Former Arkansas State college football player accused of murdering his pregnant girlfriend

A former college football player, once heralded for his excellence in the classroom and on the field, was arrested in Utah and accused of murdering his pregnant girlfriend in Tennessee, officials said Thursday.

The U.S. Marshals Service took 27-year-old Blaise A. Taylor into custody after a Nashville grand jury indicted him on two counts of murder, according to a Nashville police statement.

Jade Benning died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center on March 6, her 25th birthday, police said. She’d been hospitalized since Feb. 25 when Taylor called 911, reporting that Benning was having an allergic reaction, police said.

Homicide detectives, though, eventually concluded that Taylor “poisoned Benning without her knowledge while visiting her Lebanon Pike apartment on” Feb. 25, police said.

Benning died, as well as her 5-month-old fetus “which Taylor is alleged to have fathered,” according to the police statement. The suspect allegedly moved to Utah after Benning’s death.

Taylor played defensive back and ran back kicks for four seasons at Arkansas State. He ran back four punts and one kickoff for touchdowns in his college career that was marked by academic excellence.

The National Football Foundation once honored Taylor as a “National Scholar Athlete,” having completed both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in less than four years.

It wasn’t immediately clear on Friday if Taylor had hired defense attorney or if one had been assigned to represent him.