Tearful Best Friend Recalls Pregnant Woman’s Last Night Alive - Full Testimony

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: And when you lived in Little Rock, Arkansas, at some point in your life, did you meet Ms. Jade Benning? I did. And how old were you when you met Jade Benning? I was about six years old. Can you describe your friendship with Jade Benning? [00:00:16] Speaker 2: My friendship with Jade Benning was a friendship that I pray everyone gets to experience. Jade was my sister. She was a very loyal person, a very dependable person, and a friend that I never imagined to not have anymore. [00:00:38] Speaker 1: How long did you, I mean, you knew her since you were six, but did you guys go to school together? [00:00:44] Speaker 2: Yes, we went to middle school, high school, and a little bit of college. [00:00:50] Speaker 1: And during that time, did you stay very close best friends? Yes. At some point, did y'all not live in the same place in Arkansas? [00:01:02] Speaker 2: Yes, we did not. There was a point when I lived in Fayetteville, and she lived in Conway, Arkansas. [00:01:09] Speaker 1: Did you maintain that close friendship even when you didn't live in the same town? Yes. And can you describe Jade kind of growing up? What type of person was she? [00:01:21] Speaker 2: Jade was a very outgoing, charismatic, go-with-the-flow type of girl, a girl that, like, never met a stranger. She didn't care your socioeconomic background. She didn't care your gender, your race. She wouldn't meet anyone and become their friend the same day. [00:01:43] Speaker 1: And growing up with her, did you guys have a type of friendship where you shared even kind of, like, secrets, stuff that you would tell other people? [00:01:54] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:01:56] Speaker 1: And in college, in Argus High School, did she play any sports? She was a cheerleader. Did you play any sports? I was a cheerleader. Was it a competition cheerleader squad? [00:02:09] Speaker 2: Yes, we did both competitive cheer and high school cheer. [00:02:13] Speaker 1: And when y'all were graduating from high school, what happened after that? What happened with you? [00:02:19] Speaker 2: I moved to Fayetteville to go to the University of Arkansas. And Jade went to University of Central Arkansas in Conway. [00:02:28] Speaker 1: And did she stay at that school? [00:02:31] Speaker 2: She did not. [00:02:33] Speaker 1: What did Jade end up doing before completing her degree that she started? [00:02:40] Speaker 2: She went to Brightwater Culinary School. [00:02:44] Speaker 1: And where is that culinary school at? [00:02:46] Speaker 2: In Bentonville, Arkansas. [00:02:48] Speaker 1: And was that something that she had talked to you about wanting to do? [00:02:53] Speaker 2: Yes, she did. It was a little, we were trying to figure out what we wanted to do. And ultimately, she was like, I think I want to go to culinary school. [00:03:02] Speaker 1: I was like, okay. And after she was in culinary school, when did you finish with your degree? In 2020. And what did you do after you graduated? [00:03:16] Speaker 2: I moved back to Little Rock and I was a dental assistant. [00:03:21] Speaker 1: And what was your degree in? [00:03:23] Speaker 2: Biology. [00:03:25] Speaker 1: And after that time, I guess you worked as a dental assistant. Did you decide to go back to school? I did, I did. When was that? In 2022. And where did you decide to go to school? Meharry Medical College. Can you describe what was going on with Jade kind of around that same time? Jade was a chef at Ernest. [00:03:50] Speaker 2: She was like head chef and just chefing it up, doing all the things, running Ernest. [00:03:59] Speaker 1: And was she living here in Nashville? [00:04:01] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:04:03] Speaker 1: Can you describe what were your feelings about when you realized that you were going to be moving to Nashville? [00:04:09] Speaker 2: I was really excited because I knew I had a friend here and I wasn't alone anymore. And we would be able to reconnect since our departure when she moved to Nashville and I was still in Little Rock. [00:04:22] Speaker 1: And when did you relocate to Nashville, Tennessee? [00:04:26] Speaker 2: In August of 2022. [00:04:29] Speaker 1: And at that time, was Jade already living here? [00:04:32] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:04:34] Speaker 1: And once you moved here, did you talk to her kind of even more than you normally did? Yes, I did. And would you characterize it as Elma Staley? Yes. And at some point, after you moved here, how did you first hear about her dating Blaise Taylor? [00:04:56] Speaker 2: She told me she kind of met him a couple months prior to. And it was kind of just, you know, small little conversations. And then when I moved here, she was telling me about this guy she had been seeing. And do you know how they met? [00:05:12] Speaker 1: On Hinge. And what is Hinge? Hinge is a dating app. And if she saw him for a date or went over to his house, would she tell you about it? Yes. And did she tell you about it often in the beginning? Yes. Can you describe what was her kind of attitude and outlook towards him? [00:05:38] Speaker 2: She described him as somebody that was like kind of different from her usual type. She was very optimistic as to like where this could go. She was really enjoying their hangouts and their conversations. [00:05:52] Speaker 1: So I was like, all right, well, let's see where this goes. Did she express to you that she wanted to be in a relationship with him? At a point in time, yes. And at some point before she found out she was pregnant, you said before that, did something happen that kind of changed that positive, optimistic outlook about the possible future with Mr. Taylor, you said before she found out she was pregnant? [00:06:22] Speaker 2: There were a couple of incidents at his home with a previous girl. [00:06:27] Speaker 3: Objection, Your Honor. May we approach? Okay. [00:06:31] Speaker ?: Okay. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. [00:07:40] Speaker 1: Ms. Jackson, without getting into the details of the incident, did something happen where she wasn't as optimistic? Yes. Um, and then can you describe that timeframe when she found out she was pregnant? How did you find out about that? [00:08:16] Speaker 2: Um, she FaceTimed, well, she texted me and told me that she needed to talk to me. And I, she then FaceTimed me and she was showing me the, maybe like four pregnancy tests that were positive. [00:08:30] Speaker 1: And are those home pregnancy tests? [00:08:32] Speaker 2: Yes, ma'am. [00:08:34] Speaker 1: And was that something that she had planned? [00:08:38] Speaker 2: No. [00:08:40] Speaker 1: Um, did you, I guess that day, talk to her about that positive pregnancy test a lot? [00:08:47] Speaker 2: Yes, I did. I did indeed. [00:08:50] Speaker 1: And what, I guess, what did you do to kind of assist with spinning with this new news in her life? [00:08:58] Speaker 2: Um, well, I was telling her because these were at-home pregnancy tests, yes, they are positive, but I think that we should probably go to a clinic to verify. So I was looking at clinics in the surrounding area to see where we could get her in to get an ultrasound. [00:09:15] Speaker 1: And were you able to get her an appointment that same day? Um, yes. And was it the very same day or was it the next day? [00:09:24] Speaker 2: It was the next day. [00:09:25] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:09:26] Speaker 1: So, were you trying to get her an appointment that same day? [00:09:28] Speaker 2: I was trying to get her an appointment the same day, but was told we don't do same-day appointments. [00:09:35] Speaker 1: And did you go with her to that appointment? [00:09:37] Speaker 2: I did. [00:09:38] Speaker 1: And do you remember the date of it? [00:09:41] Speaker 2: Um, November the 3rd. [00:09:46] Speaker 1: And what happened at that appointment? [00:09:50] Speaker 2: Um, they took her back and did vitals, and then, um, I was telling her, don't wait on me to get there so I can be with you for the ultrasound, because I wanted to hear the heartbeat with her, and... Did you make it? Yes, I did. Um, and I went to the back with her, and the nurse was asking her if she wanted to... Well, I asked her if she wanted to hear the heartbeat, and the nurse kind of verified with her decision, and we heard the heartbeat. Um, and they were measuring, like, the baby's size, and confirming, like, how many weeks she was. [00:10:49] Speaker 1: And Ms. Jackson, were they able to tell Ms. Benning how many weeks pregnant she was? Yes. And was that something where you and her discussed, kind of, dates of when it would have happened? Yes. And when they gave you that information, did you know who would have been the father of that baby? Yes. And do you still have all of your text messages with Jade? I do. Um, and was that something where y'all were going through your phones, looking at dates, making sure, like, when she was where, all of those things in that moment? Yes, ma'am. Objection, leave me wrong. [00:11:34] Speaker 4: Okay. She's answered it, so go ahead without leaving the question. [00:11:41] Speaker 1: And after that day, did you know what contact Ms. Benning had with Mr. Taylor told her about learning that she was pregnant and then finding out the exact timing of it? Yes. And can you describe, did you read any text messages she had? Did you just talk to her about it, or kind of, how did you get information about her talking to him about it? [00:12:11] Speaker 2: She sent me screenshots of his response. She called me to kind of tell me that they were going to have a conversation. So I was pretty much in the loop from day one as to what was going on in her pregnancy. [00:12:29] Speaker 1: And can you describe, after she met with Mr. Taylor, what was her attitude after speaking with him? [00:12:42] Speaker 2: She was very upset, very disappointed. Obviously, it wasn't planned, but I think the response that he gave her was not what she was not necessarily looking for, but hoping for just in terms of a conversation. It seemed more so like he was just not really interested. [00:13:07] Speaker 3: Objection, going into a hearsay response. No way she could know that without the chair. [00:13:12] Speaker 5: Okay. [00:13:13] Speaker 1: She was not stating his word, Your Honor, which would be hearsay. She was describing... [00:13:17] Speaker 4: She was describing Ms. Benning. I mean, here, so go ahead. [00:13:26] Speaker 1: Ms. Benning, after she talked to him, you were describing that she was disappointed with his response. [00:13:32] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:13:34] Speaker 1: What was her outlook and attitude, even after speaking with him and getting his response? [00:13:43] Speaker 2: I feel like Jay was still very hopeful. She was still like, you know what, like, if this is what he's, if this is how he's going to act, then I'm just going to kind of move forward with my life. Like, she definitely had a positive outlook on the situation, although his response was very underwhelming. [00:14:05] Speaker 1: Did you have any involvement in the last message that Ms. Benning sent Mr. Taylor? [00:14:12] Speaker 2: I did. [00:14:13] Speaker 1: In November. Yes. Can you describe that? [00:14:16] Speaker 2: She was pretty much like, she sent me a text that she was going to send him, basically saying how she was feeling towards the situation. And she sent it to me and I edited, edited it a little bit to kind of be more forward and for her to say what it was that she really wanted to say and just kind of get her feelings out there regardless of what he was going to say or not. [00:14:40] Speaker 1: And did she share with you, kind of, proof that she sent that message to him? [00:14:46] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:14:47] Speaker 1: And did he respond? [00:14:51] Speaker 2: Um, I don't remember. [00:14:54] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:14:55] Speaker 1: Would that have been close in time to that November 3rd appointment? [00:15:01] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:15:03] Speaker 1: After she sent that message, are you aware if they talked afterwards in November? [00:15:11] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:15:12] Speaker 1: And were they talking, like, on a regular basis or what, what do you know about the communication that they had after she sent that text? [00:15:21] Speaker 2: Um, the communication between the two of them was very one-sided, um, based on the responses that I read, it kind of was in terms of Blaze not really wanting Jay to do certain things and not like saying he was trying to persuade her not to have the baby, but his response was not in a collaborative effort with wanting to raise a child with her. [00:15:53] Speaker 1: And, did, I guess, what was Jay doing about telling other people initially? She told you. Mm-hmm. Did she tell anyone else, kind of in the beginning, just the first week? [00:16:11] Speaker 2: Um, I believe she told her mom, um, her dad, and I think that's all I remember. [00:16:23] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:16:24] Speaker 1: What was your outlook when she told you that Mr. Taylor didn't want to be involved? What was your outlook and what were you doing, kind of, with your relationship with Miss Vity? [00:16:36] Speaker 2: Um, I told her that we're sisters at the end of the day. So if I have to be the baby's dad. Um, I was like, we, we will get through this together. I always reassured her that she's never alone. Um, we were both living alone at that time, and her lease was coming to an end. And I was telling her, you know, if we need to live together, if I need to help you, then I will. I went to the appointment. [00:17:36] Speaker 1: Did you guys end up getting a place together, or what ended up happening? [00:17:41] Speaker 2: No, unfortunately, she ditched me on that plan. But she moved into a two-bedroom apartment, so Ivy could have her own room, and she was like, you know, you're in school. So she found an apartment that could house the both of them comfortably. [00:17:58] Speaker 1: And during that time, kind of, after mid-November and December and through the holiday, was Ms. Binning planning things for that new apartment and moving? Yes. Um, did she share a lot of that information with you by text message, video calls, and phone calls? Yes. And then, can you describe, did y'all see each other over Christmas? Uh, we did not. And when the, kind of, new year began, in January, can you describe what happened? [00:18:36] Speaker 2: Um, she got word from Blaze, and he reached out to her, wanting to talk to her. And she was very, like, optimistic about what was going to be said. Um, and that is, kind of, the basis of that, whenever the, January 1st came around. [00:19:01] Speaker 1: And was there a break of time where she had not communicated with him at all? [00:19:06] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:19:07] Speaker 1: And was that at least five to six weeks? Yes. And you said she was hopeful. Do you know if she met with him and saw him? She did. And did she see him every day, or can you, kind of, describe