Naman Shrestha
CBS’ ’48 Hours: The Black Swan Murder?’ and ABC’s ’20/20: The Pointe of No Return’ give the viewers a detailed account of the demise of Doug Benefield in 2020 and the investigation that ensued. The episode also comprises some information about his previous marriage to Renee Benefield, the mother of Eva Benefield. Although the cause of her death was pronounced officially soon after she passed away, doubts arose when Doug’s wife, Ashley, accused him of foul play.
Renee Benefield Gracefully Embraced Her Role as a Wife and a Mother
On September 19, 1959, in Columbia, South Carolina, William Douglas Cousar and Eve Witherspoon Blackwell Cousar gave birth to a little bundle of joy in the form of Renee Cousar Benefield. Growing up in a loving household, she had a memorable childhood, accompanied by her brother, Michael Cousar. After passing out from high school with flying colors, she went to Francis Marion University for higher studies. Her dream was to become a Speech Pathologist at Columbia College, South Carolina. As she grew up, she became religious and became an integral member of St. Andrews Episcopal Church.
In the late 1990s, she fell head over heels in love with a guy named Douglas Glass “Doug” Benefield. However, before she met him, she had been involved in a long relationship with another man with whom she shared two sons — Benjamin Michael Carnell and John William Carnell. Doug was also fresh off of a previous relationship. Finding each other at the right time, Doug and Renee decided to make their relationship official and became husband and wife on December 25, 1999.
The following year, they became parents together for the first time as Renee gave birth to a daughter whom they named Eva Suzanne Benefield. Not only was Renee described as a devoted wife, but she was also a doting mother to all three of her children. In the summer of 2012, she was filled with joy when her son Benjamin got married to the love of his life. Just a few years later, on December 2, 2015, when Eva returned to their Charleston, South Carolina, residence after going out for a while, she found her 56-year-old mother’s body and called 911. The authorities declared her dead.
Ashley Benefield Claimed Doug Was Involved in Renee’s Death
Nine months after Renee Benefield’s untimely death, Doug tied the knot with a 24-year-old woman named Ashley, just after knowing her for a couple of weeks. Over the next few years, their marriage went through many ups and downs. However, things got worse after Ashley became pregnant with their child in 2018 when the couple separated for a while. She accused her husband of being abusive and controlling in nature and claimed that he had tried to poison her.
Around the same time, when she dug deeper into Renee’s death, she learned that the 56-year-old woman was found face-down in bed, and the investigators had learned that the then-couple had been fighting at the time of her demise. So, Ashley also alleged that Doug poisoned Renee, which led to the heart condition that got her killed. Moreover, during the investigation of Renee’s death, Doug also claimed that she had been sick in the previous year and had fainted a couple of times too. After Ashley’s allegations, the authorities investigated the case again but could not find anything suspicious against Doug. Officially, as per her autopsy, Renee Benefield died of a heart condition called coronary artery sclerosis.
Read More: Eva Benefield: Where is Doug Benefield’s Daughter Now?
