Loading summary
Transcript21 lines
- [00:00]
A
Hey everybody, Lady Luck here and we're celebrating America's 250th birthday. Now all summer long I'm going to be celebrating by playing on spinquest.com which is an American owned social casino. It obviously features over a thousand slot games and live blackjack, live craps, live bubble craps. Head on over to spinquest.com get yourself a 30 coin pack for just 10 bucks.
- [00:25]
B
Spin Quest is a free to play social casino void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details.
- [00:31]
C
Grainger knows when you're a procurement manager for an office park, you're not managing one building, you're managing all of them. And to stay ahead, you need to see through walls and around corners. Lights about to fail, filters ready to clog H Vac on its last leg. If you wait until something breaks, you're already behind. Count on Grainger for quality products, easy reordering and 24. 7 support. Call 1-800-GRAINGER, click grainger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.
- [01:02]
A
If you had met 24 year old Jade Benning in the winter of 2023, there's a good chance the conversation would have turned to one thing her baby. Jade was living in Nashville and had recently found out she was expecting a little girl. According to the people who knew her best, she was excited about becoming a mother. She had recently moved into a two bedroom apartment so there would be room for a nursery. She and her best friend were planning two baby showers, one in Nashville, where she was living, and another back home in Arkansas. She was talking about baby names, shopping for her daughter, making plans for the nursery, and imagining what life would look like once her little girl arrived. Her future was taking shape and she couldn't wait for it to begin. On Saturday, February 25, 2023, Jade invited the father of her unborn daughter over for dinner. She planned to cook chicken Alfredo, and afterward the two were going to spend the evening painting canvases for their baby's nursery. Detectives would later find the canvases, paintbrushes and supplies already laid out around the apartment. It was just an ordinary Saturday night, the kind of night that no one expects to become the last, because before the evening was over, Jade would suffer a catastrophic medical emergency inside her own apartment. She was rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical center, where doctors fought to save both her and her unborn daughter. Her baby girl would not survive, and after spending days on life support, Jade died on her 25th birthday. At first, it looked like an unimaginable tragedy. The kind of devastating medical emergency that leaves a family searching for answers. But as doctors began trying to understand what had happened, they discovered something that changed the entire direction of the investigation. Suddenly, what had seemed like a tragic and unexplained medical emergency began to look like something much more sinister. One year later, U.S. marshals arrested a man in Logan, Utah and charged him with the murder of Jade and her unborn baby. He was a former college football star, an NFL scout, and the senior defensive analyst at Utah State. He was also the father of Jade's unborn daughter. His name is Blaise Taylor. Over the past several weeks, a jury has listened to testimony from detectives, doctors, toxicologists, forensic experts, friends and family as they worked to answer one question. Was Jade's death a heartbreaking medical tragedy or an intentional murder by a man not ready for fatherhood? This is the 13th juror podcast where we unravel complex court cases, investigations and true crime stories. From high profile trials to the mysteries that still leave questions unanswered. We examine the facts, weigh the evidence, and explore the arguments shaping each story. Just as as the jurors do. I'm your host, Brandi Churchwell. Today's episode is pregnant and poisoned. Tennessee versus Blaze Taylor. Before Blaay Taylor ever sat in a courtroom as a defendant, he was known for something completely different. Football. He grew up surrounded by the sport. His father, Trooper Taylor, was a longtime football coach, and Blaze seemed destined to follow that same path. He played defensive back at Arkansas State, where he became one of the school's standout athletes. He was a four year starter, served as team captain, earned first team All Sun Belt honors, and still holds Arkansas State career records for both punt return yards and past breakups. When his playing days came to an end, football never really left. Blaze transitioned into coaching and scouting, eventually earning a position as a scout with the Tennessee Titans. From the outside, he appeared to have a promising career ahead of him. Around that same time, Jade Benning was building a life of her own. Jade grew up in Arkansas with her mother and stepfather. She loved being