A former scout for the NFL’s Tennessee Titans who was found guilty of murdering his former girlfriend and their unborn child in 2023 has been sentenced to life in prison.
Blaise Taylor was sentenced to two life sentences consecutively without the chance of parole, according to WZTV.
In June, Taylor was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Jade Benning, and of first-degree premeditated murder in the death of Benning’s unborn baby. Taylor was also found guilty of two counts of felony murder, according to WSMV.
Benning’s mother, Bridget Burks, spoke at Wednesday’s sentencing, according to KARK-TV.
“What haunts me most is knowing Jade was aware something was wrong,” she said, according to WZTV.
“She knew she was losing control of her body, and before help arrived, she knew something terrible had been done to her and her baby,” Burks said.
“What makes the loss even harder to bear is that Jade believed she was safe. She trusted the person responsible… No parent should have to imagine their child spending their final moments in fear and betrayal from the person she trusted,” Burks said.
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“I miss my daughter. I miss hearing her voice,” she added.
“We’ll never be the same,” Burks said, according to KARK. “Never get to hear that laugh, see her smile, or watch her be the amazing mom she was going to be.”
“Knowing that justice has been done has taken a small weight off my shoulders,” she said.
During the trial, prosecutors alleged that Taylor did not want the child Benning was carrying, saying that he spiked Benning’s drink with a lethal dose of cocaine on Feb. 25, 2023, according to WSMV. She was five months pregnant at the time.
During testimony, Nijaiha Jackson, a friend of Benning’s, said the victim knew her drink was spiked, according to WZTV-TV.
Jackson said Benning was suddenly stricken and was unable to walk. While on the phone with Benning, she heard her accuse Taylor of spiking her drink.
“She was like, ‘I know you put something in my drink. I knew my drink tasted funny,’” Jackson testified.
Jackson said Benning repeated her claim.
Prosecutors argued that the comment Jackson heard included some of Benning’s final words before she was hospitalized.
Medical examiners said Benning died from a combination of a massive amount of cocaine dissolved into alcohol.
When Taylor called first responders, he said Benning was having an “allergic reaction.”
At a 2024 hearing after Taylor was arrested, detective Adam Reese said the killings appeared premeditated, according to WTVF-TV.
“It appeared there had been some cleanup done,” he said, adding that a cup in front of Jade in a photo was not there when he was on the scene of her death.
“It’s not a spur-of-a-moment type of thing to put drugs in someone’s beverage,” he added.
Taylor previously played football for Arkansas State.
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