Brooke Stangeland

Sep 12, 2024 | abcnews.go.com | Brooke Stangeland

The former ballerina spoke with "20/20" about the day she shot her husband. For the past four years, Ashley Benefield, who was arrested in 2020 on a murder charge connected to her husband’s death, has lived with the media moniker “Black Swan” – a label in stark contrast to the elegance of her former ballet career. Benefield, who admits she shot and killed her husband, denies prosecutors’ claims that she committed murder and says she was forced to defend herself due to his alleged abuse.

Apr 14, 2023 | abcnews.go.com | Brooke Stangeland |Meghan Mariani |Lexi Leib |Greta Morris |Ivan Pereira

It was a case that kept St. Paul, Minnesota, investigators up into the night – as they worked to bring justice to a family over 13 years. In the early morning of April 25, 2010, 911-dispatchers received a frantic call from Heidi Firkus, 25. "Someone's trying to break into my home," Heidi Firkus told the dispatcher in audio obtained by ABC News. The call ended abruptly with a loud noise. Just 65 seconds later, another call came in – this time from her husband, Nick Firkus, 27.

Apr 14, 2023 | abcnews.go.com | Brooke Stangeland |Ivan Pereira

Apr 13, 2023 | goodmorningamerica.com | Brooke Stangeland |Ivan Pereira

Feb 3, 2023 | abcnews.go.com | Paige Harriss |Brooke Stangeland |Ivan Pereira

“It was kill or be killed,” Nicole “Nikki” Addimando told ABC News, about the night she shot and killed her boyfriend, Christopher Grover, in the Poughkeepsie, New York apartment they shared with their two children back in 2017. Addimando is currently incarcerated at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, convicted of a crime, she says, she felt she had to commit in order to save her own life.