Nashville chef's date night with football scout turns deadly
: What started out as a special dinner date between Jade Benning, a Nashville chef, and Blaise Taylor, an assistant football scout, at her Nashville apartment ended in her call to a friend — and his call to 911.
On February 25, 2023, outside Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, Blaise Taylor was questioned by police about how a date went horribly wrong, leading to the death of his date, Jade Benning. Taylor, a 26-year-old football scout for the Tennessee Titans at the time, was having a date night with Benning when she started to feel unwell. She began to spit up and shake, causing Taylor to call his father, Evi Taylor, for help.
Within 30 seconds of the call, Taylor instructed his father to immediately dial 911. Emergency responders arrived to find Jade lying face down on her bed with no pulse. She was rushed to the hospital, only to be pronounced brain dead due to lack of oxygen after approximately 45 minutes.
Benning was a professional chef from Little Rock, Arkansas, who had moved to Nashville to pursue her dream of owning a restaurant. She was known for being a spirited individual and was involved in cheerleading during her high school days, where she was the captain of the squad. Her family and friends described her as a bridge builder who brought people together.
In November 2022, just three months before the tragic date night, Benning discovered she was pregnant. She chose the name "Ivy" for the baby girl and had even painted pictures for her future daughter's room. However, on the night of the fatal date, Benning's plans turned tragic when she accused Taylor of drugging her. This event led to a desperate search for answers and a heart-wrenching investigation to uncover the truth.
Written by urgent.news from CBS News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
