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Former Arkansas State star Blaise Taylor will spend the rest of his life behind bars after being convicted of poisoning his girlfriend - killing both her and their unborn child.
Taylor, who later worked as a scout for the NFL's Tennessee Titans, was given consecutive life sentences on Wednesday following convictions on one count of second-degree murder, one count of first-degree murder and two counts of first-degree felony murder.
According to prosecutors, Taylor spiked the drink of his girlfriend, Jade Benning, with a deadly dose of cocaine back in February 2023.
She was five months pregnant at the time and their unborn child died two days later, while Benning passed away from acute cocaine poisoning on March 6 - her 25th birthday.
Taylor played as a defensive back at Arkansas State between 2014 and 2017 and was appointed team captain before joining the Titans' scouting department.
During his sentencing hearing on Wednesday, the 30-year-old - who had denied the allegations - received 87 witness letters.
But Nashville Assistant District Attorney Jan Norman said: 'Not one mentioned Jade Benning, not one of them mentioned baby Ivy, and not one single letter out of the 87 letters mentioned anything about what Blaise Taylor did.'
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