what information did you have about the contact that they had with each other? [00:19:29] Speaker 2: Um, from my understanding and from what I was told, like, it wasn't every single day, but they were definitely back in communication. Not normal as it was before the fact she found out she was pregnant. But it appeared to be, kind of, heading in a direction of which, okay, like, where we going with this? And she was very, like, optimistic of the fact that maybe he might actually be coming back around. [00:19:57] Speaker 1: And did you try to support her? [00:19:59] Speaker 2: I did. [00:20:00] Speaker 1: Um, did you think, did you actually want her to, I guess not want her to get back with Mr. Taylor, but were you a little apprehensive? [00:20:13] Speaker 2: Um, a little, but I feel like because it made her happy that ultimately, like, that made me happy for her. [00:20:22] Speaker 1: And did she tell you, kind of, every time that she saw him, after they started talking again in January? [00:20:29] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:20:30] Speaker 1: Um, and did she give you specific details about that, and messages, and on phone calls, and things like that? [00:20:36] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:20:38] Speaker 1: And can you describe what all was Jade planning in that January, that very time frame, as it related to her baby? [00:20:48] Speaker 2: We were planning baby showers. Her birthday was coming up, so we were going to have a baby shower in Nashville and one in Lutter Rock. So we were kind of delegating tasks on who was going to be the coordinator of the Lutter Rock one, and who was going to be the coordinator of the Nashville baby shower. [00:21:07] Speaker 1: And were there appointments related to her pregnancy that happened in February? [00:21:13] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:21:14] Speaker 1: Which I want to back up a little bit. You talked about going to that November 3rd, very first appointment with her. Did you go to another appointment with her, kind of in the beginning, before the end of the year? Yes. And was that the November 16th appointment? Yes. So January and February, you were planning baby showers. Do you remember when she got her new apartment? Yes. And specifically, I guess technically it was a condo, but was it a two-bedroom versus a one-bedroom? [00:21:50] Speaker 2: Two-bedroom. [00:21:51] Speaker 1: And was she planning things for the baby's room? Yes. Do you remember when she found out if she was having a boy or a girl? Yes. And what did she find out? [00:22:04] Speaker 2: She was having a girl. [00:22:07] Speaker 1: Did you discuss with Miss Vinning names and things like that? Yes. Were you able to go to that appointment with her? Were you able to go to that appointment with her? [00:22:16] Speaker 2: The February 2nd one? [00:22:17] Speaker 1: I was not. And during that time when she went to the appointment, found that out, was she talking to you about kind of what was going on with her and Mr. Chamberlain? Yes. [00:22:32] Speaker ?: Yes. [00:22:33] Speaker 1: And did she, did you have any information about whether or not he went to that appointment with her? Yes. Judgment calls that you're so drunk. I did not ask her what anyone said. I asked her if she had any information. [00:22:48] Speaker 4: There would be no way she would. She's not answered yay or nay, but I'll sustain that, Jay. [00:22:59] Speaker 1: During that time when Jay found out that she was having a baby girl, can you describe what Jay was doing kind of as far as social media and publicizing the fact that she was pregnant and who the father was? She never did. Never? Mm-mm. And can you explain, do you know why? [00:23:26] Speaker 2: Ultimately, based on the conversations with her and Blaze, I think Jade was very apprehensive to share things based on his reaction. [00:23:40] Speaker 1: I'm trying to get to Ms. Benning's state of mind. [00:23:46] Speaker 4: Okay, we'll rephrase your question. [00:23:50] Speaker 1: So, you said she never was posting to social media. [00:23:53] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm. [00:23:55] Speaker 1: Was, I guess, based off of your close friendship with her, was she unhappy about the pregnancy or was she happy about it? She was happy about it. Did you feel like if circumstances were different, she would have posted to social media? Yes. I mean, was that something that she regularly did? Yes. Was it unusual that she was not? Yes. Did she continue to express kind of happiness and optimism about the baby coming? Yes. And can you describe, did she have additional appointments in February that you were aware of? [00:24:36] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:24:37] Speaker 1: Did you go to any of those? Uh-uh. And what was going on with you at that time? So, we're going to have it in February of 2023. You had moved here to go to Meharry. Mm-hmm. What was your schedule like and kind of what was going on with you then? [00:24:55] Speaker 2: I was a full-time student. So, my day consisted of studying, exams, going over test questions, and at that point in time, I was preparing for a really big exam. [00:25:09] Speaker 1: And do you know Mr. Keontae Jones? [00:25:12] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:25:12] Speaker 1: And how do you know him? [00:25:14] Speaker 2: He's my classmate. [00:25:16] Speaker 1: Um, in February 2023, did you spend time with him in school studying? Yes. Um, kind of going to that time frame of that Saturday, February 25th, um, had you been at Jade's apartment earlier that week? [00:25:38] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:25:39] Speaker 1: And can you describe why you were there and what happened? [00:25:43] Speaker 2: I went so she could straighten my hair. And, um, she was showing me around her apartment and just kind of showing me where she was going to put things. We went into the baby's room and she was showing me the things that she had ordered from or got from Facebook Marketplace. The ultrasound was kind of out. It was just giving all things girl mom preparing for a baby. [00:26:10] Speaker 1: And you said that Ms. Benning wasn't posting to social media. Would she send messages to you and her other close friends? [00:26:17] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:26:19] Speaker 1: And did you receive a lot of pictures from Ms. Benning? [00:26:23] Speaker 2: I did. [00:26:24] Speaker 1: Um, I guess can you describe them? What type of pregnancy pictures did she typically send to you? [00:26:30] Speaker 2: She would send pictures at the gym, holding her belly. She would send pictures of her at home, um, videos. And she was kind of almost, like, documenting it. Like, she would say how many weeks she was in a couple of videos. And she would, like, rub on her belly and was just, like, loving on her. [00:26:52] Speaker 1: And that Monday night, or not Monday night, but it was two days before this, so that Thursday night you said you went to her apartment. Is that right? Yes. And y'all walked all around that apartment. Mm-hmm. Um, and then on that Saturday, February 25th, can you describe what happened that day and kind of how you ended up being over there? [00:27:14] Speaker 2: Um, that day I spent pretty much my entire day at school studying for an exam that I had on Monday. Um, we were just there pretty much until, like, maybe 6.30, 7. And, um, Jade and I were texting and she asked me if I had paint. And I was, like, no, I don't. I was, like, what are you doing with the paint? And she was telling me how she was going to do a paint night with her and Blaze since they weren't able to hang out the weekend before. And she was saying that she was going to cook dinner. And she asked me what she should cook. And I told her she should make chicken alfredo. And, um. [00:27:51] Speaker 1: Is there a reason you suggested that? [00:27:54] Speaker 2: Personally, it's my favorite. And if you, if she's going to be cooking for somebody, I was, like, you should, you know, cook your best meal. [00:28:01] Speaker 1: And at some point, I guess, how did you end up going over there? [00:28:09] Speaker 2: Um, it was a very spontaneous win, spontaneous win for me to go there. I was just hanging out with some friends after we were studying in front of campus. And they had ordered food that I didn't want. And so I was, like, oh, I'll just go eat at Jade's, like, just get food from Jade's house. So I called her and I was, like, hey, like, what y'all doing? I was, like, I'm about to come by and get some food. And she was, like, okay. And then I told her that Keontae was going to come with me. And that's how I ended up over there. [00:28:43] Speaker 1: And were you planning on going over there and sit down, sitting down to eat? Or what was the plan? [00:28:48] Speaker 2: I just planned on picking it up and leaving, saying hi and bye. I didn't plan on dining in with them. [00:28:56] Speaker 1: And on that February 25th of 2023, had you ever met Blaise Taylor? [00:29:01] Speaker 2: Not in person. [00:29:03] Speaker 1: Um, and describe kind of how that happened. You were with Keontae. [00:29:09] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm. [00:29:09] Speaker 1: Um, and y'all had been at school. Yes. Did you go straight to Jade's? [00:29:13] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm. [00:29:14] Speaker 1: And what did you do when you got there? [00:29:17] Speaker 2: When we got there, we said hi. And, um, Jade started, like, packing up the food. And she, like, put the foil on it, put it in a bag, and kind of set it off to the side. And I, we were just, like, chit-chatting about, um, what they were going to paint. And we talked about, like, going to a concert. And we were laughing at the fact that I didn't know how to play spades. So, that was pretty much, like, the basis of the conversation. [00:29:50] Speaker 1: And can you describe, um, Jade's kind of kitchen area when you got there? Was there food out that they were eating, or kind of what was the setup at the point you got there? [00:30:02] Speaker 2: Um, when I got there, the food was on the stove. It was kind of packaged. Um, the canvases were kind of off to the side. Um, the island was pretty clear. I didn't, you know. And Jade had a glass of, like, a pink drink. And Blaze wasn't drinking anything. There was no cup in front of Blaze. [00:30:26] Speaker 1: And did you drink anything while you were there? [00:30:29] Speaker 2: I didn't drill. [00:30:30] Speaker 1: Was that something you brought with you? [00:30:32] Speaker 2: I did not. [00:30:33] Speaker 1: What was Mr. Taylor doing, and where was he at in the room? [00:30:41] Speaker 2: Um, he was sitting beside Jade at the island, and he was engaging with some of the conversations, and he was just shuffling Uno cards the whole time. [00:30:53] Speaker 1: Was anybody playing here, no? [00:30:55] Speaker 2: No. [00:30:56] Speaker 1: Um, but he was shuffling cards. [00:30:58] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm. [00:31:00] Speaker 1: And did Mr. Jones, did he interact with Mr. Taylor? [00:31:05] Speaker 2: Um, yeah. Like, ever so slightly. It was kind of like a conversation, just in the kitchen. [00:31:13] Speaker 1: And do you know approximately how long y'all stayed? [00:31:18] Speaker 2: Probably, like, a little over 15 minutes, like 15 to 30 minutes. [00:31:24] Speaker 1: And during that time, did you, did anything seem amiss to you? [00:31:31] Speaker 2: Nothing too alarming, except the comment he made about his artwork that he was going to make, because the whole basis of this project was to make something for the baby's room. [00:31:43] Speaker 4: What's the statement by the defendant, Your Honor? Okay, I don't think she's gotten there yet, but do you want to ask about what? [00:31:54] Speaker 1: Yes. He said that he made a comment about the painting he was going to do. What was his comment? [00:32:00] Speaker 2: Um, I had asked, like, what they were going to paint, and Jade was like, I'm going to make something. [00:32:05] Speaker 1: What's the question? Here's the question. [00:32:07] Speaker 4: Do you care to be heard, um, Ms. Binney? [00:32:11] Speaker ?: I, I, I think it's unnecessary, so no. [00:32:16] Speaker 1: I do think it goes to Jade's State of Mind, Your Honor, but. [00:32:21] Speaker 4: All right, you. I'll over the objection that goes into. Was that comment from Mr. Taylor right after the discussion with the artwork with Ms. Binney? [00:32:34] Speaker 2: Uh, yes. [00:32:35] Speaker 4: Okay, all right, go ahead. [00:32:37] Speaker 1: What did Ms. Binney say she was planning on painting? [00:32:39] Speaker 2: She said that she was going to paint something for the baby's room. Um, she didn't know what yet, but she knew that's what, she was going to paint something to hang in Ivy's room. And when I asked Blaze what he was going to paint, he told me he was going to paint a black hole. And I was like a black hole and he was like, yeah, I'm going to call it midnight. The further you look, the deeper you'll go. And I was like, okay, you know, but I was like, well, why don't we just add like a little bit of white to the, you know, canvas to make it look a little lively, lively. And that was kind of that, but it was a very dark demeanor about this painting after Jade said that she was going to make something for the baby's room. [00:33:23] Speaker 1: And were they actually painting while you were there? [00:33:27] Speaker 2: No. [00:33:28] Speaker 1: So this was discussions about what we're about to do? Yes. Um, and was there anything else in this other than the comment that you made about the painting? [00:33:43] Speaker 2: Um, not that I can think of or remember. [00:33:48] Speaker 1: And did you get food? [00:33:51] Speaker 2: I did. [00:33:52] Speaker 1: And did y'all leave? [00:33:53] Speaker 2: We did. [00:33:54] Speaker 1: And after you left, did you communicate with Jade after you left? [00:33:59] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:34:01] Speaker 1: Um, and you don't have to tell me what you said, but how did you communicate with her? [00:34:06] Speaker 2: I text her. [00:34:07] Speaker 1: And did she respond? Yes. And did you have a couple of texts back and forth? [00:34:12] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:34:13] Speaker 1: Um, and can you describe Jade's demeanor when you left? [00:34:17] Speaker 2: She seemed really happy. Um, very excited to spend the rest of the night with Blaze and probably excited that I was leaving now. [00:34:27] Speaker 1: Um, when you left, where did you go? [00:34:31] Speaker 2: To Keontae's house. [00:34:33] Speaker 1: And what did you do when you got there? [00:34:36] Speaker 2: I ate my chicken alfredo. [00:34:38] Speaker 1: And were you planning on hanging out with Mr. Jones all night or what was your kind of plan for that night? [00:34:45] Speaker 2: No, I just stopped by. We were just studying, got food. We were just like hanging out and I was about to go home. [00:34:52] Speaker 1: And did you actually leave Mr. Jones's house? [00:34:55] Speaker 2: I did. [00:34:56] Speaker 1: Um, did you stop anywhere before you got home? [00:34:59] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:34:59] Speaker 1: And where did you stop? [00:35:01] Speaker 2: