Jordan Kelly/Icon Sportswire/AP/File
Blaze Taylor at the 2018 NFLPA College Bowl at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
CNN
—
Blaze Taylor, a Texas A&M analyst and son of the school's associate head coach, was arrested Thursday in Utah after being charged in the 2023 deaths of his girlfriend and her unborn child, according to Nashville police. Ta.
Taylor, a former college football star at Arkansas State University, was indicted Wednesday by a Nashville grand jury and charged with two counts of first-degree murder for allegedly poisoning his girlfriend and her 5-month-old unborn child. He was a father,” a release from the Nashville Police Department said.
He was being held without bail Friday night at the Cache County Jail in Logan, Utah, according to jail records. Taylor's attorney was not listed in jail records.
Police said Taylor “is suspected of unknowingly poisoning Benning during a visit to his Lebanon Pike apartment on the night of February 25th.”
That night, Taylor called 911 and said it appeared Mr. Benning was having an allergic reaction, and she was rushed to the hospital, police said.
Her fetus died two days later, and Benning died on March 6, 2023, police said. Authorities said they were unable to interview her before her death.
Police have not released details about the alleged poisoning.
“Following a months-long investigation led by Homicide Detective Adam Rees and involving crime lab scientists and medical examiner's office physicians, the murder indictment against Taylor was returned on Wednesday,” the release said. It is stated in.
Police said Taylor moved to Utah shortly after his death. Nashville police said they are working with Utah authorities to coordinate his return.
Taylor was recently appointed as an analyst at Texas A&M, but the school announced Friday night that he has been “suspended pending an investigation.” He was a four-year defensive back at Arkansas State from 2014 to 2017, where his father, Trooper Taylor, was the school's defensive backs coach.
Trooper Taylor currently serves as the associate head offensive coach and running backs coach at Texas A&M. He has been his coach for more than 30 years and coached Baylor, New Mexico, Tulane, Tennessee, Oklahoma State and Auburn to his 2010 BCS National Championship.
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this heartbreaking situation, including the families and friends of the victims. We hope the courts will be able to deal with this situation with the diligence and fairness required.” It is imperative that we do so,” Texas A&M head football coach Mike Elko said in a statement released by the university. “We would also like to send our prayers and support to Coach Trooper Taylor, Dr. Evelyn Taylor, and their families during this extremely difficult time.”
