Former college football player Blaise Taylor was convicted of murdering his former girlfriend Jade Benning and her unborn child.
On Wednesday, July 1, a jury in Nashville found Taylor, 30, guilty on all four counts related to the 2023 deaths of Benning and her unborn baby WSMV 4 News.
The athlete was convicted of second-degree murder and first-degree aggravated murder during the commission of a felony for Benning’s death, as well as first-degree premeditated murder and first-degree aggravated murder during the commission of a felony for the death of the unborn child.
The jury later recommended a life sentence for the first-degree murder charge WKRN. Taylor will be sentenced on September 9th for second-degree murder.
Laken Snelling, a former competitive cheerleader at the University of Kentucky, was arrested after she allegedly gave birth and hid her newborn’s body in a closet. Snelling, 22, was initially taken into custody on August 30, 2025, after a third party called police and reported finding an infant’s body that was “cold to (…).”
According to local reports, the jury reached its guilty verdict within two hours of concluding closing arguments in the eight-day trial on Wednesday.
Taylor sat silently as the jury foreman read the verdict in Davidson County Criminal Court.
Us weekly has asked Taylor’s attorney and the Nashville District Attorney’s Office for comment on the verdict.
Taylor’s lawyer Letitia Quinones-Hollins Said WKRN of Wednesday’s court ruling: “While we respect the jury system and process, we must respectfully disagree with today’s verdict and plan to appeal the decision because Blaise has failed to do so.”
“(Taylor) maintains that he is innocent and we will continue to work to prove that,” the attorney continued. “We understand and respect the pain felt by Ms. Benning’s family and friends over her tragic death and the death of her unborn child, but putting an innocent man behind bars is also a tragedy.”
During the trial, prosecutors accused Taylor of giving Benning a fatal dose of cocaine through a drink during a date night at her apartment on February 25, 2023.
Nashville Assistant District Attorney Jan Norman told the court on Wednesday, June 24, that Benning called a friend that February evening to tell her that she was concerned that Taylor might have plied her with alcohol because he didn’t want her to carry her pregnancy to term. (According to the prosecution, Taylor suspected the unborn child was his.)
Jade Benning
Jade Benning/Linkedin“What did you put in my drink?” According to a friend, Benning wanted to know Nijaiha Jackson. “‘I knew my drink tasted funny. You did that because you didn’t want the baby.'”
Benning died on her 25th birthday on March 6, 2023, after losing her unborn child a few days earlier on February 27, 2023. An autopsy revealed that Benning had 1,787 nanograms of cocaine per milliliter of blood at the time of her death.
Taylor, for his part, has denied any wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty to all charges. His lawyers argued in court that Benning’s death was caused by her alleged drug use.
Taylor played college football at Arkansas State University from 2014 to 2017 before moving to Duke University as an assistant coach. He later worked as a scout for the Tennessee Titans from 2021 to 2023.
