Former Arkansas State cornerback Blaise Taylor has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
Per ESPN's Adam Rittenberg, Taylor was arrested in Utah by United States marshals on Thursday after a grand jury in Nashville returned an indictment against him.
Taylor is accused of poisoning his girlfriend, Jade Benning, in February 2023 when she was five months pregnant with a child he was believed to have fathered.
"Benning was rushed to the hospital on Feb. 25 last year after Taylor called 911, saying Benning was having an allergic reaction. Her condition quickly became critical, and she was unable to speak with police before she died," Rittenberg wrote.
The unborn fetus died on Feb. 27, 2023. Benning died one week later on March 6.
In a news release on Friday (h/t Craig Shoup of the Nashville Tennessean), police, crime lab specialists and the medical examiner determined after a months-long investigation that Benning had been "poisoned without her knowledge" after Taylor visited her apartment.
Shoup noted the Nashville grand jury returned an indictment against Taylor on Wednesday.
According to Rittenberg, Nashville police are working with authorities in Utah to transport Taylor back to the city.
Taylor was a four-year starter at Arkansas State from 2014 to '17. He played cornerback and as a punt-return specialist.
After his college career ended, Taylor spent four years working in the scouting department for the Tennessee Titans from 2019 to '23. He was a senior defensive analyst at Utah State for the 2023 season before being hired to join Mike Elko's staff at Texas A&M earlier this month.
Adam Rittenberg @ESPNRittenbergTexas A&M coach Mike Elko has issued a statement on the situation involving Blaise Taylor, who was arrested on a double murder charge Thursday. Taylor had joined Texas A&M's staff as an analyst earlier this month. His father Trooper Taylor is a Texas A&M assistant coach. <a href="">
Taylor has been suspended pending an investigation.
