Naman Shrestha
The episode titled ‘Jade Benning’s Final Call’ of CBS’ ’48 Hours’ chronicles the tragic deaths of a 24-year-old professional chef named Jade Benning and her unborn daughter in Tennessee in late February 2023. As the detectives investigated the complicated homicide, a key witness statement and a phone call played key roles in the apprehension of the perpetrator. In the documentary, Jade’s family and friends are featured and recount their memories of her and how her passing affected them. It also features insightful interviews with officials who helped solve the case.
Jade Benning Died After Spending Days in a Nashville Hospital
The beloved daughter of Bridget Benning Burks and Dennis Browning — Jade Tristen Benning — was born on March 6, 1998, in Little Rock, Arkansas. Growing up, she was an athletic child and started cheerleading at age 7. After demonstrating her abilities at Cheer City United for a while, she served as the cheer captain at Horace Mann Middle School. While attending Little Rock Central High School, Jade also became the cheer captain of Junior Varsity (JV) and Varsity there. After graduating from high school in 2016, she pursued her passion for cooking by enrolling in Brightwater Culinary Arts. She then landed jobs at multiple restaurants and bakeries, including Head Pastry Chef at Mirabellas Table and Chef at Earnest Bar & Hideaway. Jade also started her catering business called JTB Eatery.
Besides cooking, Jade also loved traveling to new destinations and listening to music. She was in a romantic relationship with an NFL scout named Blaise Taylor. By early 2023, Jade’s life had begun to change as she was several months pregnant with her and Blaise’s daughter. She was reportedly looking forward to embracing motherhood, but her life was unfortunately cut short after what looked initially like an accident. On February 25, 2023, the professional chef was on a date night with Blaise at her Nashville apartment. A while later, around 9:38 pm, Blaise called 911 and sought medical assistance for Jade, who he claimed was having an allergic reaction.
During the 911 call, Blaise told the 911 dispatcher, “I don’t know. I think she’s having an allergic reaction. We were making cookies and painting, and she says she wasn’t feeling good. Now I’m going back to the room to check on her.” After the paramedics arrived, they rushed her to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she was initially declared dead on arrival. But after finding a pulse, Jade was placed on life support. Two days later, on February 27, her unborn daughter was pronounced dead. As her condition worsened, Jade Benning passed away on March 6, 2023 — her 25th birthday. The medical examiners reportedly found a large amount of cocaine and alcohol in her body and concluded the cause of her death was acute cocaine poisoning.
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Jade Benning’s Killer Poisoned Her During Their Date Night
Given the mysterious circumstances surrounding Jade Benning’s passing, the authorities had to be diligent in their investigation. In order to learn about the circumstances surrounding her death, the detectives spoke with her friends and family members. One of her best friends, Nijaiah Jackson, told the investigators that she had spoken with Jade on the phone moments before she was taken to the hospital. According to Nijaiah, she could be heard talking in the background, asking for help. Since Jade was with her boyfriend, Blaise Taylor, at the time, he became a person of interest. More suspicions arose when he moved out of Tennessee after Jade’s death. About a year later, on March 14, 2024, the police arrested Blaise after he was indicted on two counts of first-degree murder for poisoning Jade and their unborn daughter.
He was accused of spiking her pink lemonade with a deadly dose of cocaine on the date night because he didn’t want her to give birth to the child. The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and decided to take the case to court. In June 2026, Blaise’s murder trial got underway. During the trial, the prosecution told the jury that the defendant poisoned Jade’s drink with a lethal dose of cocaine. They called her childhood friend, Nijaiah Jackson, to the stand, and she recalled her telephone conversation with Jade. She testified, “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. You did this because you didn’t want the baby.’”
On the other hand, the defense argued that Jade died of an overdose caused by her own drug use. They claimed that the crime scene was supposedly compromised by Jade’s friends, who came to retrieve their belongings from her apartment. After nine days of testimony, on July 1, 2026, the jury found Blaise Taylor guilty of all four counts — second-degree murder of Jade Benning, first-degree murder of the unborn child, first-degree felony murder of Jade, and first-degree felony murder of the unborn child. A couple of months later, on September 9, the killer was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
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