A gas station. [00:35:03] Speaker 1: And what, if anything, happened while you were there? [00:35:07] Speaker 2: Um, I was pumping gas. And as I was walking back to my car, I get a phone call from Jade. And I answered it and I was like, hello? Just normal? And she immediately starts saying, what did you do? What did you put in my dream? And then I heard her say, Blaze, you're scaring me. And he was like, you're scaring me. And she was like, I know you put something in my dream. [00:35:59] Speaker 3: She was like, I know my dream tasted funny. [00:36:04] Speaker 2: And she was asking him to get to his pockets. And she was like, let me see what's in your pocket. Let me see. And he was like, I don't have anything. So this whole time, I'm like, Jade, Jade, like, trying to get a response from her. So because I didn't get a response from her, I texted her. And I was like, are you talking to me? What's going on? And then she was like, I know you put something in my dream because I can't even want to drink. She was saying that she couldn't feel her legs. And then she said it again. And she was like, can you put something in my dream? You did this so something could happen to me. [00:37:01] Speaker 4: Give her just a minute. Do you need a Kleenex? I won't let everybody be able to hear the number one, but then let you call them. [00:37:30] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:37:30] Speaker 2: Can you repeat the last thing that you heard Jade say? She said that you did this so something could happen to the baby. [00:37:45] Speaker 1: Did she say anything else? [00:37:50] Speaker 2: She was saying like, I feel like I'm about to pass out. And then towards the end of the conversation, she was like, is, is, key, and then nothing else. She was like saying it was very wavy and she was like, is, I heard is, and I heard with, and I heard key. And so I then merged Keontae on the phone because I'm like, I don't know what's wrong with Jade. Like, something sounds wrong. Like, listen to her. And he's like, Jade, like, I'm here. And at that point, you just really couldn't understand what she was saying anymore. [00:38:40] Speaker 1: Ms. Jackson, I want to kind of go back at the beginning of the call when you could understand Jade. Can you describe, based off of your experience, how did she sound? [00:38:55] Speaker 2: She sounded like, very scared. She did not sound like herself. She sounded like she needed help. [00:39:11] Speaker 1: Did you say she sounded like she needed help? Yes. When she was saying the things that you've just testified to, did she say some of those phrases more than once? Yes. And you said at the beginning, she said, please, you're scaring me. Yes. And you heard him respond. Did he respond to any of the other phrases that she was saying to him? [00:39:47] Speaker 2: The only thing he responded to was when she said that he was scaring her. He then said, like, you're scaring me. And then when he was asking her if she had any, I mean, when she was asking if he had anything in his pockets and for him to show her, he was like, I don't have anything. And that was kind of all he said. [00:40:08] Speaker 1: So you could hear him on that call? [00:40:11] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:40:12] Speaker 1: And that's all he said during that full time that Jane made all of those statements. Yes. And that she couldn't feel her legs. And she's asking him, what's in your hand? Show me your pockets. What did you put in my drink? I knew my drink tasted funny. You did not provide a response to any of that. [00:40:34] Speaker 2: No. [00:40:38] Speaker 1: And can you describe that call as a six-minute and nine-second call? Kind of, at what point, was it just at the end, those last few words, that you really couldn't understand her? Yes. And you said you heard her say kind of three words. What were those again? I heard is, I heard with, and I heard key. And did you try to connect that to what that could possibly mean? [00:41:17] Speaker 2: Yes. I didn't understand what she was saying, but because she sounded so scared and Keontae was just there, we all call him key. So I was like, okay, like, she's obviously scared. Like, she needs him to help her because she's with another man and Keontae is a man. So when I added him on the phone, he's talking to her. [00:41:43] Speaker 1: Is she responding at all? No. At any time, did you think that Jane Bening was saying those phrases to you? No. And you only, you heard Mr. Taylor respond and you heard her say too, Blaise, you're scaring me. Yes. How did that call end? [00:42:16] Speaker 2: The phone hung up. [00:42:18] Speaker 1: Did you hang up? No. At any point, did Mr. Taylor say anything to you? [00:42:25] Speaker 2: No. No. [00:42:27] Speaker 1: And what did you do after that line got cut? [00:42:31] Speaker 2: I called back. [00:42:34] Speaker 1: Did you call back more than once? Yes. At some point, and you're calling back, Ms. Bening's phone, is that correct? [00:42:43] Speaker 2: Correct. [00:42:43] Speaker 1: Did you have Blaise Taylor's phone to call him? [00:42:46] Speaker 2: No. [00:42:47] Speaker 1: At some point, was her phone answered? [00:42:51] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:42:52] Speaker 1: And who answered it when you called back? Blaise. And can you describe what was said in that phone call? [00:43:00] Speaker 2: I answered the phone, well, he answered the phone, and I was like, Blaise, what's going on? Like, FaceTime me, like, let me see her. And he doesn't FaceTime me, but he tells me that he's about to call 911. [00:43:21] Speaker 1: Did you ask him several times to FaceTime you? Yes. And you said that you asked him what was going on. Did he answer you? [00:43:31] Speaker 2: He just kept saying, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. [00:43:37] Speaker 1: Do you remember him saying anything else on that call? [00:43:43] Speaker 2: There was a point where he asked me if she had an EpiPen. [00:43:49] Speaker 1: Did that make any sense to you? [00:43:51] Speaker 2: Not at all. [00:43:55] Speaker 1: Did Jade have any allergies? Not to my knowledge. And at that moment, can you describe, do you know what's actually going on with Jade? [00:44:08] Speaker 2: No. [00:44:09] Speaker 1: So what do you do? [00:44:11] Speaker 2: After Blaise tells me that he's calling 911, he's like, I got to go, like, I'm calling 911. The phone disconnects again. That was not on me. And then I called Jade's mother. [00:44:24] Speaker 1: And, Ms. Jackson, do you remember, was Keontae Jones on that second call? Do you remember that specifically? And when I say second call, the call where you called her and Blaise Taylor answered? [00:44:37] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:44:40] Speaker 1: And do you remember if Keontae said anything to him or if he said anything back? [00:44:45] Speaker 2: He was asking him, what did he do? [00:44:51] Speaker 1: And you said that call got disconnected, but not by you. [00:44:54] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:44:55] Speaker 1: And then you immediately called Jade Bending's mother. Yes. And were you still at the gas station, or what were you doing? [00:45:04] Speaker 2: I was on the interstate trying to get to Jade's apartment. [00:45:09] Speaker 1: And did you make it to Jade's apartment? [00:45:11] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:45:12] Speaker 1: And can you describe when you got there, what was going on? [00:45:23] Speaker 2: When I pulled up, the ambulance was already outside. Jade was already in the truck. Her head was to the side. And they were doing CPR. So, I'm still on the phone with Bridget at this point. And I'm trying to give her something, but I can't see her face. She's just really pale. She still has on the pajamas that she was wearing when I left. And Blaise is going back and forth, back and forth. And I'm just like, what happened? What happened? And then the EMT comes around and tells me that we all need to go to Vanderbilt. [00:46:27] Speaker 1: Could you tell if Jane Benning was conscious? No. Did she look conscious? No. And you said that you saw Mr. Taylor going back and forth, back and forth. Can you describe what was his demeanor like when you saw him by the ambulance outside? [00:46:50] Speaker 2: It was just like very anxious, kind of panicky. But he couldn't answer. He couldn't tell me what was going on, what was said. Like, I had no idea what he even called 911 and said at this point in time. And when they tell us to leave, then we both leave and meet them at the ER. [00:47:13] Speaker 1: So he didn't tell you anything that happened? [00:47:16] Speaker 2: No. [00:47:16] Speaker 1: After you left? No. And do you drive to the ER? [00:47:22] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:47:24] Speaker 1: Do you see him again? Yes. And can you describe that? [00:47:31] Speaker 2: I see him again in the parking lot when we get to the ER and when we walk into checking in at the hospital. Again, I'm still on the phone with Jade's mom. And we go to the check-in and they're asking, who are we here to see? I say, Jade Benning. And they ask, what's her date of birth? But they were asking our relation to the patient. And I said, that's my best friend. And he told them that this was his girlfriend. And I had never heard that before. And so at this point, I'm very, very confused. I'm still trying to process and understand what I just heard on the phone. So then they asked for the patient's birthday. And since this is your girlfriend, tell her Jade's birthday. And he couldn't tell them her birthday. So I then provided that information for them. [00:48:32] Speaker 1: Did he tell them anything about what happened? [00:48:37] Speaker 2: The check-in? [00:48:38] Speaker ?: Yes. [00:48:39] Speaker 1: No. But he said he referred to her as his girlfriend. Yes. Did you believe them to be in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship? [00:48:48] Speaker 2: No. [00:48:50] Speaker 1: And do you ever heard anything about that? [00:48:52] Speaker 2: No. [00:48:54] Speaker 1: What was his kind of demeanor like to you? Was he kind of leaning on you for comfort, asking you things about Jade? Or what was going on? What was he saying? [00:49:06] Speaker 3: We like to be our job, Jackson. [00:49:09] Speaker 4: Okay. You kind of had a comment, kind of a question there. You're asking this young lady what was Mr. Taylor's demeanor? Yes. [00:49:19] Speaker 1: What was his demeanor and what's he saying? [00:49:20] Speaker 4: She didn't answer that. Thank you. [00:49:23] Speaker 2: What was his demeanor? Um, it was not looking for comfort. Um, it was almost like he was just trying to figure out what was going on, but not necessarily... [00:49:38] Speaker 4: Okay. My demeanor, she's talking about emotions or quiet, not what your interpretation of it is. [00:49:47] Speaker 2: Okay, um, was not crying. Um, his demeanor was very calm per se, but more in terms of like trying, just trying to figure out what was going on, but not about the status of James. [00:50:03] Speaker 4: Objection, your honor. Okay. I'll sustain it, Jackson. What's your next question? [00:50:10] Speaker 1: Was he asking questions of the people at the hospital? [00:50:16] Speaker 2: I don't know. [00:50:19] Speaker 1: You don't remember him asking them anything? [00:50:21] Speaker 2: No. [00:50:22] Speaker 1: What were you doing? [00:50:24] Speaker 2: Trying to get some answers as to what just happened, what was Jade's state. I had nothing. Um, so I was in the room, we were in a room in the hospital, and I was just trying to figure out what was going on. [00:50:43] Speaker 1: Did you provide the hospital staff with identifying information about Jade? [00:50:48] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:50:50] Speaker 1: Did they ask you questions about her? [00:50:53] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:50:54] Speaker 1: And did you provide them with information about kind of her pregnancy and things like that? Yes. Um, and you said that you were in a room with Mr. Taylor. [00:51:07] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm. [00:51:08] Speaker 1: Was there anybody else in that room? [00:51:10] Speaker 2: Not at that time. [00:51:12] Speaker 1: And did you speak to him again? [00:51:17] Speaker 2: Uh, yes. [00:51:18] Speaker 1: And kind of, what were you saying and what was his response? [00:51:21] Speaker 2: I was asking him what was going on, like, what happened. He kind of wasn't really giving me anything. Um, he kind of explained a little bit, like, that she just didn't feel good. And at this point, Keontae then calls again, and he's asking what's going on, and I'm obviously very flustered and upset, and Keontae then asks to speak to Blaise. [00:51:49] Speaker 1: And did you give a phone to Keontae? [00:51:51] Speaker 2: Yes. Multiple, please. [00:51:54] Speaker 1: Can you describe, you said that Mr. Taylor said that Ms. Benning wasn't feeling well. Mm-hmm. Do you remember anything specific he said about that? [00:52:03] Speaker 2: He said that, um, she felt woozy. He said that she felt woozy and needed to lie down. [00:52:11] Speaker 1: And that term, woozy, was that something that was familiar to you? [00:52:16] Speaker 2: No. [00:52:17] Speaker 1: Is that something that Jade had ever, had she ever used that word? [00:52:21] Speaker 2: No. [00:52:23] Speaker 1: Um, did he say anything else about what happened? [00:52:28] Speaker 2: He said that they danced, that they ate, um, they played games. And then they painted, and then she felt woozy, and she needed to lie down, and that she threw up. [00:52:41] Speaker 1: At what point, kind of, in the progression of events that night, did he say that she threw up? [00:52:49] Speaker 2: When, um, other hospital staff came in, and they were basically asking both of us, kind of, what happened from each of our perspectives. And when he's explaining it to someone, he then adds that in there. But I had known that she had thrown up prior to that statement. [00:53:08] Speaker 1: Was that the first time you ever heard him say that? [00:53:11] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:53:12] Speaker 1: And is it fair to say you had asked him a multitude of times what happened? Yes. And so you're present when he's telling the hospital staff about what happened? Yes. Does he ever tell them what you heard Jade say to him on that phone call? [00:53:35] Speaker 2: No. [00:53:39] Speaker 1: At some point, did you tell them? [00:53:42] Speaker 2: I did. [00:53:43] Speaker 1: And was he there when you told them? Yes. What, if anything, did he say when you told them what Jade said to you? [00:53:54] Speaker 2: He started talking over me and then says, you act like you care about her more than I do, and that's the mother of my child. [00:54:06] Speaker 1: Can you explain, what did that statement mean to you based off of what you knew? [00:54:13] Speaker 2: Can you ask that one more time? [00:54:14] Speaker 1: That statement, was that a normal statement or an unusual statement? [00:54:19] Speaker 2: Unusual. [00:54:20] Speaker 3: I'm going to object. She's already stated she doesn't know, Mr. Taylor. This was the first time she met him. [00:54:25] Speaker 4: Okay. Do you want to rephrase your question? Yes. [00:54:35] Speaker 