ooh, that sounds delicious. next hot day in san francisco, i'm going there. well, this has been fun. really appreciate it. it was fun to get to know all of you. and i love the san francisco ties. as i mentioned, i wasn't born there but i do feel like a san franciscan now, and you guys make me feel so welcome. so thank you so much for joining us. like it or not, today, before we go, be sure to send us your like it or not questions. record yourself asking hat i'm anna garcia. right now on true crime news . exclusive. never before seen footage of the black swan ballerina convicted of killing her estranged husband, doug. ashley benefield dramatically recreating the chilling

moment she took aim and shot him dead. the startling images produced for ashley's defense that never made it into her sensational trial , where she cried self-defense. he pursued her. >> she grabbed the gun. >> all new details from inside their troubled marriage . we have the private emails and messages that she sent to a trusted confidant who's talking only to me. may i ask why? ashley granted such special permission for you to be able to talk to us. plus, after an 11th hour delay of his execution, death row inmate robert robertson is hoping the texas legislature will spare his life. your daily source for true crime starts right now . thanks for joining us . it was a crime that made international headlines. nicknamed the black swan case ashley benefield, a former ballerina convicted this summer of killing her much older estranged husband, doug.

now, as she's about to be sentenced. a true crime news exclusive chilling images from ashley's defense that were never shown to the jury that you will only see here. she is the notorious black swan, the former ballerina and model recently convicted for shooting and killing her estranged husband . but you have never seen ashley benefield like this. these are exclusive, never before seen images of ashley reenacting the tense altercation that led to doug's death . dressed up as she was that september night, but this time with an ankle monitor . an actor plays doug and moves toward ashley aggressively, even body checking her. ashley demonstrates how she pointed the gun at him and fired four times. she says in self-defense. the images were used to create an animated simulation of the crime. >> he

pursued her. he grabbed her by the arm. she grabbed the gun. >> doctor barbara russell is the psychotherapist who evaluated doug and ashley in the midst of an ugly custody battle. since the shooting, she has become a confidante, even housing ashley for eight months at one point. there is no way on earth that this woman that i psychologically evaluated, that i spoke to nearly every day for six months after that, because of my safety concerns for her that she ever would have pulled a gun and pointed it at anybody unless she sincerely, truly believed that her life was in imminent danger right there in that moment. >> it is absolutely impossible. >> barbara believes the images and animation reveal the true story of what happened that day and hopes to help ashley in her appeal. may i ask why ashley granted such special permission for you to be able to talk to us? >> much of the information that has been put forth in the media

has been very biased , and unfortunately, the public has gotten a very distorted perception of the events that happened leading up to the incident and who ashley is as a person, and she's hoping that things will be more clear after i speak about her . >> ashley first met doug while volunteering on donald trump's first presidential campaign. she was 24 and never married. he was 54. newly a widower with a teenage daughter, they met at a dinner party. >> in fact it was doug that invited ashley to that party. he knew that she was very involved with a political campaign. >> she would later reveal that night that they met, she was carrying a gun in her bra . ashley and doug were soon exchanging texts, some of them too racy to show their connection was instantaneous. doug writes desperate

for you ashley replies let's have lots of sex when i get home lol. along with shower selfie, he did an absolutely amazing extraordinary job at making her believe that he indeed was everything she ever wanted. >> doug seemed very, very compatible with everything that ashley thought that she wanted in a boyfriend, a partner, a husband. >> they married just 13 days later, and a year after that they opened a ballet company together. the american national ballet in charleston. but soon those early sparks fizzled. >> she began seeing irritability, some verbal aggression, getting angry over things that were very , very minor. she never quite knew what would set him off or what he would get mad about. he would scream , he would throw things. he would punch holes in the walls. >> according to ashley, her husband had a hair trigger

temper. during one argument, he shot a gun at the ceiling, later saying that it was to stop her from talking. another time, he punched the family dog. both incidents later acknowledged by doug. >> ashley was absolutely terrified. >> did he threaten to kill her during this episode? >> i don't know if he actually said i will kill you but he was very clear in his intention to intimidate her. >> but when ashley got pregnant things started to fall apart suffering from severe morning sickness. ashley claimed that doug was trying to poison her. she moved back to florida to live with her mother and that is where she had her baby girl emerson . then when emerson was two years old, the situation imploded with fatal consequences. >> my understanding is he was very aggressive with her, bullying her and pressuring her that they should be moving together, living as a family, as seen in ashley's recreation of

events, the fight moves from room to room until they end in the bedroom and the gun goes off. >> doug is shot in the leg, a second bullet hitting his right bicep and piercing through the right side of his chest cavity. ashley runs to a neighbor who calls 911. >> so they were in an argument. >> he came in. she was quite hysterical. he attacked her and she shot him in court. >> her testimony filled in the details. >> doug was standing in the doorway. his face was red , like the veins were bulging in his neck. he was looking at me. he didn't even look like doug. his eyes were black . >> does he yell anything at you? >> he said , you're done . >> what does he do at that point