active, spent years cheering, and according to the people who knew her best, she had the kind of personality that made friends wherever she went. Witnesses described her as outgoing, charismatic, and someone who could walk into a room full of strangers and leave knowing everyone there. She had always dreamed of becoming a chef. So after graduating from culinary school, she moved to Nashville, where several family members already lived. Her stepmother's brother owned a restaurant there and hired Jade as one of his chefs, giving her the opportunity to finally work in the career she'd worked so hard for. By all accounts, she was happy. She was doing what she loved, living in a new city and excited about what came next. In August of 2022, one more piece of home arrived in Nashville. Jade's lifelong best friend, Nyjaya Jackson, moved there for school. The two had met when they were around six years old and had remained incredibly close ever since. All through elementary school, middle school, high school, and even into college. They shared just about everything. Testimony described them as more like sisters than friends. And once Nyjah moved to Nashville, they slipped right back into their old routine of talking constantly and sharing every detail of their lives. It was also in August of 2022 that Jade met Blayes. The two matched on a dating app and began messaging before deciding to meet for dinner at a place called Stoney River Steakhouse. One date turned into another, and over the next several weeks, they settled into what witnesses consistently described as a casual relationship. It wasn't exclusive and it wasn't serious. Neither one expected the other to stop seeing other people, and they kept the relationship largely private. They enjoyed each other's company, but neither seemed to be looking at it as something especially serious. But then everything changed. As the weeks passed, Jade started to wonder if she might actually be pregnant. On November 2, she took a home pregnancy test, and it confirmed what she'd been she was pregnant. The very first person she called was Nyjaya. Together, they immediately started making plans for a doctor's appointment to confirm the pregnancy. And the very next day, Nyjaya went with her. The appointment confirmed that Jayde was expecting. Jade began sharing the news with the people closest to her. She told her parents, her family, and her closest friends. Witnesses would later testify that she wasn't scared or upset. She was more excited. She was genuinely looking forward to becoming a mother. But there was one conversation that she still had to have. She needed to tell Blaye. According to testimony, Jade asked Blaze if they could meet in person. They talked that day and then continued the conversation again the following day. But it quickly became clear that they weren't seeing the situation the same way. From Blayes perspective, this wasn't the life he had planned. He was still in his twenties. They had known each other for less than three months, and their relationship wasn't exclusive. And according to testimony, he wanted Jade to have an abortion. But that's not what Jade wanted. She wanted this baby. She told Blaze that he was welcome to attend her next OB GYN appointment on November 16 if he wanted to. But she also made something else very clear whether he chose to be involved or not, she intended to have this baby. She told him that she would love this child unconditionally, with or without him. And because they were on completely different pages about the pregnancy, she suggested it might be best if they simply went their separate ways. And that's exactly what happened. Over the next several weeks, the two stopped communicating altogether. Meanwhile, Jade threw herself into preparing for motherhood. She created Pinterest boards filled with nursery ideas. She started thinking about baby names. She went to her first ultrasound appointment. And as the holidays approached, she talked with friends about how this would be her last Christmas before becoming a mom. She was building a future that she couldn't wait to meet. Then, after weeks of silence, Blayes reached out. When Jade saw his name pop up on her phone, she was hopeful. Maybe he had changed his mind. Maybe he wanted to be involved. Maybe this was the beginning of the two of them figuring out how to co parent their child. She had no way of knowing that within two months, both she and her unborn baby would be dead. Foreign. Hey everybody. Lady Luck here and we're celebrating America's 250th birthday. Now all summer long I'm going to be celebrating by playing on finquest.com which is an American owned social casino. It obviously features over a thousand slot games and live blackjack, live craps, live bubble craps. Head on over to spinquest.com get yourself a $30 coin pack for just 10 bucks.
- [10:42]
B
Spinquest is a free to play social casino. Visit spinquest.com for more details.
