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Case file

Jade Benning case file and memorial story

This documented case file remembers Jade Benning while organizing the public record, timeline, and reporting context surrounding the case in Nashville, Tennessee.

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.

Jade Benning
Resolved case
Convicted
Nashville, Tennessee • March 6, 2023 • Girlfriend
intimate partner homicide domestic violence fatality Feticide / Murder of Unborn Child Poisoning / Drug-Facilitated Homicide Reproductive Coercion / Pregnancy-Related Violence Nashville Tennessee Davidson County Case No. 2024-A-490

How to use this case file

Readers often arrive looking for the victim name, the case, the person charged, or the location. This page is meant to help you understand the memorial story, the documented timeline, and the public record available so far in one place.

Browse the full case archive, explore the warning signs index, see the cross-case timeline, or find domestic violence support resources.

Victim summary

This summary layer helps readers understand the person, the known case posture, and the documentary shape of the file before moving into the fuller reporting.

Case snapshot

  • Victim: Jade Benning
  • Age: 25
  • Gender: Female
  • Race / ethnicity: Mixed
  • Relationship: Girlfriend
  • Offender: Blaise Taylor

Location and dates

  • City: Nashville
  • County: Davidson
  • State: Tennessee
  • Incident date: February 25, 2023
  • Date of death: March 6, 2023

Case status and outcome

This section summarizes the documented court posture and procedural outcome reflected in the public record.

Status

  • Case status: Sentenced
  • Conviction status: Convicted
  • Source strength: 6 linked sources

Charges and sentencing

Charges: murder

Sentence: GUILTY – Second-degree murder (mother) GUILTY – First-degree pre-meditated murder (baby) GUILTY – First-degree felony murder during the commission of a felony (mother) GUILTY – First-degree felony murder during the commission of a felony (baby)

Court monitoring

This section reflects core court-tracking details only when they are available in the public case record.

Docket information

  • Case status: Sentenced

Warning signs and risk factors

These markers help readers connect a single case to broader patterns of coercive control, escalating abuse, and missed intervention points.

Life, memory, and case context

Jade Tristen Benning was a vibrant and exceptionally talented 25-year-old chef, pastry chef, and entrepreneur who was deeply loved by her family and friends. Originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, Jade graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 2016, where she was a popular student and served as a captain of her cheerleading squads. Following her passion for the culinary arts, she graduated from Brightwater Culinary Arts in 2020 and quickly built a successful professional life in Nashville, Tennessee. She worked as the head pastry chef at Mirabella's Table, a chef at Earnest Bar & Hideaway, and operated her own catering business, JTB Eatery. Described as possessing a bright, warm spirit and an infectious smile, Jade was five months pregnant and filled with joy at the prospect of becoming a mother, having already chosen the name Ivy Blair for her unborn daughter.

Fatal incident and reported circumstances

On February 25, 2023, Blaise Taylor went to Jade Benning's Nashville apartment. At some point during the evening, prosecutors established that Taylor secretly spiked a cup of pink lemonade with a massive, lethal dose of cocaine dissolved in alcohol. Shortly after drinking it, Benning began experiencing severe, terrifying symptoms. While Taylor was in the apartment, Benning made a desperate phone call to her childhood best friend, Nijaiha Jackson, crying out that she could not feel her legs and could not walk. Over the phone, Jackson heard Benning directly confront Taylor, demanding to know what he had put in her drink and accusing him of trying to harm her baby. Taylor then took the phone from Benning. At 9:38 PM, Taylor dialed 911, misleading dispatchers by reporting that Benning was having an allergic reaction. Benning was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she suffered cardiac arrest and brain damage. Unborn baby Ivy died on February 27, and Jade passed away on March 6, 2023, after being removed from life support on her 25th birthday.

Aftermath and case developments

Following a meticulous, year-long investigation, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department arrested Blaise Taylor on March 14, 2024, in Logan, Utah, where he had taken a job as a football analyst for Utah State University. He was extradited back to Davidson County, Tennessee, and booked into jail under Case No. 2024-A-490. His trial began in late June 2026 under Judge Steve Dozier. The prosecution presented testimony from Jade's best friend regarding her final call, digital evidence showing Taylor's insistence on keeping the pregnancy a secret, and toxicology reports proving a lethal concentration of cocaine in her system. The defense, led by attorney Joshua Brand, argued that the death was an accidental recreational overdose, emphasizing that the cup Jade drank from was never found or tested, and pointing out that the medical examiner's manner of death was officially "undetermined." On July 1, 2026, the jury rejected the defense's arguments and found Taylor guilty on all counts, including the first-degree premeditated murder of baby Ivy and the second-degree murder of Jade Benning. The jury subsequently sentenced Taylor to life in prison.

Prevention context

During the trial, testimony revealed that Blaise Taylor did not want the baby and strongly insisted that Jade keep her pregnancy a complete secret from everyone in her life. In relationships, when one partner demands that a pregnancy be kept hidden or refuses to acknowledge it, this can be a serious warning sign of control or danger. While we cannot know exactly what happened behind closed doors, keeping a pregnancy hidden can act as a dangerous barrier that stops family and friends from knowing when a pregnant woman is in trouble or needs protection.

Court records and public filings

Public filings, police reports, court dockets, and related records help establish what is documented, what remains disputed, and where warnings were recorded.

Court Filing

Blaise Taylor sentenced to life in prison, but will appeal

Blaise Taylor sentenced to life in prison, but will appeal News Channel 5 Nashville

Blaise Taylor sentenced to life in prison, but will appeal
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