48 Hours - Jade Benning's Final Call: Inside Nashville chef's last moment with her best friend

The 48 Hours episode Jade Benning's Final Call revisited the shocking death of 24-year-old Nashville chef Jade Benning and her unborn child due to acute cocaine toxicity on March 6, 2023. According to Primetimer, Jade Benning's Final Call revealed that Jade had arranged a date night with her partner Blaise Taylor, who was at Jade's apartment on February 25, 2023, before calling her best friend Nijaiah Jackson to seek support. During Jade's phone call to Nijaiah, Jade asked Blaise:

"What did you do? What did you put in my drinks?"

Jade added,

"I know you put something in my drink because I can't even walk straight."

Jade claimed that Blaise had done something to her that could harm their unborn daughter. As Jade's condition worsened, her speech became slurred, and Nijaiah found it increasingly difficult to get her to respond. Jade Benning's Final Call also revealed that when Nijaiah called again, Blaise answered the phone and reportedly said that he was unsure what was happening and mentioned that he needed to call 911.

Later, paramedics arrived and found Jade unresponsive before rushing her to the hospital for emergency treatment. Inside the hospital, doctors traced a high level of cocaine in her body. During the treatment, Jade's unborn baby, Ivy, died two days after the phone call, and Jade stayed on life support. Doctors declared Jade dead on her 25th birthday.

Continue reading more about Jade Benning's Final Call.

Jade Benning's Final Call: Inside Nashville chef's last moment with her best friend

February 25, 2023

Jade Benning's Final Call showed how Jade Benning died in the hospital after calling her best friend from her apartment. On the evening of February 25, 2023, Nijaiah came to Jade's apartment, where Blaise and Jade had planned to enjoy the evening by having dinner together. About an hour after Nijaiah left, Jade called her, and during the call, Nijaiah heard Jade questioning her partner about her drink.

Nijaiah recalled that Jade was saying that she could no longer feel her legs and feared that she was about to lose consciousness. After hearing what was happening inside the apartment, Nijaiah immediately rushed back there, but by the time she arrived, she saw that Jade was already inside an ambulance receiving emergency attention.

When the paramedics took Jade to the hospital, doctors discovered extremely high levels of cocaine in her body, although Blaise reported while calling emergency services that Jade didn't have any common symptoms like redness, hives, or rash.

February 27, 2023

Jade's unborn daughter, Ivy, died two days after the incident.

March 6, 2023

After staying on life support, Jade eventually died on her 25th birthday.

What happened after Jade died?

The former NFL scout Blaise Taylor (right side) (Image via YouTube/@48 Hours)

March 14, 2024

CBS News mentioned that the police arrested Blaise in a store parking lot in Utah and charged him with killing Jade and her unborn child.

July 2026

CBS 4 Local reported that Blaise was found guilty of murder in July following a 9-day trial that examined the deaths of Jade and Ivy. The jury convicted him in both deaths, leading to the verdict against the former NFL scout.

September 9, 2026

WSMV 4 reported that Blaise received two consecutive life sentences and an additional 22 years in prison for murdering Jade and her unborn baby. According to the judge's ruling, Blaise would spend the rest of his life in prison without release. Meanwhile, Blaise's attorney said that the defense team had made plans to challenge both the conviction and the sentence through an appeal.

However, Nijaiah's testimony about the final phone call presented details about Jade's condition and distress shortly before emergency responders were contacted. Her account became a significant part of the case and helped the investigators and the court to examine what happened to the pregnant Nashville chef and her unborn daughter.