- [10:48]
C
When you're a maintenance engineer in a beverage manufacturing plant, you keep production lines moving and quality on track because there is no room for slowdowns. With Grainger's vast selection of high quality motors, sensors, belts and hard to find parts, you can get what you need fast and all in one place. So nothing gets in the way of getting the job done. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickranger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
- [11:26]
A
On New Year's Eve 2022, Jade was at work when she happened to check her phone. There was a missed call. It was Blaye. She hadn't spoken to him since the two had decided to go their separate ways nearly three months earlier. Since then, Jade had been preparing to become a mother on her own. She'd gone to doctor's appointments, started planning for the baby's arrival and accepted that Blaye might never want to be involved. So when she saw his name on her screen. She was excited. In fact, she was so excited that she immediately took a screenshot of the missed call and sent it to her best friend, n'. Jeya. To Jade, this felt like it could be a turning point. Maybe he'd had time to process everything. Maybe he'd changed his mind and was finally ready to be a part of their baby's life. Jade texted Blaze and told him that she would be getting off work within an hour and would call him. Then, when they finally talked, they made plans to meet the following day at a local park. According to testimony, they spent about five hours there talking. They talked about getting to know each other better. They talked about what co parenting might look like. And when Jade left that conversation, she felt hopeful. The people closest to her said that she genuinely believed that they were moving in a positive direction. Over the next several weeks, they stayed in touch. The texts started back up. They spent time together occasionally, and Jade continued trying to include Blaze in the pregnancy. At one point, the two even talked about work, travel. Jade had mentioned the possibility of joining Blaye on one of his trips. But Blaye told her, yeah, that's probably not realistic. He said that once the baby arrived, her life was going to change dramatically. And he said he didn't think that she fully understood just how different things would be for her. Jade also continued inviting him to her prenatal appointments. One appointment in particular mattered more to her than the others. She told Blaze that she really hoped he would come to the ultrasound, where they would find out whether they were having a boy or a girl. It was something she wanted them to experience together. She even continued flirting with him from time to time, joking that he could still be her Valentine and sending him sweet dreams texts before bed. It seemed clear that Jade hoped their relationship was moving towards something healthier. But when it came time for those doctor's appointments, Blaye never showed up. So when Jade went to find out the gender of her baby, it wasn't Blaye sitting beside her. It was her stepmother. And that day, Jade learned that she was having a little baby girl. As February drew to a close, Jade was still trying to build something positive out of the situation. She and Blaze had continued talking and spending time together. And while he still hadn't attended any of her prenatal appointments, she, Jade, had not stopped trying to include him in the pregnancy. Then she came up with an idea. According to the testimony, Jade invited Blayse over for what she called a date night. But this wasn't just dinner and a movie. Jade cooked one of her favorite meals, homemade chicken Alfredo. Then the two sat down together to paint canvases for their baby girl's nursery. It's such a simple detail, but when you stop and think about it, it says a lot about where Jade's mind was. She wasn't just preparing a nursery. She was trying to create a memory. She was inviting Blaze to help make something that would hang on their daughter's wall. A keepsake that they made together before she was even born. For Jade, this wasn't just a date night together. It was the picture of the future that she had been hoping for. Before the evening really got underway, a few of Jade's friends stopped by the apartment. They weren't interrupting date night. In fact, according to the testimony, Jade had invited them over to grab some of the chicken Alfredo that she made before she and Blaze settled in for the rest of the evening together. Looking back, it's kind of a heartbreaking detail because those friends would become some of the last people to ever see Jade alive. When they walked into the apartment, everything looked normal. One witness testified that Blaze was sitting quietly by himself, kind of absentmindedly, shuffling a deck of UNO cards while everyone talked. Dinner was finished, and the apartment was already set up for the rest of the night. Canvases were laid out. Paintbrushes, stencils, and bottles of paint were spread across the table, all waiting for the two of them to start their project. Jade had already decided that she wanted to paint something that she could hang in her baby girl's nursery. So when someone asked Blaze what he wanted to paint, the testimony took kind of an unexpected turn. According to Nyjaya, Blaze said that he was going to paint a black hole and call it midnight, adding, the further you look, the deeper you'll go. Nyjaya admitted that the comment kind of caught her off guard because, keep in mind, Jade had been talking about creating something special for the baby's room, while Blaze's idea felt unexpectedly dark. But eventually, the friends gathered their food and headed out, leaving Jade and Blaze alone. And as they walked out the door, they described Jade the same way. She was happy. Happy that Blaze was there, happy that they still had the rest of their evening together. Maybe even happy that her friends were leaving so she and Blaze could finally enjoy the date night that she had spent so much time planning. Investigators