Jade Benning was only 24 years-old when her life was tragically taken on February 25th, 2023. The young woman had a bright future ahead of her prior to her untimely death. Jade was living in Nashville, Tennessee, where she worked as a chef and caterer. She was also expecting her first child; a little girl she planned to name Ivy.
According to friends and family, Jade was looking forward to becoming a mother. However, the father of Jade's child, Blaise Taylor, was not happy about the pregnancy. Jade and Blaise had met on a dating app in August 2022 and had only been dating for a few weeks at the time the baby was conceived.
When Taylor learned that Jade was pregnant, he told her that he wanted her to get an abortion. At the time, Blaise worked as a professional scout for the Tennessee Titans and expressed that he was not ready to become a father. When Jade decided that she was not going to terminate the pregnancy, Blaise began to distance himself from their relationship.
Jade was understandably hurt by Blaise's coldness, but she continued to move forward. She maintained excitement about having a baby, especially when she learned that she was having a girl. Jade was seemingly prepared to be a single mother, although she hoped Blaise would be a part of their daughter's life.
By February 2023, it appeared that Blaise was finally coming around. He told Jade that he was interested in rekindling their relationship. On the evening of February 25th, Jade and Blaise had a date night at Jade's residence, during which they painted canvases intended for the baby's room. Jade initially believed this date night would mark a new beginning for the couple and their growing family. However, just a few hours later, she would come to realize that this was not the case.
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The night of February 25th, 2023.
As noted above, the evening of February 25th, 2023, began on a positive note for Jade. Blaise came to her residence, where the two of them ate baked goods and painted canvases for the baby's room.
A couple of Jade's friends stopped by Jade's residence during the date night. One of them noticed that Jade had painted a fun and colorful canvas for her daughter's room, while Blaise had painted what appeared to be a black hole. Other than that, though, Jade's friends did not notice anything unusual or worrisome during their visits.
A few hours later, the tide changed. One of the friends, Nijaiha Jackson, received a phone call from Jade - during which Jade sounded extremely distressed. Nijaiha stayed on the line as she listened to Jade speaking to Blaise. She heard Jade asking Blaise questions such as "What did you do? What did you put in my drink?". Jade also made the statements "I can't walk straight", "I knew my drink tasted funny", "Blaise, you're scaring me", and "You did this so something would happen to the baby."
Shortly before 9:40 PM, Blaise called 911 and said that Jade was having an allergic reaction to something. By time paramedics arrived, Jade was unconscious in her bed. CPR and other live-saving measures were attempted at the residence. Around the same time, Nijaiha rushed over to the home to see what had happened to Jade. The first responders noted that Nijaiha was extremely upset and worried about Jade, while Blaise did not seem nearly as frantic about the state of his girlfriend and their unborn child.
Jade was eventually transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where it was determined that she had a severe brain injury after suffering from cardiac arrest. By this point, she was in a coma and placed on life support.
The deaths.
On February 27th, 2023, while Jade was still on life support, it was determined that her unborn daughter, Ivy, had died at approximately five months gestation. Medical examiners noted that the baby died as a direct result of the medical emergency that Jade had experienced. The cardiac arrest that Jade had suffered from caused a lack of oxygenated blood to flow to her organs, including her brain, uterus and placenta. The baby unfortunately did not survive from the period of lost oxygen.
Jade stayed alive, but on life support, for the next several days. By March 6th, 2023, after she had still not regained consciousness, she was taken off life support and subsequently passed away.
The investigation.
Following the deaths of Jade and her unborn child, investigators in Nashville were tasked with finding out what caused their demise. Over the following year, evidence was collected from toxicology reports, digital evidence, and witness statements. The evidence collected led investigators to believe that the deaths of Jade and her baby were not the result of a tragic unexpected medical emergency; something more sinister had occurred.
The toxicology report indicated that Jade had a high level of cocaine in her system. Investigators also learned via both digital evidence and witness statements that Blaise Taylor was not thrilled about Jade's pregnancy. Jade's friends and family were interviewed by detectives, and they also corroborated Blaise's disdain about the pregnancy. Additionally, Nijaiha Jackson told investigators about the disturbing phone call she had with Jade shortly before Jade went unconscious, during which Jade accused Blaise of putting something in her drink.
Investigators also learned that Jade's pregnancy was not the first unwanted pregnancy that Blaise Taylor had experienced. During 2017, he conceived a child with a woman he was dating named Apple Dennie. Apple revealed that Blaise wanted her to get an abortion, and she ultimately ended up terminating the pregnancy.
Apple also shared that, while she and Blaise were taking a break from their relationship, he got another woman pregnant. Blaise told Apple that he was upset about this woman's pregnancy. He asked Apple if she could obtain abortion pills so Blaise could "make her take them or put them into her drink." Apple refused and said that Blaise began researching online ways to induce abortion. Blaise also asked her what other things could be put in a drink to end the pregnancy.
The other woman ultimately ended up getting an abortion as well. Years passed before Blaise met Jade and conceived a child with her, but it appeared that he was still not ready to become a father at that time, either. The experiences that Blaise had with the other women showed a pattern that Blaise had been following regarding unwanted pregnancies. Blaise's desire to end the second woman's pregnancy by slipping something into her drink also raised eyebrows when it came to Jade's case - especially since Jade had accused him of putting something into her drink as well.
A year after Jade's death, in March 2024, a Davidson County grand jury indicted Blaise Taylor on two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of felony murder. He was arrested in Utah and subsequently extradited back to Tennessee. The following month, a judge set Blaise's bond at $2.5 million. He ended up posting that bond and was released with supervision while he awaited trial.
June 2026: the trial.
Blaise Taylor's trial began in June 2026. During the trial, prosecutors described their belief that Blaise had put a large amount of cocaine into Jade's pink lemonade drink without Jade's knowledge. After drinking it, Jade began to feel ill and eventually collapsed into cardiac arrest and unconsciousness. As previously noted, both Jade and her unborn child died as a result. Prosecutors stated that Blaise's motive was to end Jade's pregnancy.
During the trial, Nijaiha Jackson testified about that final phone call she had with Jade. Apple Dennie testified about her pregnancy with Blaise, and the pregnancy with the other woman - including the piece about his desire to end her pregnancy by placing something into her drink. Testimony from digital evidence, toxicology reports, and medical experts was presented to the jury as well.
Blaise's defense team maintained his innocence. The defense argued about the credibility of some of the witness testimony. They also argued that Jade's death was caused by her own voluntary cocaine use. However, friends and family of Jade noted that they do not believe she would voluntarily use harmful substances while pregnant.
July 1st, 2026: the verdict.
After an approximate eight-day trial, the jury began deliberating. They ultimately returned the following verdicts:
- Guilty of the second-degree murder of Jade.
Guilty of first-degree felony murder of Jade. - Guilty of the first-degree murder of their unborn daughter.
- Guilty of the first-degree felony murder of their unborn daughter.
Blaise Taylor is now facing a mandatory life sentence under Tennessee law. His sentencing is scheduled for September 2026.
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