1: Had you ever heard him say that before? [00:54:38] Speaker ?: No. [00:54:41] Speaker 1: Did you find that to be, I guess, can you describe what did you think when he said that? Objection, irrelevant. [00:54:49] Speaker 4: You care to be heard over relevance. [00:54:53] Speaker 1: Yes, Your Honor. I think the context of their relationship is state of mind. I think that it's relevant to the answer. [00:55:02] Speaker 4: But you're actually heard and interpret that. How to sustain the objection? [00:55:08] Speaker 1: What did you do at that point? [00:55:10] Speaker 2: Um, I, at that point, I tried to stay away from him as long, like, as much as I could, because that upset me. [00:55:23] Speaker 1: Why did it upset you? [00:55:24] Speaker 2: Because she's my best friend. And that didn't matter about the relationship. Like, we should be focusing on her health and the baby's health, not about who was closer to her in that moment. [00:55:43] Speaker 1: Did you tell multiple people at the hospital about what Jake said on that phone call to him? Yes. And at some point, did police officers arrive? [00:55:55] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:55:56] Speaker 1: And did you speak with them? [00:55:58] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:55:59] Speaker 1: And did you speak with multiple officers? Yes. Did you tell them about the phone call? [00:56:07] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:56:09] Speaker 1: And at some point, did a detective show up? [00:56:14] Speaker ?: Yes. [00:56:16] Speaker 1: Um, and did you meet with him? [00:56:18] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:56:19] Speaker 1: And was that separate from Mr. Taylor? [00:56:21] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:56:23] Speaker 1: And did you give him a statement about everything that Jake said to you, to him, on that call that you heard? [00:56:31] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:56:33] Speaker 1: And at some point that night, did you leave the hospital? [00:56:38] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:56:39] Speaker 1: And can you describe when did you do that? [00:56:42] Speaker 2: Um, maybe around, like, 2 a.m. [00:56:45] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:56:47] Speaker 2: And what, if anything, did you do? I left and went home and was trying to make sense of what I just heard. [00:57:00] Speaker 1: At any point, did you see Mr. Keontae Jones again that night? [00:57:05] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:57:06] Speaker 1: And can you describe that? [00:57:07] Speaker 2: Um, he picked me up. I was telling him that I just felt uncomfortable, um, because at this point, it was just Blaise and I and a couple of other people, and I just didn't want to be there anymore. So I asked him to come and pick me up. [00:57:23] Speaker 1: And can you describe, did anyone else that knew Jake show up at the hospital before you left? [00:57:29] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:57:30] Speaker 1: And who showed up? [00:57:32] Speaker 2: Um, Lauren and Natalie. [00:57:34] Speaker 1: And did you know them? [00:57:35] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:57:36] Speaker 1: How did you know them? [00:57:37] Speaker 2: Um, I met them through Jake. They were her co-workers. [00:57:43] Speaker 1: At some point, did you go back to Jake's apartment? [00:57:49] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:57:50] Speaker 1: And when did you do that? [00:57:53] Speaker 2: Um, maybe like a day or so after. [00:57:57] Speaker 1: And did you go by yourself or did you go with other people? [00:58:00] Speaker 2: Other people. [00:58:03] Speaker 1: Your Honor, may I have the permission to publish a portion of Exhibit 14 to this witness? [00:58:19] Speaker 4: Oh, can you toss it off of your computer? Yes, sir. Or the, okay. Your Honor, for the record, I'm publishing a video one from Exhibit 14. [00:58:39] Speaker 1: Ms. Jackson, do you recognize what's shown in this video? [00:58:43] Speaker 2: Yes. And what is that? Um, Jade's kitchen. And it's the dinner that she made that night. [00:58:56] Speaker 1: And do you remember why y'all were videoing this? [00:59:01] Speaker 2: Um, because I was very adamant on going to her apartment. Because I had just seen her an hour prior to this phone call, so I wanted to see if there was something, something happened, if there was any sign of struggle, or kind of what happened here. [00:59:27] Speaker 1: And this video, is that exactly the way that it looked when you left? [00:59:34] Speaker 2: Uh, no. No. [00:59:38] Speaker 1: And now I am showing video number 4. [00:59:45] Speaker 4: What's different? [00:59:46] Speaker 1: 4. I'm sorry, I'm going to go back to that here. [00:59:49] Speaker 4: Oh, okay. [00:59:50] Speaker 1: I'm showing video number 4. Do you recognize this? [00:59:56] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:59:57] Speaker 1: And specifically, is there anything about this video that stood out to you? [01:00:03] Speaker 2: The camera and the blinds. [01:00:05] Speaker 1: And, explain what you mean by that. [01:00:10] Speaker 2: Um, every time that I've been at Jade's apartment, that white camera has been in her kitchen area. Um, so I was very concerned as to why it was, it was moved in her bedroom. Um, Jade also lived on the first floor, so I was confused as to why her blinds were up and the camera was facing outward. Um, she kept the camera in the living room, I mean the kitchen, I'm sorry, um, because the front door was right there. So this was very alarming because Jade would never leave her blinds up like that, especially at night with the camera moved away from, can't see anything there. [01:00:55] Speaker 1: Have you ever seen the camera in that location at this apartment or even her previous apartment? [01:01:02] Speaker 2: No. [01:01:03] Speaker 1: I am going to go back to video number 1. Ms. Jackson, can you describe where is it that that camera normally would be? [01:01:16] Speaker 2: To the right of the happiness is homemade side. [01:01:20] Speaker 1: And if you touch that monitor in front of you, it will actually make a mark so you can mark this specific spot that you're referring to. Is that where it was when you had been there earlier? Ms. Jackson, is that where it was when you had been there earlier? Ms. Jackson, yes. And so when you were there earlier that night, the camera was right there. And then when you came back, it was in the bedroom. [01:02:01] Speaker 2: Ms. Jackson, yes. [01:02:04] Speaker 1: Can you describe what, if anything, did you do related to that camera and the blinds that we just saw in her bedroom? [01:02:13] Speaker 2: Ms. Jackson, I moved the camera back to where it was and I put the blinds back down. [01:02:19] Speaker 1: So you moved the camera and put it back to that spot, right by the stove. [01:02:24] Speaker 2: Yes. [01:02:25] Speaker 1: Ms. Jackson, yes. And why did you do that? [01:02:29] Speaker 2: Ms. Jackson, because I was not sure if Blaze had an extra key or not. He did help her move in and it was supposed to be in front of the door in case if something happened you could see. And so I put it back there because I was not sure if he were to have come back or not. [01:02:48] Speaker 1: Did you have any idea if that camera was connected and recording? [01:02:52] Speaker 2: I was under the impression that it was. [01:02:56] Speaker 1: I was under the impression that it was supposed to be in front of this area of Ms. Benning's bedroom? I noticed the staining on her comforter and that her covers were kind of messed up from the back. [01:03:14] Speaker 2: And not like the foot of the bed and not the head of the head of the bed. [01:03:30] Speaker 1: Was that generally how she would leave her bedroom? No. And you were referring to that staining. [01:03:40] Speaker ?: Yes. [01:03:40] Speaker 1: And you've already testified that at some point at the hospital Mr. Taylor said she threw up. Yes. When you saw that staining, does that look like a throw up to you? Um, not necessarily to me. I don't know what that looks like. Your Honor, I'm going to object as if she was not a medical professional to determine that. Okay. She said she's not sure what that was. [01:03:56] Speaker 2: Was that something that stood out to you? Yes. And why? Because Jay wouldn't have her comforter dirty and Blaise had already told me that she threw up. [01:04:21] Speaker 1: Um, did you do anything to try to locate evidence of throw up? Yes. [01:04:27] Speaker 2: I looked in the trash can. I looked in the washer and dryer, any nook and cranny around her apartment to see where this throw up was. [01:04:40] Speaker 1: And did you find any evidence of it? [01:04:43] Speaker 2: No. [01:04:44] Speaker 1: Can you describe, um, the pictures kind of that were taken in of the trash can? Were you there when all of that was done? Yes. Your Honor, I would like to show this witness a photograph from exhibit 14. Oh, right. This is the fourth photograph, which I believe is 14. I don't know if it's labeled as a collective exhibit, but it would be 14D if we were doing it that way. [01:05:17] Speaker ?: Okay. Okay. [01:05:19] Speaker 1: Okay. Ms. Jackson, did anything stand out to you about this picture? [01:05:24] Speaker 2: Um, I did think that the pink lemonade was, did stand out to me because that was the color of the drink that she was drinking when I was there the first time. [01:05:38] Speaker ?: Okay. [01:05:39] Speaker 1: And the fifth picture, can you describe what's shown here? [01:05:43] Speaker 2: Um, it looks like food that wasn't eaten, like leftover on the plate or something. [01:05:50] Speaker 1: Did that stand out to you as being unusual? No. Um, were you looking for, I guess what if anything were you looking for? [01:06:01] Speaker 2: I was looking for the color that was on the comforter, that pinkish color. And I was looking for the food to be a little bit more, um, grounded, I guess. Like she had already like ate it. So I was looking for food that was not in whole pieces, like I see here. [01:06:22] Speaker 1: So when you saw that, people were checking to see if that was throw up? Yes. Um, and what was your determination? [01:06:29] Speaker 2: It was not. [01:06:30] Speaker 1: Did you find any evidence outside of what was on that comforter? [01:06:35] Speaker 2: Um, no, not that I recall. [01:06:48] Speaker 1: And were you there when that comforter was bagged up? Yes. Did anybody touch it with anything other than glove pans to put it in that bag? No. And can you, I want to kind of go back. That was, I guess, a day after. Can you describe at the hospital, did you go back to the hospital? [01:07:15] Speaker 2: Yes. [01:07:16] Speaker 1: And who, if anybody, was there in those days that followed? [01:07:21] Speaker 2: Um, all of our family and friends. [01:07:27] Speaker 1: And can you describe, are you close with Ms. Binning's family? [01:07:31] Speaker 2: Yes. [01:07:32] Speaker 1: And describe your relationship with her mother, Bridget. [01:07:36] Speaker 2: She's like a second mom to me. Um, so we kind of just leaned on each other that whole week, trying to understand something that didn't make sense. [01:07:49] Speaker 1: Okay. And did Mr. Jones come back to the hospital? [01:07:53] Speaker 2: Yes. [01:07:54] Speaker 1: And were you there on March 6th? [01:07:59] Speaker ?: Yes. [01:08:00] Speaker 1: And can you describe what happened on that day? [01:08:11] Speaker 2: I went to Dollar Tree. I went and got balloons and cupcakes from Kroger. We brought them to the hospital. And, um, we all sang happy birthday. Because that was Jade's, would have been her 25th birthday. Um, they told us that she was brain dead that day. There was no active brain activity. And ultimately, Jade died on her, what would have been her 25th birthday. Ms. Jackson, I'm going to switch topics a little bit. [01:09:11] Speaker 1: Um, prior to Jade warning that she was pregnant, that November 2nd, November 3rd of 2019, prior to that, did Ms. Benning, did she drink alcohol? Yes. Um, did she ever get drunk in her life? Yes. And was that something that happened on a daily occurrence or was it sporadic? Sporadic. Um, did she use any other substances? Um, she smoked marijuana. Did you know, I guess, did you know of her using any other substance other than marijuana? [01:09:55] Speaker 2: Um, mushrooms a time or two. [01:09:57] Speaker 1: Was that something that she did on a free one basis? No. And can you describe once Ms. Benning found out she was pregnant? Which, let me kind of go back. Are those the only two substances other than alcohol that you've ever heard of her using? [01:10:14] Speaker 2: Yes. [01:10:15] Speaker 1: Have you ever heard of her using cocaine or even talking about it? No. After she found out she was pregnant, can you describe what, if anything, did she have to drink that was an alcoholic beverage? [01:10:33] Speaker 2: No. She never drank alcohol again. [01:10:35] Speaker 1: And what, if anything, did she ever smoke marijuana or have used marijuana in any way? [01:10:44] Speaker 2: No. [01:10:45] Speaker 1: Can you describe kind of her lifestyle about health after she found out about the baby? [01:10:55] Speaker 2: No. It drastically changed. She would let me know when she would take her prenatals. She was doing light workouts, was definitely changing her diet and eating habits and drinking a lot of water. [01:11:10] Speaker 1: I can have just one moment. Thank you, Ms. Jackson. I don't have any other questions. [01:11:32] Speaker ?: Any questions on behalf of Mr. Tate? Yes, Your Honor. It's going to be pretty lengthy. [01:11:38] Speaker 4: I checked with the jury about staying longer tonight and they're okay. [01:11:48] Speaker ?: I could just have a minute. