A Nashville jury convicted former Tennessee Titans scout Blaise Taylor on July 1, 2026, in the deaths of his pregnant girlfriend, Jade Benning, and their unborn daughter. The verdict came after an eight-day trial in Davidson County Criminal Court, where prosecutors argued Taylor poisoned Benning’s drink with cocaine because he did not want to become a father, while the defense insisted Benning’s own history of drug use led to an accidental overdose.
Jurors deliberated for roughly three hours before returning guilty verdicts on all four counts: second-degree murder in Benning’s death, first-degree premeditated murder of her unborn child, and two counts of felony murder. The jury also recommended a life sentence. Taylor, 30, a former Arkansas State defensive back who spent four years scouting for the Titans, is set to be formally sentenced on September 9, when a judge will decide whether his sentences run concurrently or consecutively.
Who Was Jade Benning?
Jade Benning grew up in Tennessee, where she discovered an early love of cheerleading, training from the age of seven before rising to captain of both the junior varsity and varsity squads at Central High School. Friends and coaches remembered her as disciplined and quietly driven, someone who chased her goals without seeking the spotlight.
After graduating from Brightwater Culinary Arts in 2020, Benning built a career in Nashville’s restaurant scene. She worked as head pastry chef at Mirabellas Table before moving on to a chef role at Earnest Bar & Hideaway, earning a reputation among colleagues for her dedication to the craft.
Her obituary described her as a woman with a “smile that would light up the room and a heart that loved everyone,” recalling her passions for music, tattoos, and Netflix nights with friends and family. That warmth stood in sharp contrast to the criminal case that would come to define her final months.
How Did Jade Benning Die?
Benning’s relationship with Blaise Taylor, then a Titans scout, turned into the center of a criminal investigation after she was hospitalized in February 2023.
According to prosecutors, Taylor visited Benning on the evening of February 25, 2023 — a “date night,” in the state’s telling — and laced her pink lemonade with cocaine dissolved in alcohol. A friend of Benning’s, Nijaiha Jackson, testified that Benning called her that night and said she believed she had been drugged. Taylor then called 911, telling dispatchers Benning was having an “allergic reaction.”
Paramedics rushed Benning, then five months pregnant, to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Her condition deteriorated rapidly. The unborn child — a girl prosecutors say Taylor had fathered — died on February 27, 2023. Benning never recovered; she died on March 6, 2023, her 25th birthday, without ever regaining the ability to speak with investigators.
What Evidence Did Prosecutors Present?
Toxicology testimony was central to the trial. Experts told jurors that cocaine, fentanyl, and other substances were detected on a comforter from the scene and in blood and vomit samples, and that cocaethylene — a compound formed when cocaine and alcohol are consumed together — was present in Benning’s system before hospital treatment began, ruling out medical intervention as the source.
Prosecutor Norman told jurors Benning “did not want to harm herself or her baby,” pushing back directly against the defense’s overdose theory.
What Did the Defense Argue?
Taylor’s attorney, Letitia Quinones-Hollins, told the jury Benning was the only person involved with drugs that night, arguing an overdose — not homicide — caused her death. She also questioned the prosecution’s timeline, noting Taylor would have had only a few hours to plan the alleged poisoning, and pointed to testimony from Davidson County Medical Examiner Dr. Erin Carney, who could not definitively determine the manner of death.
Taylor, who was arrested in Utah in March 2024 and later released on a $2.5 million bond with GPS monitoring, did not testify in his own defense and maintained his innocence throughout the trial.
The Verdict and What Comes Next
The jury’s unanimous guilty verdicts on July 1, 2026, followed seven days of testimony and closing arguments on the trial’s eighth day. Benning’s family delivered emotional victim-impact statements after the verdict, with her aunt, Brandi Moran, describing the toll on Benning’s mother, Bridgette Burks, who also addressed the court directly.
Taylor’s family maintains his innocence and has said it plans to appeal. Prosecutors had sought life in prison without parole; the jury ultimately recommended life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for September 9, 2026.
Key Takeaways
- Blaise Taylor, 30, a former Tennessee Titans scout, was found guilty on four murder counts on July 1, 2026.
- Prosecutors said he laced Jade Benning’s pink lemonade with cocaine on February 25, 2023, because he didn’t want to become a father.
- Benning’s unborn daughter died February 27, 2023; Benning died March 6, 2023, on her 25th birthday.
- The jury deliberated under three hours before convicting Taylor and recommending a life sentence.
- Taylor’s defense argued Benning accidentally overdosed; the defense plans to appeal the verdict.
- Sentencing is scheduled for September 9, 2026.
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