Naman Shrestha
When a 24-year-old professional chef named Jade Benning, who was several months pregnant, died under mysterious circumstances in March 2023 at a Nashville hospital, grief took over her family and friends. Meanwhile, as the detectives talked to her friends, suspicions arose about her then-boyfriend, Blaise Taylor, a former football player at Arkansas State University, who was with Jade when she was rushed to the hospital. CBS’ ’48 Hours: Jade Benning’s Final Call’ delves deep into the case and how the investigators gathered evidence against Blaise, who was apprehended nearly a year later.
Blaise Taylor Poisoned Pregnant Jade Benning During Their Date Night
Born on March 22, 1996, to Evelyn and Trooper Taylor, Blaise Allen Taylor developed a passion for football at a young age, beginning his career at Auburn High School in Alabama. After graduating from high school, he attended Arkansas State University, where he played defensive back and served as team captain from 2014 to 2017. Blaise was named Second Team All-Sun Belt as a return specialist two times. The star athlete then worked as a defensive coach at Duke University before serving as a scout for the Tennessee Titans for four years. In 2023, he switched to Utah State University, where he served as a senior defensive analyst.
At the time, Blaise was dating a professional chef named Jade Benning, who was several months pregnant with their daughter by early 2023. On February 25, 2023, the couple met at her townhome in the 1500 block of Lebanon Pike in Nashville, Tennessee, for a date night. It is alleged that the Tennessee Titans scout didn’t want to take on the responsibility of being a father, which is why he spiked Jade’s pink lemonade drink with a fatal dose of cocaine. Around 9:38 pm that night, Blaise called 911 and told the dispatcher that his pregnant girlfriend was having what seemed to be an allergic reaction and needed medical assistance. Although she was rushed to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, her unborn daughter died two days later.
Several days later, on her 25th birthday, on March 6, 2023, Jade also passed away from acute cocaine poisoning. Following the deaths, Blaise reportedly relocated to Utah. By March 6, 2024, he was reportedly hired as a scout at Texas A&M University, where his father was a football coach. About a week later, he was indicted by a Nashville grand jury on two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the killings of Jade Benning and her unborn child. On March 14, 2024, he was arrested in Cache County, Utah, by Deputy US Marshals. 12 days later, he was extradited back to Nashville, where he was held without bond awaiting trial.
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After Blaise Taylor pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, his murder trial commenced in June 2026. The prosecution told the jurors that the defendant poisoned Jade Benning’s drink on the night of February 25, 2023, because he didn’t want her to give birth to their child. One of Jade’s best friends, Nijaiha Jackson, also testified against Blaise, claiming that Jade had called her in a state of panic on the fateful night. “She immediately starts saying, ‘What did you do? What did you put in my drink?’ Then I heard her say, ‘Blaise, you’re scaring me.’ He said, ‘You’re scaring me.’ And she was like, ‘I know you put something in my drink…I knew my drink tasted funny,’” Nijaiha testified.
After seven days of testimony and closing arguments on the eighth day, the jury deliberated for approximately three hours before reaching the final verdict on July 1, 2026. Blaise Taylor was convicted of one count of second-degree murder for Jade’s death, one count of first-degree premeditated murder for the unborn child’s death, and two counts of felony murder for both killings. The mother of the former Tennessee Titans scout, Evelyn Taylor, took the stand and spoke about Blaise. She said, “A lot of parents would come to me and tell me how much respect they had for him. He was a good student in the classroom and in sports. He was the type of boy they wanted their children to hang around. He never got into any trouble. He was very respectful.”
Two months later, on September 9, 2026, his sentencing hearing took place. Jade’s mother, Bridget Burks, took the stand and gave an emotional victim impact statement. She stated, “What haunts me most is knowing Jade was aware something was wrong. She knew she was losing control of her body, and before help arrived, she knew something terrible had been done to her and her baby. What makes the loss even harder to bear is that Jade believed she was safe. She trusted the person responsible…No parent should have to imagine their child spending their final moments in fear and betrayal from the person she trusted.”
In the end, Blaise was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 22 years to be served alongside. Upon the announcement of his sentence, his attorney stated: “We are extremely disappointed but not surprised by the harsh sentence. This was a flawed trial of a tenuous case, and we will appeal and look forward to doing so.” Currently, the 30-year-old killer is incarcerated at Bledsoe County Correctional Complex in Pikeville, Tennessee.
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