Former Arkansas State football player Blaise Taylor is on trial for double murder after prosecutors alleged he poisoned his pregnant girlfriend, Jade Benning, with a lethal dose of cocaine in February 2023.
Benning, who was five months pregnant, had previously texted friends about Taylor pressuring her to have an abortion and his reluctance to become a father.
Prosecutors say Taylor gave her the drug in a drink at her Nashville apartment, then misled 911 operators by claiming she was suffering an allergic reaction.
Benning was found unresponsive by EMTs and later died on March 6, her 25th birthday. Her unborn daughter, Ivy, died days earlier in the hospital.
A medical examiner testified that Benning’s blood contained extraordinarily high levels of cocaine far beyond anything she had seen in hundreds of prior cases and suggested the drug was administered without her knowledge.
Cocaine toxicity was determined to be the cause of Benning’s death, while the baby’s death was linked to placental abruption, a known risk of cocaine use during pregnancy.
Taylor, who has pleaded not guilty, faces life in prison without parole if convicted. Prosecutors argue his unwillingness to embrace fatherhood motivated the crime, while his defense claims he had tried to reconcile with Benning before her death.
The case has drawn attention not only for its tragic circumstances but also for the chilling evidence presented in court, including Benning’s texts and the medical examiner’s testimony about the rare and extreme level of cocaine in her system.
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