would later recover a photograph taken that evening. And it's a simple picture, but knowing what happened afterward, it's difficult to look at. The photo shows dinner on the table, paint supplies scattered around the apartment, and the canvases that they had started working on together. It captures what appeared to be an ordinary Saturday night. Two expectant parents spending an evening together creating artwork for the little girl they were about to welcome into the world. Timestamped photos recovered during the investigation captured the entire evening as it unfolded. They showed the progress of the paintings, the dinner together, and smiling selfies the two of them took inside Jade's apartment. By all appearances, the night was going exactly the way Jade had hoped. Until 9:47pm that's when Blaye Taylor made a frantic call to 911. As the dispatcher answered, Blaze told her that Jade was having what he believed was some type of allergic reaction. He explained that she wasn't responding and needed help immediately. Throughout the call, the dispatcher worked to understand exactly what was happening while guiding Blaze through what he needed to do until first responders arrived. Within minutes, police officers, firefighters and paramedics were on their way to Jade's apartment. At that point, everyone believed they were responding to a medical emergency. In the hours that followed, investigators began trying to piece together exactly what had happened inside the apartment that night. According to Blaze's statements, everything had been normal until Jade suddenly began complaining that her stomach hurt. He told investigators that she started vomiting repeatedly, and because she had a history of food allergies, he believed that she was suffering from some type of allergic reaction. He said he gave her Benadryl, hoping it would help. But instead, she became increasingly lethargic before eventually becoming unresponsive. At first glance, it sounded like a tragic medical emergency. But investigators would soon learn that the 911 call wasn't the only call made from that apartment that night. Before Blaze ever dialed 91 1, Jade had made a phone call of her own to her best friend, Nyjah. Now what? Nyjaya later testified that she heard on the other end of that phone call would change everything. And in an instant, what appeared to be a devastating medical emergency would become the beginning of a homicide investigation. We'll be right back.
- [19:44]
B
Forget whatever plans you have this weekend because you're staying at home and playing on spinquest. And there's never been a better time to sign up than right now. New users get $30 coin packs for just $10. All the table games you love, with hundreds of slot games and real cash Prizes. That's at spinquest.com S P I N Q U E-S-T.com Spinquest is a free to play social casino void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details.
- [20:14]
C
Grainger knows when you're a procurement manager for an office park. You're not managing one building, you're managing all of them. And to stay ahead, you need to see through walls and around corners. Lights about to fail. Filters ready to clog H Vac on its last leg. If you wait until something breaks, you're already behind. Count on Grainger for quality products, easy reordering and 24. 7 support. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it.
- [20:52]
A
As first responders worked on Jade inside the apartment, everything came down to one goal. Keep her alive. She was rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical center where an entire team of doctors, nurses, paramedics and emergency personnel immediately went to work. The testimony from the medical staff later painted a picture of basically controlled chaos. Everyone was focused on the same what was happening to this Otherwise healthy, almost 25 year old woman? that point, no one had an answer. Doctors knew she had gone into cardiac arrest. They knew her brain had been deprived of oxygen. They knew she was critically ill, but they did not know why. Was it an allergic reaction? A previously undiagnosed medical condition? Some type of poisoning? Or something else entirely? The emergency team wasn't treating a crime victim. They were trying to solve a medical mystery. While fighting to save two lives. The medical staff threw all their effort into finding an answer. Blood was drawn, lab work was ordered and specialists were consulted. Doctors and toxicologists began discussing every possible explanation for what they were seeing because, according to the testimony, no one could immediately explain why Jade's heart had stopped. And while all of that was happening inside Vanderbilt, investigators were working backward. They began retracing Jade's final hours, interviewing Blaze, documenting the apartment and trying to understand exactly what had happened between the time Jade's friends left that evening and the moment blaze called 911. At first, it looked like those two investigations, the one inside the hospital and the one inside Jade's apartment were, were completely separate. But they were about to collide in a major way. Because before anyone at Vanderbilt had an explanation, investigators learned that there had been another phone call that night, one made by Jade herself to her best friend, Nyjaya. And what Nyjaya said she heard on the other end of that call would change the entire trajectory of this case. When Nyjaya Jackson took the witness stand, jurors learned about a phone call that she says she'll never forget. According to her testimony, her phone rang that night and she saw Jade's name on the screen. When she answered, she knew something immediately was wrong. She testified that Jade sounded weak and frightened, kind of like she was struggling to get her words out. At first, Nyjaya thought that Jade was maybe just sick. But then she heard Jade speaking to someone else in the room. That someone, according to the testimony, was Blayze Taylor. Jurors heard Nyjaya recount what she said that Jade said. Next. She heard her