A close friend told jurors Wednesday that Jade Benning accused Blaise Taylor of putting something in her drink after a February 2024 dinner left her violently ill. The testimony landed in Taylor’s murder trial as prosecutors try to convince jurors that Benning was poisoned, not overdosed.
Nijaiha Jackson said Benning called her moments after becoming sick, saying she was vomiting and could not walk. Jackson testified that Benning then put Taylor on the phone and accused him of spiking her drink, telling her friend she knew the drink tasted funny. That account gave the jury a direct version of Benning’s final accusation, months after her death on March 6, 2024, her 25th birthday, and after the death of her unborn daughter on Feb. 27.
Prosecutors say Taylor, a former Tennessee Titans scout, poisoned Benning with a lethal mix of cocaine dissolved in alcohol, allegedly poured into a pink lemonade. They have charged him with two counts of first-degree murder. Medical examiners testified that Benning died from the effects of a fatal combination of a large amount of cocaine dissolved in alcohol, and Dr. Michael Olushoga described what he saw when she arrived at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Taylor called 911 after Benning became unresponsive and told the dispatcher, “I don't know. I think she's having an allergic reaction,” before adding, “... She's not responding.”
The defense has pushed a very different account, arguing that Benning died from an overdose caused by her own drug use. Lawyers questioned witnesses about her history of marijuana and alcohol use, trying to undercut the claim that Taylor intentionally poisoned her. On the same day Jackson testified, Stephanie Franklin told jurors that she and Benning’s mother were frustrated by what they saw as a lack of answers from investigators, saying they were angry and had no answers while the child was on life support.
The case now turns on which story the jury believes: a deliberate poisoning hidden inside a drink, or a fatal overdose tied to Benning’s own drug use. Wednesday’s testimony gave prosecutors their most personal account yet, but the verdict will depend on whether jurors see Benning’s accusation as a dying statement, or as part of a chain of events the defense says points elsewhere.
