Former Defensive Back and NFL Scout Blaise Taylor Convicted of Murdering Girlfriend, Unborn Child

A Tennessee jury has convicted former NFL scout and college football player Blaise Taylor of murdering his pregnant girlfriend and their unborn child, bringing one of the sport's most disturbing criminal cases to a verdict.

The conviction follows prosecutors' claims that Taylor deliberately poisoned Jade Benning with cocaine, leaving her unable to recover after she was rushed to the hospital in February 2023.

Jury Delivers Guilty Verdict

Taylor, a former defensive back at Arkansas State University and an ex-scout for the Tennessee Titans, was found guilty on Wednesday in a Nashville courtroom. Jurors recommended he receive a life sentence, with formal sentencing scheduled for 9 September.

The 30-year-old was convicted on four counts, including second-degree murder in Benning's death, first-degree murder of her unborn child, first-degree felony murder of Benning and first-degree felony murder of the unborn child.

The verdict closes the trial phase of a case that has drawn sustained attention in Tennessee because of Taylor's football career and the allegations surrounding Benning's death. Prosecutors argued that the fatal poisoning was not an accident but a calculated act against both a young woman and her five-month-old unborn baby.

Prosecutors Said Cocaine Was Put Into Pink Lemonade

According to prosecutors, Taylor poisoned Benning's pink lemonade with cocaine in February 2023.

On 25 February 2023, Taylor called 911, telling emergency responders that Benning appeared to be suffering from an allergic reaction. She was taken to the hospital, where her condition rapidly deteriorated.

Benning never recovered sufficiently to speak with investigators. She died on 6 March 2023, which was also her 25th birthday. Her unborn child, a five-month-old fetus that authorities believe Taylor had fathered, died on 27 February 2023.

Investigators argued that the emergency call masked the true cause of Benning's collapse, while prosecutors maintained the evidence showed the cocaine had been administered deliberately rather than accidentally.

Taylor was arrested in 2024 after investigators completed their inquiry into the deaths.

Football Career Overshadowed by Criminal Conviction

Before his arrest, Taylor had built a career in American football that extended from collegiate competition into the professional ranks.

He spent four seasons as a starting defensive back at Arkansas State between 2014 and 2017, serving as a team captain and earning First-Team All-Sun Belt honours as both a defensive back and a punt returner. Those achievements helped establish him as one of the programme's standout players during his time with the Red Wolves.

After graduating, Taylor joined the Tennessee Titans' scouting department, where he worked for four years evaluating talent for the NFL franchise.

He later accepted a role as a defensive analyst at the University of Utah. He remained in that position until his arrest in 2024, when the murder investigation abruptly ended his coaching career.

Sentencing Still to Come

Although the jury has recommended a life sentence, the court will formally sentence Taylor on 9 September.

The convictions mark the latest chapter in a case closely followed across the American football community, where Taylor had been regarded as a rising figure in coaching and scouting before the allegations emerged.

For Benning's family, however, the football connections have never been the defining issue. The case has centred on the loss of a 25-year-old woman and her unborn child, whose deaths prosecutors argued resulted from a deliberate act rather than a medical emergency.

With the guilty verdict now returned, the focus shifts from determining criminal responsibility to the punishment Taylor will receive at sentencing later this year.