? i held the gun, like in front of me, and i said, stop . >> and he, like, turned. and he got into this like, like a fighting stance . like i got low and he started, like moving his arms and his hands around. and he was making these, like, jerking motions. i thought he was going to kill me. >> doug benefield died from his injuries . ashley was charged with second degree murder and placed under house arrest. at trial, she claimed self-defense, an argument the prosecution flatly dismissed, instead painting the picture of a woman who just wanted to be a single mother. >> this defendant used domestic violence and allegations of it to make progress on her goal, and her goal was she wanted sole custody of that child at all costs. >> but why did ashley's defense team decide not to show jurors the detailed reenactment

animation? i didn't go to law school. >> i'm a forensic mental health professional , not an attorney, so i can't answer any question as to why exactly the jury didn't see it, except that they didn't see it because it was not brought into the trial for whatever reasons. >> would it have changed the outcome of her conviction for manslaughter? >> it's hard sometimes for jurors to understand the size of a room. it's hard for them to really appreciate how it might feel to be inside of that room with another person. and would that be intimidating to her or not? and i felt that that animation actually did a very good job of explaining that and how it might feel to be in her position, because that's what the defense's entire case was was trying to place those jurors inside of ashley benefield's mind in those final moments . >> next, the burning question why would the defense commission, that costly animation and then not introduce it at trial? stay with us as our

legal expert breaks it all down. and could it change her appeal ? on the next true crime news. >> i need more units here. >> cops on a routine welfare check. >> hello? hey, i got a tv knocked over and a coffee table knocked over. >> make a gruesome discovery. >> dogs are dead. dead dogs. >> a family brutally executed. >> oh, god. >> was this a deadly drug hit, or did detectives uncover a fatal attraction? a case of catfishing r a twisted game of jealousy on the next true crime news? >> who's coming in the driveway ? daddy. hi. >> goodness. >> my daughter is being treated for leukemia . i hope that she lives a long, great, happy life and that she will never forget how mom and daddy

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we're back with more of our black swan exclusive. we just showed you the never before seen video simulation of ballerina ashley benefield, convicted of killing her estranged husband doug, recreating the moment that she fatally fired four bullets at him. the footage was made to prove that she killed him in self-defense. she wanted to show how she felt trapped in that room. the big questions why did the jury never see it? and could it be used in her upcoming appeal ? this is ashley's version of the story. never before seen images of the black swan herself reenacting the shooting death of her estranged husband. the

exclusive images, obtained by true crime news illustrate the tense showdown of september 27th of 2020 that led to benefield's trial for second degree murder . if you look at the autopsy photo of doug's wounds it looks like he was shot in the chest in the front , slightly off to the right. >> sounds about right . it also sounds like it was very consistent with what ashley had testified to about his aggressive stance and how he was moving towards her, that he indeed was shot when he was facing her, and was indeed in an aggressive position. >> the images and animation created from them for use by ashley's defense team were never presented in court. why not remains a mystery. >> they put a lot of time, energy, likely great expense into creating this animation. they had planned this and i

think they had every intention of using it, former los angeles assistant district attorney josh ritter says there could be a number of reasons why her attorneys didn't show the recreation to jurors. a lot of this is game time , decision type stuff, and you really have to become a practitioner of reading the room and understanding momentum and understanding in the moment whether or not it's a good decision to use some evidence. will the jurors feel that there was a lot of work and expense and money put into this animation , and might that backfire on them for whatever strategic reason, they decided not to at the last moment? >> or maybe they didn't need it. instead, the defense team took the risk of putting ashley herself on the stand. >> i ran where to my room . >> why so scared ? >> it's rare for a defendant to take the stand. most times they

