Eva Benefield, from Charleston, South Carolina, opened up about her father Doug Benefield's death on September 28, 2020, in a series of TikTok videos .Her stepmother, Ashley Benefield, now 30, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder five weeks after she fatally shot Doug, who was 59
Eva was 15 when her mother died unexpectedly of an underlying heart condition
Her father assured her he had no plans of remarrying, but nine months later, he fell for Ashley, a former professional ballerina and model
Doug was 54 and Ashley was 24 when they married 13 days after they met. They founded a ballet company together, and she became pregnant . Ashley then left Doug and returned to Florida, where she gave birth to their daughter without telling him, but they later reconciled
She told investigators that she shot Doug in self-defense during a 'domestic argument,' but detectives were unable to find evidence to support her claims
Ashley pleaded not guilty to the charges against her, and after spending a little over two weeks in jail, she was released on bond ahead of her trial next year
The case was the focus of a recent episode of CBS's 48 Hours that aired in June and featured an interview with Eva. A woman has opened up about how she was left an orphan after her father was fatally shot by her stepmother an ex-ballerina and model who was 30 years his junior amid their custody battle.
Eva Benefield, now 21, from Charleston, South Carolina, shared her version of events in a series of TikTok videos earlier this month, as she waits for her stepmother Ashley Benefield's impending trial.
The case was the focus of a recent episode of CBS's 48 Hours titled 'The Black Swan Murder?' which aired in June and featured an interview with Eva.
A few months later, Eva gave an abridged account of how her life was turned upside down in a now-viral TikTok video, which has been viewed 11.3 million times.
In a series of follow-up clips, she detailed how her father's whirlwind marriage to the former professional ballerina led to his death.
Doug, whose first marriage ended in divorce, was out of town for work when his second wife, Renee Cousar Benefield, died unexpectedly of an underlying heart condition. Eva, then 15, was the one who found her mother dead. 'That was the start of a lot of trauma,' she said.
Eva explained that her father had assured her he was never going to get married again, but he wed Ashley less than a year later.
Doug was 54 and Ashley was 24 when they met at Ben Carson's home in Palm Beach, Florida, in August 2016, while she was campaigning for then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Despite their 30-year age gap, they hit it off.
They shared Republican views, a belief in God, and a passion for the Second Amendment, Vanity Fair reported last year. Just 13 days later, they got married without telling Eva.