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. [01:13:16] Speaker 3: I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. [01:13:20] Speaker ?: I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. [01:13:32] Speaker 3: I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. [01:13:50] Speaker ?: I'm going to go ahead and see you. [01:13:51] Speaker 3: I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. I'm going to go ahead and see you. You guys at some point went to the same middle school and high school, right? Yes. You were very close. Correct. And you guys also went off to college. Was it the same college that you went to or different colleges but at the same time? [01:14:14] Speaker 2: We went to the same college at one point and a different college at another. Sure. [01:14:19] Speaker 3: Because she left and went to culinary school. And the culinary school was with? [01:14:26] Speaker 2: Bentonville. [01:14:31] Speaker 3: Now are you both from Little Rock, Arkansas? We are. Do you know an Arianne Curtis who now may be Arianne Jordan? I do. Is she also from Little Rock, Arkansas? [01:14:49] Speaker 2: I believe so. [01:14:50] Speaker 3: And do you know an Arianne? [01:14:54] Speaker 2: I know of her. [01:14:55] Speaker 3: Have you ever met her before? [01:14:59] Speaker 5: Objection, Your Honor. Is it relevant? [01:15:01] Speaker 3: I've just had a little remark. [01:15:05] Speaker ?: Okay. [01:15:06] Speaker 4: Have you ever met her? [01:15:08] Speaker 3: Yes. All right. [01:15:10] Speaker ?: Good. Good. [01:15:12] Speaker 3: Now, at some point, Jay moved to Nashville, correct? Correct. And do you know about when she moved to Nashville? I don't know exactly when. [01:15:25] Speaker ?: Probably like 2020, early 2022, maybe. [01:15:25] Speaker 3: Early 2022? [01:15:26] Speaker 2: Okay. And when she moved to Nashville in early '22, you were where? [01:15:42] Speaker 3: In Little Rock. [01:15:43] Speaker 2: Little Rock. [01:15:44] Speaker 3: Were you guys speaking during that time? Yes. How often? [01:15:52] Speaker 2: Um, maybe like every couple days or maybe once a week. [01:15:58] Speaker 3: Yeah. But significant, you were talking. Yeah. And then at some point, you moved to Nashville. [01:16:06] Speaker 2: Correct. [01:16:07] Speaker 3: When did you move to Nashville? [01:16:09] Speaker 2: In August of 2022. Okay. [01:16:11] Speaker 3: And so, when you moved to Nashville, who did you live with when you moved here? [01:16:25] Speaker 2: Myself. [01:16:26] Speaker 3: And you came here to go to Meharry? [01:16:28] Speaker 2: Meharry, yes. [01:16:29] Speaker 3: Meharry, I'm sorry. [01:16:32] Speaker ?: Okay. [01:16:33] Speaker 3: And you didn't move in with Ms. Vann? [01:16:37] Speaker 2: No. [01:16:42] Speaker 3: Now, when you moved here, how often did the two of you get together? [01:16:47] Speaker 2: Hmm, it just depends on when our schedules would align. [01:16:51] Speaker 3: Okay. So, what would that be? [01:16:53] Speaker 2: Maybe once a week, twice a week. [01:16:56] Speaker 3: So, once or twice a week? [01:16:58] Speaker 2: Maybe, yes. [01:16:59] Speaker 3: And what are some of the things that the two of you would do when you got together? Objection, Your Honor, to the relevance. Your Honor, this witness testified that the basis of a lot of her testimony today. Okay. [01:17:13] Speaker 4: What would y'all do when you hung out? [01:17:15] Speaker 2: Go eat dinner, go walk, just all kinds of fun stuff that best friends would do. [01:17:22] Speaker 3: Okay. Would you smoke marijuana together? Yes. Objection, Your Honor, to the relevance. Yes. [01:17:27] Speaker 4: All right. It's been mentioned. So, she's angry. Go ahead. Thank you. Would you drink together? [01:17:33] Speaker 2: Yes. [01:17:34] Speaker 3: And would she opt, or at least at some point, would she suggest that you do mushrooms together? [01:17:45] Speaker 2: No. No? She didn't suggest. She didn't suggest. [01:17:49] Speaker 3: Did she ask you to do mushrooms with her? [01:17:52] Speaker ?: Maybe. [01:17:53] Speaker 2: I don't recall. [01:17:54] Speaker 3: Would a text message between you and Jade help refresh your memory? Yes. [01:18:01] Speaker 5: Yes. [01:18:02] Speaker 3: Yes, sir. [01:18:03] Speaker ?: All right. Get that there. It's all. You don't get that. Let me make sure it's the right one. [01:18:08] Speaker 4: Let me make sure it's the right one. [01:18:34] Speaker ?: I don't know. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. [01:18:36] Speaker 3: I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. [01:18:39] Speaker ?: I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. [01:18:41] Speaker 3: I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. [01:18:43] Speaker ?: I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. [01:18:58] Speaker 3: I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. [01:19:02] Speaker ?: I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. [01:19:11] Speaker 3: I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. [01:19:20] Speaker ?: I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. If this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. [01:19:34] Speaker 3: I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. [01:19:40] Speaker 2: I don't know if this is the right one. [01:19:41] Speaker 3: I don't know if this is the right one. [01:19:42] Speaker ?: I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. [01:19:51] Speaker 3: I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. [01:20:02] Speaker 2: I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. [01:20:04] Speaker 3: I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. [01:20:08] Speaker ?: I don't know if this is the right one. [01:20:09] Speaker 2: I don't know if this is the right one. [01:20:10] Speaker 3: I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. [01:20:12] Speaker 5: I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. [01:20:16] Speaker 4: I don't know if this is the right one. [01:20:17] Speaker ?: I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. [01:20:25] Speaker 3: Ms. Jackson, do you remember a time when around October the 3rd of 2022 when Ms. Benning was traveling somewhere in California? Do you remember that? Yes. And do you remember you guys were having a text message conversation? Yes. And in that text message, Ms. Benning starts off the conversation saying, the edible kicked my ass. Do you remember her saying that to you? [01:21:00] Speaker 2: Can I please see it? [01:21:01] Speaker 3: You may. [01:21:17] Speaker ?: I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. I don't know if this is the right one. [01:21:33] Speaker 4: Okay, what's your question? [01:21:51] Speaker 3: Do you see there where on October the 3rd of 2022, Ms. Benning says to you, "edibles" kicked my . Do you see that? Yes. Do you see that later? The next text message she sends says, "smoking, edibles, and tequila." Do you see that? Yes. And do you see where your next text to her is, "we are some other ." Yes. What is some that she could be smoking, Ms. Jackson? [01:22:26] Speaker 2: Mushrooms. Because you can smoke mushrooms? I didn't say smoke. I said, "or some other ." [01:22:33] Speaker 3: Well, you said weed or some other ." Right? Yes. What's the other ." Mushrooms. [01:22:42] Speaker 2: Okay. [01:22:43] Speaker 3: So, when you were referring to weed, to weed, because you hear above it, it says smoking, but it doesn't say what she's smoking, right? Mm-hmm. It says smoking, and then you respond, "we" or some other ." Mm-hmm. And your response is she was going to smoke mushrooms. [01:23:03] Speaker 2: I didn't say smoke mushrooms, but I was asking her exactly what she's talking about. Okay. [01:23:08] Speaker 3: Um, and did Ms. Benning in your closeness with her ever share with you when the last time that she had her period? [01:23:24] Speaker 2: I don't recall. Yeah. Thank you. [01:23:28] Speaker ?: Thank you. [01:23:29] Speaker 3: Would you have learned that the last time she had her period was September the 12th? Is that a question? Yes. [01:23:44] Speaker 5: She doesn't have answered. She doesn't recall. [01:23:46] Speaker 4: Yeah. I mean, you're putting words into her mouth. I thought you asked did you know, and she said no. She said she didn't recall. [01:23:54] Speaker 3: She said she didn't know. As close as you were, did you know that she didn't have her period in October? [01:24:05] Speaker 2: We don't just discuss our periods, like, all the time, so no. [01:24:11] Speaker 3: So, when you were on direct examination, Ms. Jackson, you talked about that this was your sister, and you discussed everything. Isn't that what you said? We do. But you don't discuss your periods? I did not. [01:24:24] Speaker 2: I did not. [01:24:26] Speaker 3: Now, but didn't you, isn't it true that you and Ms. Benning was trying to calculate who was the father of this child? Mm-hmm. You wouldn't discuss the last time she had her period if you're trying to calculate when was the last time she, or when, who was the father of the child? [01:24:46] Speaker 2: I don't recall talking about a period. [01:24:48] Speaker 5: Well, how would you figure out who was the father? I have a objection, Your Honor. She's answered this question. [01:24:54] Speaker 4: Right. [01:24:55] Speaker 5: Well, she's asking another question. What's your next question? [01:24:58] Speaker 3: How can you discuss and try to determine who's the father of the child if you don't discuss when was the last time she had her period? [01:25:12] Speaker 2: Based on the, um, how many, how far along she was in her pregnancy. [01:25:18] Speaker 3: Well, how would you know how far along she was if she doesn't go to the doctor? She did. But this, you were talking about that before she went to the doctor. [01:25:27] Speaker 2: We were at the doctor talking about that. [01:25:30] Speaker 3: So, when you were talking about it, you would have to figure out the last time she had her cycle, when she was having sex. My Honor, argumentative. Okay. [01:25:41] Speaker 4: You can't tell her what she did or didn't know. Let me just ask her a question. [01:25:46] Speaker 3: Now, was there not a time that Ms. Benny would infuse the food that she cooked with marijuana? Objection, Your Honor, to relevance. [01:26:02] Speaker 4: We've already had that discussion with other witnesses. Did you know anything about that? I did. [01:26:08] Speaker 3: You said you did know? Mm-hmm. And she would do that. Would she not? [01:26:13] Speaker 2: She has before. [01:26:15] Speaker 3: Thank you. Now, when you were discussing who the father was of this baby, there was another gentleman that was in the running. Was that true? Yes. And who was that? Um, his name was Des. Okay. And at the time that you guys were making this discussion or having this discussion, this was a time that she was in fact pregnant, correct? [01:26:50] Speaker 2: Um, I'm sorry, can you repeat your question? This was a time. [01:26:53] Speaker 4: That was the discussion with Ms. Benning about Des after you knew she was pregnant. [01:27:02] Speaker 3: Yes. And in that same conversation, you were asking and she was talking about the mushrooms and you were asking her to ask it. What is your question? [01:27:17] Speaker 4: Well, it still may be hearsay, but what is your question? [01:27:20] Speaker 3: You guys were discussing drugs then too, were you not? A objection, your honor, to the hearsay. [01:27:28] Speaker 4: Do you care to be heard? [01:27:29] Speaker 3: Yes. There was a conversation that she was a part of. This is what she was saying with Ms. Benning and it goes to Ms. Benning's state of mind as it relates to drugs. This is a drug overdose. Mr. Taylor has to be able to put on a defensive theory. [01:27:55] Speaker 4: Did you ever discuss with Ms. Benning after she knew she was pregnant about drugs? Um, I'm not sure. I don't know. [01:28:06] Speaker 3: Would it assist you if I was to allow you to look at text messages? Sure. [01:28:25] Speaker ?: Okay. Thank you. [01:28:55] Speaker 4: What time frame do you want to ask about? It is 10:29, Your Honor, and 11:02. [01:29:08] Speaker 3: I will give you a copy of all of them so you can have them ahead of time. [01:29:38] Speaker 4: You got 10:29, 11:02 and something else? Yes, I'm giving her all of them. What is that? [01:29:48] Speaker 1: I object to the relevance as well as the hearsay. I do not understand what she is attempting to understand. [01:29:56] Speaker 4: Alright, let the jury step down. [01:30:08] Speaker ?: How many texts are you wanting to show this young lady? I'm trying to get a lot to her. How many are you wanting to show? About eight, Your Honor. How many texts are you wanting to show this young lady? I'm trying to get a lot to her. How many are you wanting to show? About eight, Your Honor. [01:30:24] Speaker 4: How many are you wanting to show? About eight, Your Honor. Alright, let me have copies of them. Let me have copies of them. I want to give them to you all at one time, so that we don't have to go and read this. [01:30:40] Speaker 3: Just let me have copies of them. Let me have copies of them. I want to give them to you all at one time, so that we don't have to go and read this. And I can tell the court exactly where they are. Just let me have copies of them. Once you read them, you're going to ask me. I don't know what I want to do. I want to give them to you. It's 11-2, 10-29. This one is 11-2. There's another one for 11-2. There's another one for 11-2. There's another one for 11-2. [01:31:47] Speaker 4: You're giving me all the metadata and everything. Yes, I am. I don't even see the one starts off me either. That's the way that it prints off. I've been looking at my body. Beautiful child I've ever liked. What does that say about drugs? So I'm giving you drugs. Let's just do this real easy. Tell me what that one says about drugs. [01:32:17] Speaker 3: So in that text message. You haven't looked at it. You just told me what it said. You said it says about my body. What does it have to do with about drugs? I'm trying to answer it. Okay. What this says is that on 11-2, and then you go to 10-29, she talks about. I haven't gotten to 10-29. You're asking about this one or 10-29? That one. That one. This one says, me either. And then she goes on to say to both. Then she says, like, I've been looking at my body and shit too. And so what it says here is that she knew that she, when I started questioning if I could be pregnant. So on this date, she says that she had been looking at her body and could tell that she had been pregnant. [01:33:07] Speaker 4: She says that. Yes, she did. Okay. Let me see that. But that has nothing to do with drugs. It does because what it suggests. No, no. I'm saying is there any reference in this text to drugs? No, but it orients the state of mind of Miss Benning. State of mind? Yes. As it goes to our defensive theory. Does the state have decent copies of what the messages are back and forth? Um, I can- This is like reading a dictionary. Are you reading? Yeah. I'm not sure why they're putting them up or not. It's the way that we did it. I can only print out the way the metadata is given to me. Like I've been looking at my body. Okay. So that's what you say on the left. Next one I'm looking at is 11:02 at 1:50 PM. You need to find out ASAP. Indiana is the closest place to go if I made that decision. What does that have to do with drugs? [01:34:25] Speaker 3: Because she's- How do we know that? Because she's- How do we know that? Because that's what they're talking about in regards to Indiana being the closest place. How do I know that? Because in text messages before that she says- I don't have those. [01:34:41] Speaker 4: You do. What does this have to do with drugs? I just said I'm giving you all the text messages. Does this have anything to do with drugs? No, but it has to do with abortion that I'm going to go into and I don't want to have to stop and do this again. I'm just- I'm just dealing with the state's objection about you're wanting to grill this young lady about drugs. That says something about abortion. Weird. Didn't like you've been drinking. What does this have to do with drugs? [01:35:23] Speaker 3: It has to do with alcohol. She was found to have coca ethylene in her system. But that is something from- [01:35:31] Speaker 4: Where's the answer to from Ms. Jackson but like you've been drinking? Ms. Jackson just testified that she is- Where's the answer to this from the text? It doesn't have to be an answer. That's her statement to Ms. Jackson. Ms. Jackson just testified that she is- Where's the answer to this from the text? It doesn't have to be an answer. That's her statement to Ms. Jackson. [01:35:52] Speaker 3: Objection to the hearsay. It's not hearsay. She's right here. I can ask her if she says. How about