don't, and that's under advice from counsel, too. it's a very risky endeavor for a defendant to take the stand. >> but there was ashley tearfully recounting for the jury the moments that led to her husband's death. >> what were you expecting when you were holding the gun out in front of you, and you told them to stop when you saw it? >> he would leave. did he know at that point ? >> ashley, what are you thinking ? he thought he was going to kill me. >> she presented very convincing and believable testimony. obviously very emotionally charged. >> her testimony may have helped her after a six day trial and nearly seven hours of jury deliberations, the verdict we, the jury find the defendant is guilty of manslaughter. >> a lesser included offense manslaughter instead of second degree murder. >> but benefield thought that she'd be acquitted. >> ashley was

shocked by the verdict. she really thought she was going home that night. she couldn't understand how it wasn't clear that she defended her life . >> did ashley benefield, as a result of discharging a firearm caused death to douglas benefield? yes. >> the jury clearly believed ashley feared her estranged husband, but not that she was justified in killing him. >> where i felt she had problems may have been some issues that the jurors had as to what was actually going through her head, and should she have actually fired those shots today? >> ashley's defense team asked the judge for a new trial claiming prosecutorial and juror misconduct. they say one juror withheld a history of domestic abuse, and another snuck a cell phone into deliberations. but in a stunning development, the judge didn't rule. today instead postponing ashley's

sentencing hearing , which was scheduled for tomorrow. whatever happens, appeals do have inherent risks. >> you don't appeal the decision just because you're not happy with the outcome. there has to be something that was done usually by the judge, some decision that was made that you feel was unfair. if she's granted a new trial, she's again subject to the idea that she may be convicted for second degree murder and whether the defense could use that animation on appeal. >> the writer says. not likely. >> things that were not admitted as evidence outside arguments are just going to be disregarded by an appellate court. so unfortunately, that video had its opportunity and that opportunity was missed . >> we will bring you the latest on ashley's sentencing on true crime news. dot com. when we come back, death row inmate robert roberson fighting for his life. the last ditch effort to save him a e xas state capitol. we have

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is there to help . save 30% on your first order and get 24 over seven customer care at carewell. com . >> we're back now with some breaking news. the last ditch effort to save death row inmate robert robertson from lethal injection . >> cherrey moody president geisser hook here, an unexpected moment for a man who faced imminent death . >> the role of government. ladies and gentlemen, is the protection of life. >> a texas house committee reconsidering the lawfulness of robert robertson's murder conviction. though he was expected to appear, the committee announced he would not testify. >> that doesn't mean robert won't testify at all. in the spirit of cooperation, we are in talks with the attorney general's office right now about ways their position can be addressed, but called to testify. >> people who are firmly in robertson's corner including crime author john grisham and

doctor phil mcgraw. >> i am 100% convinced that we're facing a miscarriage of justice here. >> what keeps me hopeful? my faith in the lord and stuff. you know , because one day, walking up out of here, you know. >> robertson has long been fighting from behind bars while on death row, convicted based on a discredited shaken baby syndrome. after taking his two year old daughter, nikki curtis, to a hospital when he found her unconscious in 2002. >> so many people came together to stop robert robertson's execution. >> the innocence project joining the legal fight for robertson who has autism, saying nikki was suffering from pneumonia and was prescribed medication that likely caused her death. >> if we had to take this same case to court today, there's no way in the world we would a conviction with a set of facts that we worked with the detective who helped jail robertson, testifying in front of the committee last week legislators issuing an unusual

subpoena to hear from robertson, who was 90 minutes from execution. he's an innocent man and we were very close to killing him. >> something he did not do. >> the action caused a legal tug of war between a texas attorney general fighting to keep the execution in place, and legislators trying to prevent it, with the texas supreme court issuing a last minute stay, his impairment led to being misjudged, outdated science has landed him on death row for something that wasn't even a crime, and the legal maneuvers continue as ro rtson's life hangs in the balance . >> my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis held me back. now with skyrizi. i'm all in with clear skin. things are getting clearer . >> i feel free

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another man found him dead on the couch. >> exclusives from some of the biggest true crime cases of our generation. >> i tried to destroy us, basically by convicting either patsy or i. >> crimes most talked about. new series. >> if you all let him out, he's going to kill her. >> true crime news . for the latest breaking crime news, go to true crime news.com and watch more exclusive content on our youtube channel. listen to our podcast and follow us at my true crime news. that's it for today's true crime news. i'm anna garcia. see y next time ever ne - [jim] the world is a challenging place for injured pets. i'm jim alaimo. i've spent 25 years helping humans walk again, and now my team and i do the same for animals. (upbeat music) - [owner 1] you wouldn't believe the transformation. - [owner 2] this is worth a million dollars. - [jim] every pet deserves a second chance.