A Nashville jury convicted former Arkansas State football player and Tennessee Titans scout Blaise Taylor on Wednesday of poisoning his pregnant girlfriend in 2023, killing both her and their unborn child.
Taylor, who pleaded not guilty in the case, was convicted on one count of second-degree murder, one count of first-degree murder and two counts of first-degree felony murder. The jury deliberated for just over two hours before rendering its decision, and unanimously sentenced him to life in prison. He must serve at least 51 years before being eligible for parole.
Prosecutors argued Taylor, 30, intentionally poisoned Jade Benning on Feb. 25, 2023, by spiking her drink with a fatal dose of cocaine. Benning was five months pregnant at the time, police said. Prosecutors argued Taylor did not want her to have the child, but Benning refused to have an abortion.
The unborn fetus died two days later, on Feb. 27, and Benning died of acute cocaine poisoning on March 6, her 25th birthday. She was unable to speak with investigators before her death. One of her friends, Nijaiha Deshay Jackson, testified that Benning called her the night of the poisoning, however, repeatedly accusing Taylor of putting something in her drink and saying he was scaring her.
“‘I knew my drink tasted funny. I know you put something in my drink because I can’t even walk,’” Jackson recalled Benning saying. “She said, ‘You did this so something could happen to the baby.’”
Following Taylor’s conviction, his attorney, Joshua Brand, asked the jury to show leniency.
“You don’t have to give him life without the possibility of parole,” Brand said. “… You can give him the opportunity to try for rehabilitation. You can give him the opportunity to work hard in prison. He’s not going anywhere.”
Brand was not available for comment.
As a defensive back at Arkansas State from 2014 through 2017, Taylor served as a team captain and was a first-team All-Sun Belt defender. He later worked in the Titans’ scouting department until 2023, when he left to join Utah State as a senior defensive analyst. He spent one year with USU, then took a job as a defensive analyst at Texas A&M, but was arrested less than a week after his hiring was first reported.