Ms. Benning's statements are hearsay? That's not Ms. Benning's statement. If I can at least allow me to explain to the court what it is that I'm trying to do, why I'm providing you with all the text messages that you asked for. Okay. Well, some of them I didn't ask for. [01:36:21] Speaker 4: asked for finished up cleaning want to come smoke and have a bottle of wine when i get off that's from miss jackson that's 10 29 so you want to ask mr jackson if miss benning came over and had a bottle [01:36:44] Speaker 3: i do and smoke where does it say smoke you want to smoke and have a bottle of wine want to come [01:36:52] Speaker 4: s-p-o-k-e you think that's a miss spelling oh can i see it and while she's looking at that one says i'll be done in like an hour you're not going to the party i was going to but my body is just really exhausted i think i'd rather chill tonight [01:37:33] Speaker 3: what is that what's the relevancy of that that one has to do with as i stated before that she was already telling by her body that she was pregnant but yet she was doing drugs around this time if you orient it with the other text message of 10 29 that i gave you all right maybe i haven't gotten to [01:37:52] Speaker 4: that this is 11 2. the 10 29 one says she's doing drugs excuse me can i have a copy of this no hang on just a minute did you do you have the 10 29 one you just have that one your honor okay it says okay and after you've looked at this is that a typo on your part probably yes okay so you would say say you're texting miss benning about wanting to smoke and have a bottle of wine i did yes did she come over and do that i don't remember all right we can do that that you've already asked about that so on this one where you say but like you've been drinking do you know if she answered that [01:39:51] Speaker 3: if i may your honor that's ms jackson observation of this thing in a text yes in a text how she's observing her in a text she is finding out that she was pregnant ms jackson's response is like you've been drinking i don't see that i don't see that yes and if she feels like that's not what it means that's what she could tell the jury [01:40:24] Speaker 4: after the back of the law putting brackets there [01:40:32] Speaker 2: do you know what that's about like the conversation is incomplete like i can't really make a i don't know [01:40:40] Speaker 4: i don't know excited in a way i'll be more okay when i know for sure it's what does that have to do with the drug that's in regards to mr taylor like i said i was giving you everything so that we didn't have to go through this again okay so this is relevant in terms of going back finding out who the father is correct and this shows that they're just discussing it [01:41:25] Speaker 3: they're discussing it but it's relevant because it goes to mr taylor's state of mind that he would try to harm a child that could possibly not even if he is my client mr taylor the one who's on the on the murder how do these texts have anything to do with him because he's asked for a paternity test [01:41:45] Speaker 4: my question is you're you've asked about discussions with who's the father and things like that so [01:41:52] Speaker 3: you're wanting to this text to add to that how because it says she would be more excited once she determined it's his so that means she didn't even know if it was his right and then does the state care to be heard about [01:42:14] Speaker 4: whether do you miss jackson know what you're referencing indiana is the closest place to go [01:42:24] Speaker 2: if i if i made that decision the conversation i can't i don't remember the whole conversation it is in part so i can't give you an answer you don't know what indiana may have been [01:42:36] Speaker 4: we were talking about her being pregnant was there any discussion between you and miss bidding about her getting an abortion [01:42:48] Speaker 2: not necessarily that being her decision no what does that mean she never said she wanted an abortion i just told you know indiana has anything to do with that if she were to have made that decision but that decision was not what she made her [01:43:13] Speaker 4: and this one says because you could be eight and two weeks would be ten and then too late do you know what that was about if she were to have an abortion okay and the date these are 11 2 and the state's objection about these and what i just want to be clear we're talking about [01:43:44] Speaker 1: those specific texts that you just asked jackson about so my objection is that number one they're incomplete to the conversation do you have the complete download i didn't give it i didn't ask you [01:44:01] Speaker 4: yes i mean i have access i mean you would agree with me i'm just trying to be fair you would agree with me that you asked a lot of questions of various witnesses about miss being wanting to have her baby yes and these would indicate that there were discussions about not doing that [01:44:22] Speaker 1: and yes no my my objection yes no i would like to ask the witness the question but i understand that the conversation yes go ahead miss jackson those conversations that you have snippets of did those all occur before miss benning confirmed that she was pregnant no are they all from november 2nd yes and you went to the appointment to confirm it on november 3rd correct so they're all before she confirmed it yes i'm sorry once she confirmed that she was pregnant was there any discussion that she was suggesting that she might have an abortion [01:45:07] Speaker 4: yeah okay if i may be heard you don't need to be heard i'll allow to ask that i'll allow you to ask about these two text messages thank you trying to bite my tongue about like that [01:45:32] Speaker 1: and uh i've heard about the drug text message sure the state's objection is that this witness has already testified that there was drug and alcohol use marijuana and alcohol prior to her finding out she was pregnant she found out she might be pregnant on november 2nd she confirmed it on november 3rd any questions about drinking or drug use prior to that are completely irrelevant it's cumulative it's already been testified to and the specifics of it have no relevance to the trial [01:46:07] Speaker 4: they're wanting to argue the jury that she continued to be a drug dealer and may have overdosed on her own [01:46:13] Speaker 1: unintentionally your honor those messages are before she knew she was pregnant correct and you [01:46:23] Speaker 4: you point that out they want to argue good thing bad thing i'm not going to say but they want to argue that miss benning may have unintentionally overdosed on cocaine now it is important to note while we're [01:46:38] Speaker 3: speaking about it that she also had fentanyl in her system this this lady doesn't i'm not speaking about [01:46:45] Speaker 4: that but it goes to the relevance i don't need to hear all of your argument at this point i'm just saying why you think it's relevant so i'm allowing you to ask those questions so bring the jury back down [01:47:07] Speaker ?: so so so so so so so so so so so you so you so all right all right [01:48:44] Speaker 3: go ahead so [01:48:53] Speaker ?: Ms. Jackson [01:48:53] Speaker 3: during the month of October it is in fact true that Ms. Benning was in fact doing drugs was it not she smoked marijuana and some other shit right right not sure and once you guys found out that she was pregnant you then sent her a text message and said like you've been drinking didn't you i said that yes yes and what you were doing was calling her out that oh my god you're pregnant and you've been drinking isn't that correct no that's not what you meant by that no and it was after that that she no longer spoke with you about she herself doing any drugs is that right did you ask that again please yes after that text message that you sent her saying like you've been drinking after that text message she no longer sent you a text message about drinking or doing any drugs is that correct i don't recall so she could have sent some after that i'm not sure and also we discussed the fact that you guys had to determine who the father was and you determined that it was blazes correct yes but there was a time when she took those home pregnancy tests that you talked about you remember that and she sent you a picture of those home pregnancy tests that you testified to during that time she herself was considering an abortion wasn't she she was not she was not sure what she wanted to do but abortion was not the answer we were just discussing as friends what did the future look like well you were going to go to indiana to possibly have an [01:50:55] Speaker 2: an abortion she was going to have an abortion she was going to have an abortion she was going to go to possibly have an abortion [01:51:09] Speaker 1: objection [01:51:14] Speaker 2: okay do you know what that discussion was about i asked her about indiana one time we never went and we never talked about it again well why would you talk about it if it wasn't an option for her [01:51:28] Speaker 3: we were just discussing as girls as friends like what didn't you also say on one occasion well eight two weeks you need to decide because it'll be too late didn't you say that to her um i didn't see that could i please see that you may [01:51:50] Speaker 4: that could i get that okay [01:52:20] Speaker 3: okay so you were discussing it because she was considering an abortion correct we were just discussing she didn't say she was getting an abortion i understand but she was considering it wasn't she objection your honor she has mischaracterized the witness's testimony [01:52:44] Speaker 4: she said she said she checked that she didn't know what miss benning was considering [01:52:52] Speaker 3: so when miss benning then text you well you text miss benning you need to find out asap this is on november the second she responds indiana is the closest place to go if i made that decision she was speaking about an abortion was she not i already said that we discussed a multiple options [01:53:17] Speaker 2: it wasn't like a definitive answer okay we were just talking so when this guy i'm sorry when mr taylor [01:53:25] Speaker 3: reached back out to miss benning on december 31st after he no longer considered an abortion it's no different it was just different times isn't that correct i'm sorry what what is your question that's a statement [01:53:42] Speaker 4: no i said isn't that correct that's a question that mr when mr taylor when mr taylor reached back out [01:53:52] Speaker 3: to miss benning on december 31st do you remember that um i don't remember the day when he reached back out it was i don't know you remember when she told you she went to the park with mr taylor i did on january the first yes and they sat there for four to five hours and talked yes and after that date did she ever tell you that mr taylor talked to her about having an abortion after that i don't recall so is it your statement that he could have or you don't recall him ever saying that do you is there messages that i could potentially read about it i can give you the messages between you and miss benning from january 1st all the way up to february 25th if you would like me to i'm speaking about this question that you're asking me now my question is from january 1st of 2023 until february 25th of 2023 did miss benning ever come to you about mr taylor trying to pressure her or ask her to get an abortion yes or no ma'am no thank you now during this time that from the january 1st until the february 25th isn't it true that you believed that mr taylor was trying to work on the relationship okay yeah and that's what you shared with the detective right i would have to pull it out i can't this witness is not going to notice i'd like to move on all right um now women talking about mr taylor and miss benning from february 1st until february 25th miss benning miss benning never complained to you in any form of fashion about mr taylor being abusive to her pressuring her in any kind of way isn't that true correct now when mr taylor and miss benning parted waves on november the 6th of 2022 it was miss benning who sent the text message to mr taylor that they should go their separate ways wouldn't you agree um not initially so are you saying that mr taylor wanted to part ways first he made mention of it okay and when did he make mention of that when she got out she was pregnant and where did you see that did she tell you that in person or via text or how did she tell me it might be in the text messages or she might have told or she probably told me on the phone right because i've looked through the text messages that's not there on the phone okay do you want to ask questions or test so when miss benning sent the text on november the 6th in fact she said we're at an impasse isn't that what she said because she sent the text message to you you testified to it remember yeah can i see this text message please okay [01:58:23] Speaker ?: okay okay okay okay [01:59:13] Speaker 3: that's the text that you testified to on direct examination that you edited correct and that's the one where it was miss benning who sent the text message to mr taylor isn't that right and what she says is we need to go our separate ways and now what she said do you want to make her am i supposed to read it or no i just said yes okay and she never shared with you that after that mr taylor tried to continue to call her continue to try to force her to have an abortion or anything of the sort did she could you repeat that i'm sorry after that text message miss benning miss benning never shared with you that mr taylor tried to force her coerce her or do anything to force her to have an abortion did she um [02:00:15] Speaker ?: um [02:00:18] Speaker 3: no okay now let's move on to february 25th but before we do that you did state on that rape examination that you were willing to be this child's father correct correct and you were going to move in with her to help raise the baby correct it may be yeah and i think did you refer to them as your babies her and the baby jade and the baby were your babies when did i say that i'm asking if you ever referred to them as that i don't remember um on february the 25th of 2023 you knew that miss benny was the one who planned this date night isn't that right correct and she reached out to you about what she should cook and you stated she should cook the chicken off right right because you you wanted some that's your favorite food right from her it is okay and so she and blaze were going to do painting with a twist and she had created this special night for them right and even though she had planned this special night for her and blaze you decided that you were going to stop by with keontae to get a play and she wasn't necessarily super excited about that initially right i can't say if she was or not well didn't you at one point represent that why that that girl was saying this do you remember saying [02:02:11] Speaker 2: that um not in that way no what way was it because i told i said that about blaze was probably thinking [02:02:20] Speaker 3: that about me because i came by but didn't she suggest that she would pack the food up for you to get the next day she didn't say the next day okay when did you think she met that night and so then you