Former Tennessee Titans scout Balise Taylor was found guilty of murder on Wednesday.
Taylor was accused of murdering his pregnant girlfriend, Jade Benning, by lacing her drink with cocaine in February 2023. She later died at Vanderbilt University medical Center on March 6 of that year.
“Benning’s medical condition immediately became critical and her 5-month-old fetus, who Taylor is believed to have fathered, died on Feb. 27, 2023. Detectives were unable to interview Benning before she died,” WKRN reported. “Taylor was taken into custody in Utah, where he moved after Benning and her unborn baby died.”
Even though Taylor pleaded not guilty in a Nashville courtroom, he was ultimately found guilty of first-degree pre-meditated murder, first-degree felony murder and second-degree murder.
Prosecutors said Taylor drugged Benning because he didn’t want her to have the baby.
Taylor played college football at Arkansas State University and was a senior defensive analyst at Utah State University before becoming a scout for the Titans.
The Titans had Taylor on their scouting department for four years.
