Ex-Tennessee Titans scout Blaise Taylor charged after deaths of girlfriend, unborn child

Blaise A. Taylor, a former Arkansas State football player and Tennessee Titans scout, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder after the poisoning deaths last year of his girlfriend and her unborn baby.

Taylor, 27, was arrested by United States Marshals in Utah this week after a Nashville grand jury returned an indictment against him Wednesday.

The charges against Taylor stem from Feb. 25, 2023, when Taylor called 911 at 9:38 p.m. to report that his girlfriend, Jade Benning, 25, appeared to be having an allergic reaction and asked for paramedics, Metro Nashville police said.

Benning was rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she remained hospitalized until her death a little more than a week later, on March 6. The unborn child died on Feb. 27.

Investigators said they were unable to interview Benning before her death.

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After months of investigation by police, crime lab scientists and the medical examiner, it was determined that Benning had been "poisoned without her knowledge," after Taylor visited her apartment, police said in a news release Friday.

Taylor worked as a scout with the Tennessee Titans for four years after he played as defensive back at Arkansas State from 2014-17.

He was hired by Texas A&M's defensive staff on March 6, where his father Trooper Taylor serves as the running backs coach, after he served as a defensive analyst at Utah State.