and keontae then came by correct correct and when you went there you talked about that y'all had a group conversation talked about future plans correct um activities yeah future plans of doing things together and mr taylor was involved in those future plans right and that he actually invited you guys to stay that night didn't he after we left well he didn't invite you to stay and play cards and you said no i don't want to intrude not when i was there oh this was after you said i left and who told you that jade okay and so you stated that he then when all of that was going on you called it a cute interaction do you remember that but you testified on the wreck that it was somewhat obvious with the black hole thing right when discussing the painting okay so just the painting and not mr taylor and his view of it i'm sorry so when you were discussing that it was dark you were only talking about the painting and not mr taylor i was talking about the painting because you actually characterized it as a cute interaction didn't you because we were all talking and we just met him for the first time okay and there was nothing about that evening that made you feel any way about the way mr taylor was acting working beyond what i said about the painting but yet you still called it a cute interaction for her yes and the painting if if i could have states exhibit 1a and b please um it's in red well one way to go transfer i want to show you the regular chair i want to show you space exhibit 1a do you see that i do and this is the painting that you're referring to of mr taylor's is it not correct and you believe that that's dark that's your characterization of it what he described to me was dark okay and he described the dark hole yes and where's the dark hole i don't know i don't i'm looking at now as it relates to when you left you remember leaving you and chianti yes and when you left with chianti you guys took your plates and went home to or went over to chianti's house okay and then chianti was going out to hang out with his friends is that right right right and where was he going do you know okay but he was going to hang out with some buddies but about 9 29 you get a phone call from miss miss vinnie and i think you said that when she called if i remember correctly you said that when she picked up the when you picked up the phone what you heard was what did you do what did you put in my drink is that right and then let me see what's in your pockets after she said those two things is that right she said those things correct but at 9 30 you sent her a text saying are you talking to me why would you think she's talking to you if she's saying what did you do what did you put in my drink [02:07:03] Speaker 2: i didn't think she was talking to me about those things i was wondering what was going on because [02:07:09] Speaker 3: she never acknowledged me on the phone well wasn't there a time when you were talking to one of the detectives that you said that she was trying to say her name nye nigea did you say that i don't remember that okay um we'll put a pen in that because and after i believe you said that after that phone after that interchange in regards to that you say that it was something like you've never heard before isn't that what you said correct and that it appeared like she was in danger and that you had never heard your best friend in that way correct and that basically she was accusing the man that she was alone in an apartment with for trying to kill him right you didn't think it would have been important to call 9-1-1 it was important to call 9-1-1 so why didn't i was not there you didn't have to be there to call 9-1-1 did you no but i didn't have anything was i going to report what you just said everything that you reported to those police officers at the hospital you could have reported to 9-1-1 correct and if [02:08:37] Speaker 2: they would have asked me questions about her physical state i would not be i would have not been able [02:08:41] Speaker 3: to provide those answers well didn't you say to those officers she sounded sluggish she said that i can't feel my legs didn't you say that she said i feel like i'm about to pass out isn't that directly [02:08:58] Speaker 2: related to her physical condition i was not there to answer any questions that they would have asked me additionally beyond what i provided for them if i would have called but you were so concerned that [02:09:09] Speaker 3: you stopped what you were doing and you drove over there yes what were you going to do was i going [02:09:15] Speaker 2: to do when when you got there if 9-1-1 wasn't called i would have called 9-1-1 i would have rendered aid [02:09:23] Speaker 3: you had that opportunity 29 minutes before you got there is that a question yes why didn't you do that you've asked her that then you stated that at some point that she asked you to call keontae isn't that [02:09:38] Speaker 2: true i didn't say she asked me to call keontae i mentioned the words that i heard of his name [02:09:44] Speaker 3: okay and so she never then are you stating that she never told you to call three uh keontae on the three-way yeah may i have a moment your honor did you ever tell detective smith that i don't recall would it refresh your memory if you were to take a look at detective smith transfer talking to you [02:10:05] Speaker 4: sure you said you wanted to show her a transcript where is that right here okay let me make sure [02:10:35] Speaker 3: what there are four different transfers from her i don't go on until he finds it your owner so after that you go on to say now with keontae she really didn't know him did you she knew who he was well mr jones testified she had only met him twice i said she knew who he was okay but she didn't know him very well did you know did her father live here who's father james bennings uh no did her stepmother live here yes okay and so instead of calling or her suggesting to call someone that she actually knows a little better she would ask you to call someone that she's only met twice objection [02:11:47] Speaker 1: your honor the witness has already said yes she didn't say that she did that well you interpret [02:11:53] Speaker 3: it that way because you called keontae correct objection your honor the witness is testifying in [02:12:00] Speaker 1: the question this the attorney is this witness has not said any of that do you want to clarify whether this [02:12:08] Speaker 4: young lady witness was told by miss vinnie to call keontae what made you call keontae i heard the word key [02:12:19] Speaker 3: okay and so you thought that to me what she was asking for him why do you feel like she would be asking because she was scared that's how she sounded to me so again i'll ask you why would you think with her being scared that she would want to call someone she's only known or only met twice i have no idea but that's what you did correct so when leontae gets on the phone you then state that he asked blaze man did you do this right i said he asked what what did you do or what happened okay i don't remember that exact verbiage and so you don't remember the exact verbiage now i just said what i said he said what what did you do or what happened or something along those lines yes and how did mr taylor respond he said he didn't know okay he didn't know what happened and so when you finally hear what's going on you drive over there correct i was already on the way over there when she called me and you were over there because you were on your way over there because you felt like she was in dire straits and what dire straits meaning she was in trouble she was yes okay and so you get over there do you call her mother before you get there given the fact that she was in so much trouble i called her mother yes before you got there did you call her mother yes i thought you didn't call her mother until you got there is that not right i never said that okay so when exactly did you call her mother after blaze told me he was calling 9-1-1 okay and so when you got there you actually well before you got there you talked about at 9 47 you made the second call i don't remember what time i don't remember what time you said that you you called the second time i don't remember exactly what time no okay and then when you get there in fact 9-1-1 is there is it not the ems was there just like he said they were and you stated that when you arrived that [02:14:58] Speaker 2: he was frantic isn't that what you said i said he was pacing back and forth like anxiously panicking [02:15:05] Speaker 3: yes and you were panicking too weren't you i was and you were jumping on the back of the ambulance were the paramedics and emt allowing you to do that they told me that i needed to go to meet them at vanderville did they try to stop you from jumping on the back of the ambulance i didn't jump on the back of the ambulance i was trying to see through the window what was going on with jade and were you getting in the way of the paramedics no not at all no and you feel like jumping on the back and trying to look at that she said she didn't do that would you be surprised to know that someone testified that you [02:15:49] Speaker 1: did objection your honor counsel is mischaracterizing you'll just ask questions instead of testifying [02:15:56] Speaker 3: please ma'am now when you got to the hospital you had to check into the hospital didn't you i did and when you checked into the hospital you had to go through a metal detector i did and they gave you a visitor's pass i don't remember but you did have to go through a metal detector i did now do you know when you guys left miss benning's home mr taylor didn't go back upstairs did he no he went straight to the hospital just like you did correct so he never had an opportunity to go back [02:16:53] Speaker 5: upstairs did he objection your honor calls for speculation all right i'll sustain the objection did [02:16:59] Speaker 4: you see mr taylor get in his vehicle yes and did you see him drive off yes so he didn't have an opportunity [02:17:09] Speaker 3: to go back upstairs did he not at that point in time no you talked about that when he got there that he referred to miss benning as his girlfriend is that right correct and you told officers that you didn't believe that they were in fact dating i said they were not dating they were not dating but isn't it true that they planned a day and night exclusively boyfriend and girlfriend but i thought you just said they weren't dating but you didn't qualify it with exclusively did you no you said dating didn't you yes but they were on a date night isn't that true correct and then you testified on direct that she wanted more correct um i said that yes you did okay okay and that they saw each other two to three times a week didn't you say that i said sometimes and in fact they had seen each other three days in a row that week i don't remember [02:18:24] Speaker 1: i'm going to object to miss holland asking her questions insinuating that she made those statements miss jackson did not make those statements your honor she just testified to her she she did she has not [02:18:37] Speaker 5: said that they saw each other the last three days that is not no i didn't say that i asked her that i [02:18:43] Speaker 3: should be able to ask the witness questions what yeah go ahead when you first got to the hospital it was you who accused mr taylor of doing anything wrong isn't that true you said what it was you who accused mr taylor of doing anything wrong of doing anything i don't understand what you're saying with miss bennett doing something to her i [02:19:11] Speaker 2: simply told everyone that i spoke with what i heard on the phone okay and do you [02:19:19] Speaker 3: remember if she said anything like that when mr jones was on the phone um no she did not so he never heard what you heard no not the beginning of the phone call and in fact when mr jones was on the phone there were no accusations made by this thing isn't that true she wasn't really able to say anything at that point well did you testify that she was able to say some words yes prior to me calling kiyonte so after calling kiyonte you're saying she never said any more words at all we could hear her but nothing [02:20:00] Speaker 2: made sense at that point but she was saying something nothing substantial of anything that we could [02:20:09] Speaker 3: understand no and it's your testimony that you do not remember exactly what time that second phone call was i don't remember what time that second phone call was what time was the first call 9 29 and how long did it last six minutes and so that would take us to 9 35 i'm sure and so can i have states exhibit the nfp what do you need the nfp words [02:20:55] Speaker ?: the nfp [02:21:12] Speaker 1: the state will agree that the time of okay let's just see what she what are you wanting to have [02:21:20] Speaker 3: i have to get isn't it true well you wouldn't know would you be surprised to know that mr taylor called 9-1-1 at 9 38 i don't know what time he called that's why i was going to get the record if he called 9-1-1 at 9 38 you called back a second time correct i did and when you called back the second time how long did that conversation last i don't remember and when you got to his house you will agree with me that ems was already there i did not go to his house i'm sorry to miss benning's house ems was already there yes and didn't he when you talk with him didn't he tell you that i think i hear them outside he said i hear sirens or something yeah he may have mentioned that you heard something and that would have been on the second call correct correct when you left the miss benning's home and got to the hospital did you gain access to miss benning's phone no you didn't have miss benning's phone oh i'm sorry i had her phone yes okay and who gave you that phone um i got it from blaze okay and where did you get it from i don't remember do you know when he gave it to you no but you had it at the hospital i got it from him at the hospital yes can you tell the jury about how long it was before you got the phone was it an hour two hours do you even know her phone no i don't know what did you do with the phone when you had it i had it in my hand or my purse i don't remember and what if anything did you do with the phone i didn't do anything with the phone you testified that kiante showed up is that right at the hospital yes did any of the police officers tell you that they wanted to speak to kiante no i mean yes i'm sorry yes yes okay so when kiante showed up at the hospital did you tell him hey the police want to talk to you and get your side of the story they didn't specify when well they talked to you that night right and they asked to talk to me well my question is they talked to you that night didn't it yes how many how many police [02:24:19] Speaker 1: officers are argumentative is argumentative of what she's saying to her about asking about police officers wanting to talk to kiante she's answered the question okay the question was do you recall how [02:24:40] Speaker 4: many police officers you spoke with maybe two or three i don't remember exactly exact number no [02:24:49] Speaker 3: and you were certainly concerned for your friend weren't you yes and you wanted to make sure that the police officers got as much