A judge handed former Arkansas State star and ex‑Titans scout Blaise Taylor consecutive life terms Wednesday after a jury found him guilty of poisoning his pregnant girlfriend, killing both her and their unborn child.
Taylor, who denied the charges in June, was found guilty of second‑degree murder, first‑degree murder and two counts of first‑degree felony murder. Prosecutors said he slipped a lethal cocaine dose into Jade Benning’s drink on Feb. 25, 2023, when she was five months pregnant. The fetus died two days later, and Benning succumbed to acute cocaine poisoning on March 6, her 25th birthday.
At sentencing, Nashville ADA Jan Norman highlighted that none of the 87 character letters mentioned Jade Benning, baby Ivy, or Taylor’s alleged crime.
Taylor shone as an Arkansas State defensive back from 2014‑2017, captaining the squad and earning first‑team All‑Sun Belt honors before joining the Titans’ scouting staff. He left the NFL in 2023 for a senior analyst role at Utah State, spent a year there, then moved to Texas A&M, only to be arrested less than a week after the hire was announced. In my view, his rapid descent underscores how personal failings can erase professional promise.