Man Convicted of Murdering His Girlfriend and Her Unborn Baby

On July 1, after less than three hours of deliberation, a Nashville jury found Blaise Taylor guilty of killing his pregnant girlfriend and their 24-week-old unborn child. Later that same day, the jury recommended a sentence of life in prison.

The 30-year-old Taylor was convicted of second-degree murder for the death of Jade Benning, first-degree premeditated murder for the death of her unborn child, and two counts of felony murder covering both deaths.

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“Prosecutors accused Blaise Taylor of poisoning Benning by allegedly spiking her pink lemonade with a deadly cocktail of cocaine and alcohol during a Feb. 2023 dinner at their Nashville-area home in an alleged attempt to induce an abortion,” Alex Byington reported.

Davidson County (Tenn.) medical examiner Dr. Erin Carney took the stand and testified Benning had high levels of cocaine in her system upon her death despite no history of illicit drug use.. … Blaise Taylor called 911 and initially told first responders his girlfriend appeared to be having an allergic reaction.

 According to Li Cohen of WSMV 

A close friend of Benning’s had been at their apartment earlier in the night. Right after the couple had painted the canvases and taken photos together showing off the artwork, that friend — who had known Benning since she was 6 years old — received a phone call from her lifelong friend.

During that call, she heard Benning yelling at Taylor.

“She was like, ‘I know you put something in my drink because I can’t even walk straight.’ She was just saying that she couldn’t feel her legs,” Nijaiha Jackson testified. “…You did this so something would happen to the baby.”

“Benning was clinically dead before an ambulance was able to get her to a hospital,” Cohen reported. “Her unborn daughter died within two days, and Benning was taken off life support a week after the incident, on what would have been her 25th birthday.”

Taylor was originally arrested in March 2024 in Logan, Utah, according to the New York Times.

A press release from Metro Nashville Police at the time said that the arrest came after “months of investigation” into the deaths of Benning and the child, with detectives believing he had poisoned Benning without her knowledge on Feb. 25, 2023.

Taylor’s scheduled for sentencing on September 9.