
07/04/2025
I am Jade Benning and I was taken at only 25 years old. I am sharing my story today.
Born on March 6th 1998, in Little Rock Arkansas my family saw my beautiful fresh face and knew that I would be destined for greatness. As I grew I would take interest in many activities with cheerleading being one of my favorites. I would go on to become cheer captain for my middle school, Jv, and Varsity cheer teams. I graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 2016 where I went on to pursue my dream career…becoming a chef. Cheerleading taught me the necessary discipline and passion to complete what I ultimately wanted to achieve in life and I did just that. In 2020 I graduated from Brightwater Culinary Arts and I went on to become the head pastry Chef at Mirabellas Table and I was also a Chef at Earnest Bar & Hideaway. Working as a chef inspired me to step out on faith and open my very own catering business… JTB Eatery.
Aside from my drive and passion I had a smile and personality that was undeniably unique. My laugh was contagious and could make a person's day. My heart was just as big as my smile. I spent some of my free time traveling and seeing the world. I loved to get tattoos, listen to music, and watching Netflix series. Although I loved the things I did in my free time, there is nothing that I loved more than spending time with my friends and family. Still spending as much time with family and friends as possible, I wanted to expand my business and see how far things could go if I started over in another state. I relocated to Nashville Tennessee and I was so excited to start my new journey. While spending time in Tennessee I would meet Blaise Taylor who was a Tennessee Titans scout. We would begin a relationship and I would soon become pregnant.
I was excited to welcome a new baby into our family but Blaise….not so much. This would cause turmoil in our relationship and things begin to get rocky. Blaise would ask me to abort the baby because he feared being put on child support but I would not agree to his terms because I was having my baby for me. Months would go by and my joy would increase as I found out that I would be having a mini me. I had already picked out a name just for her… Ivy Blair. Blaise would still insist that he wanted no part in raising our baby girl and I was still totally okay with that and decided to continue with pregnancy being reassured by family and friends. Although I was okay with doing it alone apart of me would have been overjoyed if Blaise did come around and be involved. Blaise however, had other sinister plans.
On February 25th 2023, Blaise would call me, seeming as if he was genuinely wanting to try and change. This was weird because we hadn’t spoken to each other in a while but I wanted to hear him out. I invited him over for dinner where we caught up on life, ate our meal, and were seemingly heading in the right direction. I felt comfortable and trusted that he meant everything he said, so much so that I would let Blaise bring me a drink. I’d drink the drink that he’d brought me and I’d instantly become Ill. My head was spinning, my limbs felt heavy, and my legs went numb. I would begin to panic and ask Blaise to call 911. Blaise would call and tell the dispatcher that I was having an allergic reaction but I knew this could not be that. I had managed to grab my phone and call my best friend. Although I was unable to directly tell my best friend what happened, she heard it all through me and Blaise’s argument. I would say you did this to me, you put something in my drink, I knew my drink tasted funny….shortly after stating that I was unresponsive.
Ambulance would arrive at the scene and rush me to the hospital. Just two days later, 5 months pregnant, my baby girl Ivy would pass away but I was still fighting for my life….Until March 6th 2023, my 25th birthday, I would pass away leaving my friends and family so confused on how this could have happened. It wasn’t long before they would receive the answers that they needed. An autopsy was done and revealed a shocking horror…. I was poison3d with a lethal dose of coc*ine in hopes of causing a miscarriage but Blaise had given me entirely too much. Reporting limits start at 10 nanograms per milliliter of blood but there were 7878 nanograms per milliliter in mines. By the time this discovery was made Blaise had already left town and he had taken a coaching job at Utah State University. Blaise knew that this would put him outside of Tennessee’s jurisdiction and more evidence is needed for an arrest warrant. Police begun to look further into the details. They went back to my apartment and quickly realized that the scene had been tampered with. We had dinner together but there was only one cup and the cup that was at the scene contained alcohol. Since I was pregnant they knew that that couldn’t have been my cup from dinner. My best friend would confirm that Blaise was the last person to see me alive and this would crack open the beginning to an end.
March 2024, a year after my passing, a warrant would be issued for the arrest of Blaise. Blaise would be tracked down in Utah and was arrested on two counts of first degree murder. Many people were shocked that such a talented and well known person had committed such a crime but it was no shock to those who knew them personally. Blaise’s lawyers would request a reasonable bond due to lack of evidence but the prosecution team would quickly shut down the lack of evidence claiming that this crime was completely calculated and heinous. Blaise’s family would hear the truth for the first time at his bond hearing as they were told that Jade’s passing was caused by COVID. They were there to defend his case stating he has never had any priors and would not do anything like this however we all know that desperation can turn people evil. Despite his lawyers and family members efforts the judge would rule in the prosecution team’s favor setting his bond at 2.5 Million Dollars.
Despite the high bond, Blaise posted 10% of it and was able to be released from prison. His trial is set to start in October 2025 and he is facing life in prison without parole.
I am so sorry that this happened to you Jade, may you rest peacefully 🕊️.