asking Blayze, what did you put in my drink? I knew my drink tasted funny. Nyjeah testified that Jade's voice grew weaker as the call continued, but she could hear Blaze speaking in the background. But she couldn't make out what was being said. Desperate to understand what was happening, she stayed on the phone, trying to figure out why her best friend suddenly sounded so different from the woman she had seen just hours earlier. Then came the statement that would become one of the prosecution's most important pieces of evidence. According to Nyjah, she heard Jade say to Blaze, you did this because you didn't want the baby. The call ended at that moment. Nyjeah didn't know exactly what had happened inside Jade's apartment. She only knew that something was terribly wrong. Those words would stay with her as doctors searched for a medical explanation at Vanderbilt and investigators continued piecing together the events of that night. The phone call that Nyja described would transform the way that law enforcement looked at this case. The phone call gave investigators a reason to ask new questions. The toxicology results would determine whether they could answer them. While Jade was still at Vanderbilt, doctors had drawn blood as part of their efforts to determine why a healthy, young pregnant woman had suddenly gone into cardiac arrest. At the time, it was just kind of part of the medical treatment. No one knew that those blood samples would later become some of the most important pieces of evidence in the entire case. The jury heard from multiple toxicologists, emergency physicians, and the medical examiner as they walked through what those tests revealed. Jade's blood tested positive for cocaine. That finding alone raised immediate questions. Her family and closest friends testified that they never had known Jade to use cocaine, and there had been no indication that drug use had been suspected when she arrived at the hospital. Now investigators were faced with trying to answer two critical questions. Number one, how had cocaine gotten into her system? And number two, was it responsible for what had happened to her? The state's experts testified that the answer to the second question was yes. According to their testimony, the amount of cocaine and its metabolites found in Jade's blood was extraordinarily high. The medical examiner testified it was unlike anything she had personally encountered and that in her opinion, Jade died from acute cocaine intoxication. Toxicologists further testified that the evidence suggested the cocaine had been consumed orally after being dissolved in a liquid rather than being inhaled or injected. They also pointed to testing performed on the pink vomit recovered from Jade's comforter, which they said contained extremely high concentrations of cocaine as well. So taken together, the prosecution argued that the medical evidence supported the same conclusion investigators had begun considering after hearing Nygea's testimony. They believed that Jade had not suffered a mysterious allergic reaction. According to the state, she had been poisoned. Despite every effort by the medical team at Vanderbilt, Jade never regained consciousness. For more than a week, doctors continued treating her, hoping for signs of improvement that never came, while her family remained by her side, faced with impossible decisions that no family should ever have to make. On March 6, 2023, Jade Benning died. It was her 25th birthday. Because Jade was approximately five months pregnant, the loss did not end there. Her unborn daughter died as well. The young woman who had spent the previous evening painting canvases for her nursery, dreaming about baby names and imagining her daughter's future was gone. And so was the little girl she had been so excited to meet. At that point, investigators still didn't have all of the answers. What they did have were two very different stories that had begun to take shape. On one hand, they had Blaise Taylor's account that Jade had become sick, appeared to be having some kind of allergic reaction, started vomiting, and despite his efforts to help, her condition rapidly deteriorated. But on the other hand, they had Nyjaya's testimony about the phone call. A frightened Jade asking, blaze, what did you put in my drink? Saying that she knew it tasted funny, and accusing Blaze of doing it because he did not want the baby. Now investigators had to determine which story the evidence supported. And that meant reconstructing every moment of that evening. Detectives interviewed witnesses, collected physical evidence from Jade's apartment, downloaded cell phones, reviewed text messages, analyzed photographs from the date night, and worked closely with doctors, toxicologists, and the medical examiner's office to understand exactly what had caused Jade's sudden collapse. Now, one of the most important pieces of evidence had already been collected before anyone even realized that a crime may have occurred. Because when Jade arrived at Vanderbilt that night, hospital staff drew blood as part of her emergency treatment. Because the cause of her cardiac arrest was unknown, the medical examiner's office instructed the hospital to preserve those original blood samples rather than discard them, believing that those samples could eventually answer the question that everyone was asking, which is what happened to Jade? Now, the answer would not come overnight. It would take months of forensic testing, medical review, and investigative work before detectives believed that they had enough evidence to say that this wasn't simply a tragic medical emergency. They believed that it was murdered. And just over a year after Jade collapsed in her apartment, investigators arrested Blaze Taylor and charged him with two counts of first degree murder, one for Jade and one for their unborn daughter. But now they had to show how they got there. On June 23, 2026, the trial finally began. Standing before a Davidson county jury, prosecutors and defense attorneys told two very different stories