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Convicted
Jade Benning
Sentenced girlfriend
On the night of February 25, 2023, former Tennessee Titans scout Blaise Allen Taylor visited his pregnant girlfriend, 25-year-old chef Jade Tristen Benning, at her Nashville apartment. At approximately 9:38 PM, Taylor placed a 911 call claiming that Benning was suffering from an acute allergic reaction. Benning was rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in critical condition. Her five-month-old unborn daughter, Ivy Blair, died two days later on February 27, 2023. Jade Benning never recovered and passed away on March 6, 2023—her 25th birthday. Following a year-long investigation by the Nashville Police Department's Homicide Unit, authorities determined that Benning had been secretly poisoned with a lethal dose of cocaine. Investigators uncovered that Taylor had fathered the unborn child and did not want the baby, demanding that the pregnancy remain a secret. In March 2024, a Davidson County grand jury indicted Taylor on first-degree murder charges. He was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Utah, where he had relocated for a coaching job, and was extradited back to Tennessee. On July 1, 2026, a Davidson County jury convicted Taylor of the second-degree murder of Benning and the first-degree premeditated murder of their unborn child, resulting in a life sentence.
Warning signs: Pregnancy
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