Blaise Taylor, a former Tennessee Titans assistant football scout, received two consecutive life sentences after a jury convicted him of murdering Nashville chef Jade Benning and her unborn child, CBS News reported. The trial took place in June 2026.
Jurors found Taylor guilty on four counts: Benning's second-degree murder, the premeditated first-degree murder of her unborn child and two felony-murder charges. According to CBS's Nov. 1 report, his lawyers and family are working on an appeal.
Benning was 24 and nearly six months pregnant when she collapsed during a date with Taylor at her apartment on Feb. 25, 2023. Taylor called 911 after briefly speaking with his father. Benning remained on life support until March 6, her 25th birthday.
Prosecutors argued that Taylor put cocaine into Benning's drink to kill the baby. A central witness was her friend Nijaiha Jackson, who testified that Benning accused Taylor of putting something in her drink during a phone call. The call was not recorded, and defense lawyers challenged Jackson's recollection.
An autopsy attributed Benning's death to acute cocaine toxicity from ingestion, but the medical examiner could not determine the manner of death. CBS reported that investigators found no evidence Taylor bought drugs and detected none in drinks collected from the apartment.
The defense also questioned the handling of evidence after Jackson and friends entered the apartment before police secured it, moving a camera and removing a comforter. Taylor's lawyers maintain he is innocent. Benning's mother, Bridget Benning Burks, described the verdict as a relief.