about what happened inside Jade Benning's apartment that February night. It wasn't just a disagreement over the evidence, though. It was a disagreement over the entire narrative. The prosecution told jurors that this wasn't a case about a tragic medical emergency or a terrible accident. According to the state, this story had been unfolding for months. Everything, they argued, came back to one the pregnancy. From the moment Jade told Blaze that she was expecting their baby, prosecutors argued the two were no longer building the same future. Jade embraced this pregnancy. She planned for it. She imagined life with her daughter, and she was excited. But Blayes, according to the testimony, wanted something entirely different. Jurors heard evidence that after learning that Jade was pregnant, Blayes urged her to have an abortion. Prosecutors said he eventually gave Jade what she herself described as a wild ultimatum, which was either terminate the pregnancy or their relationship would be over. According to the state, Jade made her decision. She was keeping that baby. And while Jade spent the next several months preparing to become a mother, prosecutors argued that Blaze spent those same months trying to figure out how to avoid becoming a father. Now, to tell that story, the state called family members, friends, investigators, doctors, and forensic experts. But one witness stood out apart from the rest. Her name was Apple Denny. And what she had to say would change the entire trial. We'll be right back.
- [31:40]
B
Forget whatever plans you have this weekend because you're staying at home and playing on spinquest. And there's never been a better time to sign up than right now. New users get $30 coin packs for just $10. All the table games you love, with hundreds of slot games and real cash Prizes. That's at spinquest.coms P I N Q U S T.com SpinQuest is a free to play social casino Void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details.
- [32:09]
C
When you're a maintenance engineer in a beverage manufacturing plant, you keep production lines moving and quality on track because there is no room for slowdowns with grainger's vast selection of high quality motors, sensors, belts, and hard to find parts. You can get what you need fast and all in one place, so nothing gets in the way of getting the job done. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickranger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
- [32:49]
A
Years before Blaise Taylor ever met Jade, he dated a woman named Apple Denny. Now, they dated while they were both in college, and in early 2017, Apple unexpectedly became pregnant. She told jurors that she was scared, overwhelmed, and unsure of what she should do. When she met with doctors, she discussed her options, and Blaze accompanied her to those appointments. Ultimately, Apple made the decision to have an abortion. Now, on its own, that testimony was not particularly remarkable. But prosecutors weren't interested in what Appel chose or the fact that she had even been pregnant before. They were interested in what she said Blaze did afterward. Because, according to Apple's testimony, after their relationship ended, Blaze began dating another woman from Arkansas named Xavier Winford. Then, just months later, history repeated itself. Appel testified that Blaise came to her and told her that Xavier was pregnant. She described him as frantic, almost panicked. And according to Apple, Blaise made it very clear that he did not want Xavier to have that baby. She testified that he became consumed with figuring out how to stop the pregnancy. Jurors listened as Apple described seeing Blaze searching online for ways to make someone have an abortion. She testified that he asked her if she could get abortion pills for him and even discussed the possibility of making Xavier take them or secretly putting them into her drink. Now, that's what we in the business call bombshell testimony. That testimony landed like a bombshell inside the courtroom because prosecutors had already spent days presenting evidence that they believe that Jade had ingested cocaine after it had been dissolved into a drink. Now they're here asking jurors to consider testimony that years earlier, Blaze had allegedly talked about secretly putting something into another pregnant woman's drink to end a pregnancy. The prosecution argued this isn't coincidence, it's a pattern. Appel also testified that Blaze gave Xavier an ultimatum, much like the one prosecutors said he later gave Jade. According to her testimony, he told Xavier that if she continued with the pregnancy, he would not have a relationship with her or the child. Appel said she believed that Xavier ultimately did have an abortion. But she testified that Blaze's behavior during that time never really left her. So when she later learned that Jade had died under such unusual circumstances while pregnant with Blaze's child, she felt compelled to tell investigators everything she knew. And as detectives followed up on Apple's information, one name immediately caught their attention. Xavier Winford. Because this was not the first time they had heard it. According to the testimony, Xavier's name had already surfaced repeatedly during the investigation. Detectives began reviewing Blaze's phone records and text messages. And what they found gave prosecutors yet another piece of the story that they were building. Because even while Jade was pregnant, even while the two had reunited and were talking about co parenting, even while they were spending evenings together painting canvases for their daughter's nursery, Blaze was still pursuing a relationship with Xavier. Then prosecutors showed the jury a series of text messages exchanged between Blaze and Xavier on the night of February 24, 2023, the night before Jade collapsed. Those messages became one of the state's most powerful pieces of circumstantial evidence, because jurors read. As Blaze repeatedly reassured Xavier that she had nothing to worry about. He told her everything's going to work out.
