A Nashville jury took less than three hours to convict former Tennessee Titans scout Blaise Taylor, 30, of killing his pregnant girlfriend and their unborn child.
Taylor was found guilty on July 1, 2026, on all four charges: second‑degree murder and first‑degree felony murder in the death of 25‑year‑old Jade Benning, and first‑degree premeditated murder and first‑degree felony murder in the death of the five‑month fetus she was carrying.
The jury returned its decision about two and a half hours after lawyers finished their closing arguments, and Taylor was taken into custody on the spot.
For more than two years, he had been out on a $2.5 million bond since his arrest in March 2024, but the judge revoked that bond immediately, according to News Channel 5.
On February 25, 2023, the couple’s date night turned deadly after Taylor called 911 around 9:38 pm, and told the dispatcher that Benning seemed to be having an allergic reaction.
“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,” he said in a recording played for jurors, as per PEOPLE.
When paramedics arrived at Benning’s Nashville apartment they found her without a pulse, face down across a bed.
She was rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical Center with severe brain damage, and her unborn baby had a dangerously low heart rate.
A doctor who treated her, Michael Olushoga, later testified that by all clinical signs she had already died by the time she reached the hospital, as per PEOPLE.
The couple’s daughter, whom the family planned to name Ivy, died two days later. Benning never regained the ability to speak with investigators and died on March 6, 2023 — her 25th birthday.
Medical examiners told the court that a fatal mix of a large amount of cocaine dissolved in alcohol caused Benning’s death.
Prosecutors argued that Taylor deliberately spiked her pink lemonade with that mixture because he did not want her to give birth to the child, who was believed to be his.
Homicide detective Adam Reese testified that it looked as if someone had cleaned up. He pointed to a photo taken earlier that night that showed a cup in front of Benning; but when police searched the apartment, that cup was gone.
“It’s not a spur‑of‑a‑moment type of thing to put drugs in someone’s beverage,” Reese said.
Benning’s best friend, Nijaiha Jackson, also testified about a phone call she overheard just before Benning became violently ill.
She said Benning told Taylor, “My drink tasted funny, I can’t even walk straight, you did this to do something to the baby.”
On the otherhand, Taylor’s defense team argued that Benning’s death was not an intentional poisoning but an overdose from her own drug use.
His lawyers questioned witnesses about her recreational use of marijuana and alcohol and highlighted a testimony that Benning did not directly refuse a marijuana gummy while pregnant.
They also suggested the crime scene may have been compromised when the mother of one of Benning’s friends entered the apartment and removed a comforter.
The woman, Stephanie Franklin, testified she took photos while wearing gloves and took the comforter because it had vomit on it.
“We were angry. Didn’t seem like anybody was doing anything,” she said, adding she would never intentionally interfere with an investigation.
Despite the argument from the defense, the Jury were not swayed, and they sentenced Taylor to life in prison with the possibility of parole, as reported by PEOPLE.
Under Tennessee law, he must serve 51 years before he can ask for release, which means he would be 81 years old. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty.
After the verdict, Taylor’s attorney Letitia Quinones‑Hollins said her client is innocent and that he didn't commit any crime.
“While we respect the jury system and the process, we must also respectfully disagree with today’s verdict and plan to appeal the decision because Blaise did not do this,” Quinones‑Hollins said in a statement. “He maintains that he is innocent and we will continue working to prove that. We understand and respect the pain that Ms. Benning’s family and friends feel over her tragic death and the death of her unborn baby, but putting an innocent man behind bars is also a tragedy.”
Taylor has 30 days to request a new trial, a motion that legal observers say will almost certainly be denied, and another 30 days after that to file an appeal with the state.
A ruling from the appellate court is not expected until at least late next year. In the meantime, he is being held alone in a restrictive housing unit at the Davidson County jail for his own safety and will soon be transferred to a state prison.
The case is not yet fully resolved: on September 9, 2026, Judge Steve Dozier will decide whether Taylor serves his sentences one after the other or at the same time.
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