Speaker 1: Crime Alert. I'm Drew Nelson breaking crime news now. A
Speaker 1: Florida pastor faces the death penalty for charges of photographing
Speaker 1: himself raping a very young girl two years old. Jonathan
Speaker 1: Elwing is forty three. He is charged with multiple child
Speaker 1: sex offenses, including two capital felonies for sexual battery of
Speaker 1: a minor. The pastor's arrest shocked the Palm View Baptist
Speaker 1: Church congregation in Palmeadow, Florida, where he served for five years.
Speaker 1: Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells labeled Elwing quote a monster
Speaker 1: for his actions. Initially charged with possessing child pornography, further
Speaker 1: investigation found at least fourteen images of him abusing the
Speaker 1: young girl on his cell phone. Detectives discovered eight covert
Speaker 1: cameras in Elwing's church office and two more at his home.
Speaker 1: Elwing is held without bond at Manatee County Jail. The
Speaker 1: pastor could receive a life sentence without parole or the
Speaker 1: death penalty under a twenty twenty three Florida law for
Speaker 1: sexual battery of a child under age twelve. The church
Speaker 1: is cooperating with the investigation. They are urging members to
Speaker 1: report any relevant information to the authorities. Pastor Ryan Akers
Speaker 1: expressed horror at the allegations and emphasized his support for
Speaker 1: Elwing's family. During this time, Elwing admitted to purchasing adult
Speaker 1: pornography and claimed he deletes any child sex abuse material
Speaker 1: that might be mixed in. Detectives received a tip about
Speaker 1: Elwing using cryptocurrency to buy child sexual abuse material, leading
Speaker 1: to a search of his home and the church. Elwing
Speaker 1: resigned from his position at the church before his arrest.
Speaker 1: Detectives are continuing to examine Elwing's cell phone and expect
Speaker 1: to find more illegal material on his computer, with more
Speaker 1: charges potentially forthcoming up next, a woman allegedly kills her
Speaker 1: husband so she can become a single mom. More crime,
Speaker 1: I'm injustice news after this. A woman is on trial
Speaker 1: for the murder of her husband in September of twenty twenty.
Speaker 1: Amidst the court battle, prosecutors claim Ashley Benifield, aged thirty two,
Speaker 1: killed her husband, Douglas Bennifield, aged fifty nine, to become
Speaker 1: a single mother to their young daughter. Benifield admits the shooting,
Speaker 1: but argues it was in self defense after years of
Speaker 1: alleged abuse. Prosecutors counter that Doug was shot while facing away,
Speaker 1: indicating the act was premeditated. The marriage between Doug and
Speaker 1: Ashley was troubled. They had a thirty year age difference.
Speaker 1: They met at a twenty sixteen Republican fundraiser and married
Speaker 1: two weeks later. Dougs a Navy veteran and a wealthy
Speaker 1: technology consultant. He funded Ashley's establishment of a ballet company.
Speaker 1: Then their relationship deteriorated, leading to a contentious divorce and
Speaker 1: allegations of infidelity and abuseh earlier filed multiple abuse allegations
Speaker 1: against Doug, but a judge found no evidence of abuse.
Speaker 1: In court, text messages between Doug and Ashley are highlighted
Speaker 1: as the prosecution wraps up its case. Text messages between
Speaker 1: Doug and Ashley are highlighted in court as the prosecution
Speaker 1: wrapped up its case yesterday, messages that had been exchanged
Speaker 1: as they prepared to move from Florida to Maryland. The
Speaker 1: last text message was five thirty two pm on September
Speaker 1: twenty seventh of twenty twenty. Shortly after that, Ashley claims
Speaker 1: she shot Doug in self defense after he attacked her.
Speaker 1: Ashley's defense attorney states that she was searching for ways
Speaker 1: to get along with an abusive ex spouse, but the
Speaker 1: judge denied these searches as hearsay. A crime lab analyst
Speaker 1: testified there was no evidence of gunshot residue on Doug's shirt,
Speaker 1: suggesting he may not have been at close range when
Speaker 1: he was shot. The prosecution rested their case after the
Speaker 1: analyst's testimony. The defense started its case earlier today. The
Speaker 1: trial is expected to last over two weeks. The FBI
Speaker 1: offers a reward of fifteen thousand dollars for information leading
Speaker 1: to the return of a boy named Elijah vu amidst
Speaker 1: the circumstances of the disappearance. The boy's mother, Katrina Bower,
Speaker 1: has a plea hearing set for August fifth. Elijah View
Speaker 1: is three. He was last seen wearing gray pants, a
Speaker 1: long sleeved dark colored shirt, and red and green dinosaur
Speaker 1: slip on shoes. He might also be carrying a red
Speaker 1: and white blanket. He disappeared February twentieth of this year.
Speaker 1: Bower is facing charges of chronic child neglect and obstructing
Speaker 1: an officer. She's been in police custody for about five months,
Speaker 1: arrested just days after Elijah's disappearance. She's pleaded not guilty
Speaker 1: to the charges. Police found a deleted picture on Bower's
Speaker 1: phone showing Elijah blindfolded on a bed with apparent bruises
Speaker 1: on his jaw, neck, and arm inside her boyfriend's apartment.
Speaker 1: Elijah Vieu has dark blonde hair and brown eyes. He's
Speaker 1: about three feet tall, three years old of munged. If
Speaker 1: you have any information about Elijah Vie, please contact Two
Speaker 1: Rivers Police or your local FBI office. You can also
Speaker 1: submit a tip online at tips dot FBI dot gov.
Speaker 1: For the latest crime injustice news, go to crimeonline dot
Speaker 1: com and follow crime stories with Nancy Grace on your
Speaker 1: favorite podcast app with this crime alert. I'm Drew Nelson.