- [36:49]
B
He.
- [36:49]
A
He told her that he loved her. Then he wrote something that prosecutors would return to again and again. He told her, I love you, and I need you to love me back and to be in love with me. When Xavier responded that she loved him too, Blayes replied, good. I just want us to be us and be happy together. He told her that everything was going to work out between them. To most people, those might have looked like ordinary text messages between two people in a relationship. But prosecutors argued that there was nothing ordinary about their timing. Because less than 24 hours after he's reassuring her that everything's going to be okay and they can be together, Jade would be in cardiac arrest. The state told jurors that those texts were not just love messages. They were motive. And according to prosecutors, Blaze believed that the pregnancy stood between him and the future that he wanted.
- [37:45]
B
And.
- [37:45]
A
And those messages, sent just hours before Jade's date night, revealed exactly which future he was planning. For. The prosecution said it was simple. Blaze Taylor wanted that baby out of the picture. And when Jade refused to have an abortion, he did exactly what he had done before. Looked up ways to force an abortion. They presented medical evidence that said cocaine is known to cause spontaneous abortions. And they reminded the jury that Apple had seen Blaze Googling things that could cause abortions before. He had also mentioned putting something in someone's drink before. And now, years later, they said he did exactly that so that he could end the life of Jade and the baby and avoid being a father. When it was the defense's turn, they told jurors that the prosecution had certainly presented a compelling story. But they reminded the jury that compelling stories don't equal proof in a criminal trial. They said the state doesn't just have to present a theory that makes sense. It has to prove that theory beyond a reasonable doubt. And according to the defense, that's exactly where the prosecution's case fell apart. The defense argued there were simply too many unanswered questions. They pointed out that prosecutors had presented no evidence that Blaze had any connection to drug dealers or any history of using cocaine himself. According to the defense, there was no evidence showing how he would have obtained the cocaine prosecutors claimed that he used to poison Jade. They also highlighted text messages showing that Jade had previously talked about using marijuana and mushrooms, arguing that she, not Blaze, was the only one with any history of recreational drug use. Jurors also heard that Jade had consumed THC edibles early in her pregnancy before she knew she was pregnant. The defense argued those messages challenged the prosecution's portrayal of Jade as someone who would never knowingly use drugs. Then they turned their attention to the investigation itself. According to the defense, detectives missed opportunities to collect critical evidence. Surveillance footage from Jade's apartment complex was never recovered. None of the drinking glasses collected from the apartment tested positive for cocaine. And despite the prosecution's theory that the cocaine had been secretly dissolved into Jade's drink, the defense argued there was no physical evidence proving that it actually happened. Piece by piece, they challenged the state's narrative, reminding jurors that it wasn't Blaise Taylor's job to prove what happened that night. The burden belonged entirely to the prosecution. And according to the defense, that burden had not been met. On Wednesday, July 1, prosecutors and defense attorneys stood before the jury one last time and delivered their closing arguments. Each side asked jurors to accept a very different explanation for what happened inside Jade Benning's apartment that night. Then, after hearing all of the evidence, the jury retired to deliberate. Blaze Taylor's fate was now in their hands. Just three hours later, word came from the jury room. They had reached a verdict. The jury found Blaze Taylor guilty of the first degree premeditated murder of his unborn daughter and guilty of the second degree murder of Jade Benning. They also found him guilty of first degree felony murder for the deaths of both Jade and their unborn child. Now, this verdict reflected how jurors viewed the evidence. Because by convicting Blaze of the premeditated murder of his unborn daughter, they concluded that the state had proven that he intentionally caused the death of the baby. And by finding him guilty of second Degree murder. In Jade's death, they found that he knowingly caused her death, even if they were not convinced that the state had proven