“Black Swan” had a gun in her bra the night she met her husband, whom she killed 4 years later

• Ashley Benefield shot herself four times in her bedroom on September 27, 2020, hitting her estranged husband twice. Douglas Benefield died of his injuries later that night
• Investigators gathered evidence suggesting she shot him because she wanted to be a single mother. She claims she shot him in self-defense
• In the witness stand this summer, the former ballerina said she had boasted about owning several weapons

The couple met at an elegant political dinner in 2016 and the woman – later dubbed the “Black Swan” ballerina by the media – was carrying a gun in her bra.

Four years later, Ashley Benefield shot her estranged husband, Douglas Benefield, twice in their home in Bradenton, Florida.

On July 30, Ashley was found guilty of manslaughter, according to the verdict obtained by PEOPLE.

The sensational confession that she was carrying a gun the night she met him came in court testimony that will be broadcast on an upcoming show by 48 hours on CBS. (The two-hour “The Case of the Black Swan, Part 1 and Part 2” airs Saturday, September 7, from 9-11 p.m. ET/PT and will also stream on Paramount+.)

The statement was confirmed to PEOPLE by Chief Homicide Prosecutor Suzanne O'Donnell, who questioned the former dancer on the witness stand.

“You actually bragged about owning guns, right?” O'Donnell asked the defendant.

“Yes,” Ashley said.

O'Donnell followed up: “When you met Doug at a political event, did you have one of the guns in your bra?”

“Yes,” she replied. “I hide it and wear it.”

Since the evening of the Sept. 27, 2020, shooting, Ashley has claimed she shot her husband in self-defense, according to a transcript of the 911 call that was presented as evidence in the trial and obtained by PEOPLE.

Shortly before 7 p.m., her neighbor John Sant reported to the switchboard that she had come to his house “quite hysterical” and told him that her husband had “attacked her and she had shot him” while her mother and young daughter were playing in the park.

He added that she brought “the gun” with her.

According to the criminal complaint obtained by PEOPLE, emergency responders found Douglas on her bedroom floor with a gunshot wound to the leg, with a second bullet having “jumped across his right bicep” and “entered his chest from the right side.”

At 9 p.m. his death was confirmed

Detective Justin Warren said in the complaint that Ashley “suffered no injuries other than a small scratch on her right side,” which he described as “old and very minor.”

“Based on Douglas's bullet wounds, it does not appear that he was facing Ashley when she began shooting,” Warren wrote in the complaint. “Nor does it appear that Douglas was in any defensive or combative stance.”

Her estranged husband apparently fell to the ground after the shooting and hit his head on the wall “on the way down,” Warren said.

That night, police took Ashley to the station for questioning, where her lawyer was waiting for her. According to the complaint, she allegedly said that her “ears were still ringing.”

It was not the first time Ashley had sued her husband, Warren claimed in her lawsuit. She pointed out that “since Ashley found out she was pregnant,” she had filed “numerous cases,” all of which were dismissed as unfounded and none of which alleged domestic violence.

An online search of her name in Manatee County District Court records revealed four completed “domestic relations” cases filed between April 2018 and May 2020.

“Based on these cases and Ashley's actions leading up to the murder of Douglas Benefield, it appears that the primary purpose of these complaints was to keep the child away from Douglas,” Warren alleged in the complaint, noting that “in one of the most recent cases,” a judge “has openly communicated that she does not find any truth in Ashley's story.”

“At this time, it appears that Ashley had exhausted all legal means to keep the child away from Douglas prior to the shooting,” Warren added in the complaint.

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Sentencing is scheduled for October 22, and Ashley faces up to 30 years in prison. O'Donnell told PEOPLE she plans to seek the maximum sentence.

Ashley will return to court for a hearing before the verdict on Sept. 16. At the hearing, the judge will decide whether her defense attorneys – who have told PEOPLE there is “irrefutable evidence of juror misconduct” – will be allowed to question jurors about the issues in the trial in hopes of obtaining new evidence.

O'Donnell denies any wrongdoing in this case.

Neil G. Taylor, representing Ashley, expresses doubt that the district court will grant a retrial, but is “98 percent confident that the appeals court will do so.”

“At least in Manatee County – where politicians regularly campaign on the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms – you would be quite surprised how many women are armed every day,” Taylor added.

The two-hour broadcast of CBS' 48 Hours, “The Case of the Black Swan, Part 1 and Part 2,” will air Saturday, September 7, from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET/PT and will also stream on Paramount+.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or visit thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in more than 170 languages.