A friend of a pregnant woman who prosecutors say was poisoned to death by her boyfriend detailed the last words she heard the victim say.
At suspect Blaise Taylor’s bond hearing in Nashville, Tenn., Jade Benning’s best friend said that on the night Benning — who was five-months pregnant — was rushed to the hospital in 2023, she spoke to her on the phone and overheard Benning in an uneasy state speaking to Taylor, 28.
“She was saying, ‘My drink tasted funny, I can’t even walk straight, you did this to do something to the baby,'” the friend claimed on the stand, News Channel 5 reports.
“I was like, ‘Jade, Jade,’ and she stopped responding,” the friend added through tears.
Benning was admitted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center on Feb. 25, 2023, after Taylor called 911 and stated that it appeared his girlfriend was having an allergic reaction, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department previously stated. Benning’s unborn baby died two days later and Benning died on March 6, 2023, her 25th birthday.
Now, prosecutors claim that Blaise Taylor purposely p0isoned Benning, who was pregnant with his child, and that her alleged murder was pre-meditated. He is facing two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Benning and her unborn baby. He has pleaded not guilty.
Homicide detective Adam Reese also took the stand at Taylor’s bond hearing and claimed that at the scene, “it appeared there had been some cleanup done,” News Channel 5 reports.
According to police, Taylor moved to Utah after the deaths.
“It’s not a spur-of-a-moment type of thing to put drugs in someone’s beverage,” Reese added at the hearing, according to News Channel 5.
Further information on a possible motive or what investigators believe led to Bennings death has not been released.
Taylor is a former college football player and also the son of Texas A&M running backs coach Trooper Taylor. Taylor was an analyst in the Texas A&M football program at the time of his arrest, CNN reports.
