Blaise Taylor, a former Arkansas State standout and NFL scout for the Tennessee Titans, was found guilty of murdering his girlfriend and her unborn child on Wednesday, according to ESPN.
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Prosecutors successfully argued that Taylor had poisoned Jade Benning and what was believed to be his unborn child with cocaine in her apartment on Feb. 25, 2023.
Benning was rushed to the hospital on Feb. 25, 2023, after Taylor called 911. During the emergency call, Taylor said Benning was having an allergic reaction. Her condition quickly became critical.
She was unable to speak with police before she died, ESPN reported.
Nine days after being poisoned, Benning died on her 25th birthday.
Taylor, 30, was found guilty of four counts: second-degree murder of Benning, first-degree premeditated murder of the unborn baby, and two counts of first-degree felony murder during the commission of a felony.
Blaise Taylor Could Serve Life in Prison
Fox 17 reported that jurors ruled that Taylor had a motive to poison Benning, who did not want to abort their child.
"He goes over there to the date night with cocaine to put in her drink," said Nashville Assistant District Attorney Jan Norman.
Norman also referenced an earlier testimony from a friend who took the stand.
"Her testimony was she had to talk him out of putting something in another girl's drink, who was refusing to have an abortion. So that he could cause the abortion without her knowing," said Norman.
Now, the jury is deliberating what could be a life sentence for the former NFL staffer.
Taylor was working as a defensive analyst for the University of Utah at the time of his arrest. Before that, he served four years as a scout for the Tennessee Titans.
Mere days before his arrest, Football Scoop reported that Taylor was set to join Texas A&M's staff as a defensive assistant.
During his time as a defensive back at Arkansas State, Taylor was a special teams standout and earned all-conference nods in 2014 and 2016. According to the Red Wolves' official website, he is the program's leader in career punt return yards (1,089), which were also the second-most ever by a Sun Belt player.
