A former college football player turned NFL scout has been charged with two counts of first degree murder in the poisoning deaths of his girlfriend and their 5-month-old fetus last year.
Jade Benning, 25, died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center on March 6, 2023, after she was rushed there by ambulance on February 25, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said. The unborn fetus died on February 27.
Blaise A. Taylor, 27, was arrested this week in Utah, where he moved after the deaths. He was arrested by U.S. Marshals after a Nashville grand jury indicted him.
Police said that Taylor called 911 on the evening of February 25, saying that Benning appeared t be having an allergic reaction to something. Her condition became critical, and she never recovered enough to speak with investigators.
Nashville police spent months investigating the deaths, “involving scientists from crime laboratories and doctors from the Medical Examiner’s Office,” before bringing their findings to the grand jury on Wednesday. They allege that Taylor poisoned Benning on the night of February 25.
Nashville police are working with Utah authorities to extradite Taylor to Tennessee for trial.
When in Tennessee, Taylor reportedly worked for the Tennessee Titans, but took a position as senior defensive analyst at Utah State University last summer. The school told Law&Crime that he had resigned on March 1 “for another institution.” According to KBTX, the former Arkansas State University player was now working for the Texas A&M University athletic department. Taylor’s father, Trooper Taylor, is an assistant coach at Texas A&M.
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[Featured image: Arkansas State’s Blaise Taylor (1) drops a Nebraska punt, but recovers it before running downfield for a touchdown, during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Lincoln, Neb., Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)]
