dpNASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — A close friend of Jade Benning testified Wednesday that Benning accused former Tennessee Titans scout Blaise Taylor of poisoning her moments after she became violently ill during a February 2024 dinner, as jurors heard dramatic testimony on the second day of Taylor’s murder trial.
Taylor, 30, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Benning and her unborn daughter.
Prosecutors allege Taylor poisoned Benning by spiking her pink lemonade with a lethal mixture of cocaine dissolved in alcohol- because he did not want her to have the child, believed to be his. Benning died March 6, 2024, on her 25th birthday, while the unborn girl, whom family members planned to name Ivy, died Feb. 27.
Jade Benning was pregnant when she was rushed to the hospital in April 2024. She died on her 25th birthday from an alleged poisoning. (Photo courtesy family of Jade Benning)
During testimony Wednesday, prosecutors questioned Benning’s best friend, Nijaiha Jackson, about a phone call she received from Benning shortly after Benning had dinner with Taylor.
Jackson testified that Benning said she suddenly became severely ill, vomiting and losing her ability to walk. Jackson said while she was talking to Benning, Benning began addressing Taylor, accusing him of spiking her drink.
“She was like, ‘I know you put something in my drink. I knew my drink tasted funny,'” Jackson told jurors. Jackson said Benning repeated the accusation, no longer able to move her legs.
According to prosecutors, those statements were among Benning’s final words before she was hospitalized.
Medical examiners testified that Benning died from the effects of a fatal combination of a large amount of cocaine dissolved in alcohol.
Jurors also heard testimony from Dr. Michael Olushoga of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, who described Benning’s condition when she arrived at the hospital.
“All clinical signs pointing that she was dead,” Olushoga testified.
Prosecutors played the 911 call that Taylor made after Benning became unresponsive.
“I don’t know. I think she’s having an allergic reaction,” Taylor said in the recording to the 911 dispatcher. “… She’s not responding.”
Blaise’s Defense
Defense attorneys continued to argue that Benning’s death was the result of an overdose caused by her own drug use, rather than intentional poisoning.
Taylor’s attorneys questioned witnesses about Benning’s history of substance use, which included marijuana and alcohol, and sought to prove that she’d used drugs after learning she was pregnant. Defense attorneys also highlighted testimony suggesting Benning did not directly reject an offer to consume a marijuana gummy while she was carrying.
The defense further questioned Benning’s friends, who entered her apartment after she was hospitalized to retrieve some of her belongings, arguing the crime scene may have been compromised.
Stephanie Franklin, the mother of a close friend of Benning, testified that she and Benning’s own mother were frustrated by what they perceived as a lack of answers from investigators.
“We were angry. Didn’t seem like anybody was doing anything,” Franklin testified. “No answers. Why do you have a child on life support? No answers.”
While in Benning’s apartment, Franklin took a series of pictures while wearing gloves, and also took the bed comforter in which Benning had vomited.
First Day Of Trial
On the trial’s opening day, prosecutors and defense attorneys presented sharply different accounts of the events leading to Benning’s death.
Prosecutors allege Taylor dissolved cocaine into a drink he served Benning while visiting her apartment on Feb. 25, 2024. They said emergency responders found Benning face down across a bed and without a pulse before transporting her to the hospital. One first responded described Taylor as not helpful, and getting in their way.
Defense attorneys countered that Benning had a history of drug use and emphasized that Taylor cooperated with investigators and was the only person who called 911.
Taylor was arrested in March 2024 and charged with the deaths of Benning and her unborn child. The bond for Taylor was set at $2,500,000. He bonded out of jail in April 2024 and is required to wear a GPS monitor.
The district attorney’s office is pursuing life in prison without parole for Taylor.