it was premeditated. Now, because the jury convicted Blaze of first degree premeditated murder, Tennessee law required the same jury to hear additional evidence before deciding punishment. Jurors returned for the sentencing phase where they heard victim impact statements and additional testimony before recommending life sentences. A separate sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 9th. The judge will then determine whether those life sentences will be served at the same time or one after another. As with so many of the cases we cover, this one leaves behind more than just a verdict. Long before there were courtroom exhibits, toxicology reports, or competing expert witnesses, there was a 25 year old woman who was excited to become a mom. There was a nursery she was already dreaming about. There were canvases she painted for a little girl she would never get to meet. And there was a future that she had already begun imagining. For the jury, though, the question was never whether Jade deserved that future. It was whether the state had proven beyond a reasonable doubt who took it away. After hearing weeks of testimony, reviewing hundreds of exhibits, and weighing two very different explanations for what happened inside Jade's apartment, those 12 jurors reached their decision. They found that the evidence proved Blaze was criminally responsible for the deaths of both Jade and their unborn daughter. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that every question has been answered. This case was built almost entirely on circumstantial evidence. There was no confession, no eyewitnesses to what happened after Jade's friends left that apartment. Instead, jurors were asked to connect the text messages, the first phone calls, the toxicology, the medical testimony, and the statements of the people who knew Jade and Blaze best. In the end, they believed those pieces fit together in only one way. As we close the chapter on the trial, I want to leave you with the person at the center of this story. Jade Benning. She was a daughter, a friend, a chef who had finally found her career that she loved. An expectant mother who spent what would become her final evening cooking homemade Alfredo and laughing with friends, painting pictures for her baby girl's nursery. Whatever your thoughts are on the evidence, that's the life that was lost. And that's why this case matters. For me, one detail from this case is the one that I'll remember the most. Not the toxicology reports or the text messages, not even the verdict. It's the image of Jade sitting at her kitchen table painting canvases for a nursery that she believed her daughter would one day sleep in. Sometimes it's those ordinary moments that remind us exactly what's been lost. My name is Brandi Churchwell, creator and host of the 13th Juror podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to follow the show on your favorite podcast platform and leave a rating or review. It helps more listeners discover the podcast, and if you know someone who would find this case as fascinating as you did, share this episode with them. For additional episodes, case updates, and more information about the podcast, visit our website@thirthjurporpodcast.com the evidence has been presented, the arguments have been made, and now comes the same question faced by every juror. What do you believe? Thank you for listening.
- [45:01]
B
Hanging out at the pool is great. Relaxing and playing Vegas style games on my phone at the same time. Drink in one hand and a blackjack in the other. It's all at spinquest. Over a thousand games, including your favorite slots and table games. Be cool with this summer special. New players get $30 coin packs for 10@Spinquest.com SpinQuest is a free to play social casino void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details.
- [45:31]
C
Grainger knows when you're a procurement manager for an office park, you're not managing one building, you're managing all of them. And to stay ahead, you need to see through walls and around corners. Lights about to fail, Filters ready to clog H Vac on its last leg. If you wait until something breaks, you're already behind. Count on Grainger for quality products, easy reordering and 24. 7 support. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
- [46:01]
A
So good, so good, so good.
- [46:03]
C
New summer arrivals are at Nordstrom Rack stores now. Get ready to save big with up to 60% off brands like Rag and Bone, Levi's, Adidas and Free People. Join the Norty Club to unlock exclusive discounts. Shop new arrivals first and more. Plus buy online and pick up at your favorite rack store for free. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack.