Son of former Tennessee Vols assistant coach is currently on trial for murder
The son of former Tennessee Volunteers assistant coach is currently standing trial on charges that he murdered his pregnant girlfriend.
The son of a former Tennessee Vols assistant coach is standing trial this week on charges that he murdered his pregnant girlfriend.
Blaise Taylor, a former Titans scout who is the son of former Vols assistant coach Trooper Taylor, was arrested in 2024 on suspicion that he murdered his pregnant girlfriend.
The charges allege that Taylor poisoned his girlfriend, Jade Benning, by spiking pink lemonade with cocaine dissolved in alcohol.
According to NBC, the evidence presented on Friday “included testimony from a medical examiner that Benning had high levels of cocaine in her system and no history of cocaine use.”
Here’s the original report on the indictment of Taylor.
From Nashville.gov: Deputy United States Marshals, at the request of the MNPD, this evening arrested Blaise A. Taylor, 27, in Utah on a Nashville grand jury indictment charging him with two counts of first-degree murder for the poisoning deaths of his girlfriend and her five-month-old fetus which Taylor is alleged to have fathered.
Jade Benning died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center on March 6, 2023, her 25th birthday. She was rushed to the hospital by ambulance on the night of February 25, 2023, after Taylor telephoned 911 at 9:38 p.m., said Benning appeared to be having an allergic reaction, and asked for paramedics. Benning’s medical condition immediately became critical. Her unborn fetus died on February 27, 2023. Benning was not able to be interviewed by police before she died.
Months of investigation, led by Homicide Unit Detective Adam Reese and involving scientists from crime laboratories and doctors from the Medical Examiner’s Office, led to Wednesday’s return of the murder indictment against Taylor. He is alleged to have poisoned Benning without her knowledge while visiting her Lebanon Pike apartment on the night of February 25.
Taylor played college football at Arkansas State from 2014 to 2017. He served as a graduate assistant at Duke in 2018 and 2019 under former Tennessee offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe. Taylor also spent time working with the Tennessee Titans before landing at Utah State as senior defensive analyst in 2023. He was set to join Texas A&M’s staff as a defensive analyst for the 2024 season before getting arrested.
Trooper Taylor served as an assistant coach at Tennessee from 2004 to 2007. He’s currently the running backs coach at Texas A&M.