information as possible right now kiante is the one other witness to how jade was sounding and feeling would that be right correct there's nobody else with that information but him okay you didn't tell him hey go inside tell these police officers what happened you didn't do that no why not i don't know don't you think that would have been important they would have said something [02:25:35] Speaker 2: to him i'm sorry i said they wanted to speak with kiante i feel like they would have spoken with him [02:25:45] Speaker 3: you didn't feel it was important enough to tell kiante that that night but you did feel it was important enough to accompany miss franklin to miss benning's home and to remove evidence out of the apartment what is that right what's the question you didn't feel that it was important enough for the only other witness to miss benning's situation medical emergency to go talk to the police but yet you [02:26:17] Speaker 5: thought it was her honor she had answered that question she asked me to repeat the question [02:26:25] Speaker 4: went back to the one before did you challenge mr jones to stay and talk to the police i did not tell him to stay that was it go to the apartment yes okay and when you went to the apartment [02:26:45] Speaker 2: you had spoken to three officers two to three is that right i don't remember how many i spoke but [02:26:53] Speaker 3: i spoke with officers and surely you knew because you told them everything that was going on that they were going to investigate correct correct but yet you felt that it was on you to do the investigation is that right no but you went there before the police went there objection your honor she answered the [02:27:19] Speaker 4: question okay she went there before the police went why did you remove evidence because according to [02:27:29] Speaker 3: you that's a crime scene why would you remove evidence from a crime scene [02:27:36] Speaker 2: it was not a crime scene when i went there there was no one that told me i could not go [02:27:44] Speaker 3: so i went didn't you accuse blaze of a crime i told them what i heard on the phone well let me ask you this if you believe that mr taylor put something in miss benning's strength to cause harm to the unborn child would that be a crime yes and you didn't believe that was a crime i did believe it was a crime and so you're going to do the investigations for the police instead of allowing them to do it sure and remove vital evidence from the scene what did you do with it i didn't have anything who had i moved the camera okay so let's talk about that you moved the camera i did the camera had the potential to video or report mr taylor doing anything that miss benny was accusing him of isn't that true yeah yes so why would you move the very thing that could have recorded him because it was not in the location where she had it at and isn't that all the reason more to leave it there so the police can see that it was in a location different than what it was sure yeah so why'd you move it because it was [02:29:09] Speaker 2: not where it was supposed to be and if he did come back to her place if we would have seen that you also [02:29:17] Speaker 3: would have seen if he did what you said that miss benning was saying they would have seen that isn't that true um yes which one would you think would be more important to preserve what he did according to what you said miss benning said he was doing or him coming back into the apartment which one do you think is more important i'm not sure and so you then moved that camera into the kitchen area did you look at it no why didn't you take the camera and give it to the police i didn't take anything out you were there when miss franklin took it up right correct did you assist miss franklin in taking it [02:30:02] Speaker 5: out objection your honor she could have asked and answered that question i've never asked that [02:30:08] Speaker 3: first her in what did she assist miss franklin in removing evidence from the scene i walked out with her but you didn't have the comforter no did you see a washcloth there no did you see a glass on the counter yes and isn't it true that you stated that miss benning was drinking out of a glass and that same glass was on the counter was it not uh yes why didn't you take that i didn't take anything well you moved the camera i did not take anything why didn't you move the glass [02:30:57] Speaker 2: i didn't have the same drink in it that she had earlier [02:31:20] Speaker 3: okay so when you went back into miss bennick's house did you see a gun there no do you know whether or not miss bennie had a gun there i'm not sure i want to draw your attention back to state's exhibits one b which is the comforter is this the comforter that you removed what i'm sorry that miss franklin you watched her remove yes did miss franklin video you guys packing up that comforter i'm not sure who videoed was someone videoing uh yes who i don't know i don't know how do you know if you don't know i know someone was recording but i don't remember who it was so what made you put gloves on um i didn't want to touch anything you mean with your bare hands yes why were you so careful about not touching anything but you weren't careful enough to preserve the scene what was the difference i'm not sure when you went to the hospital and you started talking to police officers did you talk to them about lauren weber who had gone to the apartment earlier that day i'm not sure i don't remember did you ever share with anyone that you didn't believe that mr taylor stating that she actually vomited was true did you ever make that say i said he never told me that prior to and so were you stating because this is what i'm asking when you told the officers he never told me that were you insinuating that it was not true i was insinuating when i was asking him on the [02:33:52] Speaker 2: phone and prior to me getting there what happened what was going on he did not inform me that she vomited until after we both disclosed our um perspective or not even perspective what we both experienced that [02:34:07] Speaker 3: night and didn't you tell the police officers that lauren weber or anyone else had not seen any vomit anywhere in the place i don't remember could you have said that i'm not sure [02:34:26] Speaker 2: how did miss weber when did you talk to miss weber that night when she got to the hospital what time [02:34:34] Speaker 3: was that i don't remember was it before or after she went to miss benning's home um i really don't remember you remember talking to her about what she saw when she went into miss benning's house i don't i don't remember us talking about you don't remember you guys talking about [02:34:58] Speaker 1: objection your honor this has been asked okay she's answered [02:35:06] Speaker 3: let's talk a little bit about the allegations that you made or talked to the police office about as it related to mr tape okay okay you remember talking to them about a cup that was missing [02:35:28] Speaker 2: i don't remember you don't remember that either i don't remember talking about that like no [02:35:35] Speaker 3: do you remember talking about whether or not he wiped her face or any of those types of things you said did i i don't i don't [02:35:52] Speaker 2: remember talking about any of that [02:35:58] Speaker 3: and do you remember and do you remember whether or not the allegations you made in regards to what he was saying in response to what you were saying remember you said he didn't say anything what are you talking about do you remember that when you were talking to the police and in fact you just said it on direct examination you said that when the accusations were made blaze didn't say anything [02:36:32] Speaker 2: to you do you remember that to me on the phone just here today ma'am no i'm saying are the accusations that he did not respond to are you responding i mean saying that in regards to the phone call yes yes no he did not he did not say anything he said he didn't do he said he didn't know he didn't do [02:36:51] Speaker 3: anything right he said i didn't do anything i don't know what's going on right correct he asked you if he if she had it epi pen he said i don't have anything in response according to you he says i don't have anything and it's your testimony that in response to questions being posed to him he said no i mentioned that so why would you [02:37:22] Speaker 2: characterize it as he didn't respond i said he did not he i already said what he responded to when jade said that he was scaring him he responded that she keep she was scaring him when she asked to empty your pockets let me see your hands he said he didn't have anything i already mentioned that and then you said [02:37:41] Speaker 3: but you okay you also said that he would never facetime me right well if he was busy tending to miss benny and or trying to get to 9-1-1 the emergency people would you be more concerned with him caring for her or facetiming you i asked for him to facetime me before he told me he was calling 9-1-1 but you also said that he told you he could hear the sirens right correct so how could he get ready to call 9-1-1 if the sirens are already there i i don't know but that's your testimony what's my testimony that he said i'm about to call 9-1-1 yes and that was on the second call yes you said the last few words that he made was is key is key with you that's what i heard yes she made i'm sorry and if that was the last few words that she made how did you know to call key i decided to call key so now you're saying she never told you to call key i said she never told me to call key did you ever tell anyone that she did tell me to call kiyanta i don't recall saying that okay you stated on direct examination [02:39:30] Speaker 2: he wasn't giving me anything right what did you mean by that as i was asking him what was going on what happened he never had anything to tell me like now didn't you say that he told you that they danced that was at the hospital what he told me so then he did tell you something when i made that statement i was saying in terms of when i was asking him what was going on he didn't give me anything [02:40:03] Speaker 3: wasn't he in the middle of a medical emergency um yes [02:40:12] Speaker ?: okay [02:40:19] Speaker 3: when you left the apartment with miss franklin and the two other girls with the evidence that you removed and relocated in the scene did you immediately then go to the police officers that you met with and inform them of what you guys had done i don't remember you don't remember if you went to the police [02:40:46] Speaker 2: i don't remember if i went to the police when i got i don't remember like when i spoke with them [02:41:00] Speaker 3: and who told you or how did you come to the decision that you were going to participate in going back to the scene [02:41:11] Speaker 2: i did and why was that because nothing was being done about what was going on [02:41:21] Speaker 3: so even though you talked to those three officers as they were getting your same right so you didn't talk to one office you didn't talk to two officers you talked to three right right but to you nothing was being done after i talked to them now and so you were going to take it upon yourself [02:41:43] Speaker 4: to take it upon yourself okay i'll sustain the objection okay is there any other person miss jackson [02:42:09] Speaker 3: besides you who heard any of these alleged allegations is there any other person besides you and the other three women that went into that house that manipulated evidence from the scene can you say [02:42:35] Speaker 4: that question yeah i'm sorry all right you know of anyone else that went into the apartment yes [02:42:42] Speaker 3: do you know of anybody else that went in no well i thought you knew miss weber went into the scene oh yes she did i'm sorry i'm sorry what did she remove about the scene [02:42:53] Speaker 5: what objection here she had a lack of personal knowledge sorry can she respond to that instead of the prosecutor [02:43:00] Speaker 4: okay okay did miss weber say anything about what she did okay she doesn't know [02:43:22] Speaker 3: if i could just have a minute now you talked about that miss benny did not post about her premise on direct examination do you remember that all right and you stated that that was something that she wanted to do right [02:44:03] Speaker 2: um i'm sure she would have liked to okay and but she did right she did not was [02:44:15] Speaker 3: what are you insinuating when you say that she did not post [02:44:21] Speaker 4: i'm sorry what did you say why did somebody say anybody about insinuating because the question [02:44:27] Speaker 3: was asked on direct examination that miss benning was although she was very happy about her pregnancy she would never post on the internet and the insinuation was made that it was somebody's [02:44:40] Speaker 4: insinuant she just answering the questions that she's asked so rephrase your question about [02:44:46] Speaker 3: insinuating anything why do you feel that miss jackson did not post about her pregnancy i feel i'm sorry why miss benning didn't post about her pregnancy [02:44:58] Speaker 2: um i just feel like she was trying to um deal with whatever was going on between her and blaze and he made it very clear that he didn't want anyone to know about [02:45:10] Speaker 3: him being the father now wasn't miss benning dating other men she was talking to other people okay isn't jerry is porter one of those men at a point in time and wasn't it a time where she did not want him to know that she was pregnant until she was ready to tell her i'm sorry wasn't there a time where she did not want mr porter to know that she was pregnant until she was ready to tell him i just think she wasn't ready to tell him if she would have posted she was pregnant he would have known wouldn't he she might have wanted to tell him on her own correct so it wasn't that mr taylor didn't want her to post she had her own reasons isn't that right um no i want to bring your attention to a text that you wrote to miss benning on february 5th of 2023 objection your honor to hearsay it is an out of court statement well i'll ask you this did you ever ask miss benning when are you going to post i i did ask her okay and isn't it true that in her response it said nothing about mr taylor I'll ask her, get us, get us, get us. Okay, so I'll ask you again. When you asked her, when is she going to post, her response had nothing to do with Mr. Taylor, did it? No, this one. Well, I'm talking about this one. No. Okay, are you saying there's another one where she does say no? We've had conversations. Was that in person? In person, on the phone, we definitely talked about it. Okay, but in this text message, when you directly ask her the question, she never talks about Mr. Taylor, does she? No, not in this text message. Okay. [02:48:06] Speaker ?: Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. [02:48:11] Speaker 3: Thank you. On November the 9th after Ms. Taylor found out that she was pregnant that she talked about eating gummies with her aunt. Do you remember that? I remember the conversation. And isn't it true that her aunt offered her some gummies after that date? Her aunt did not know she was pregnant. And Ms. Binning's response was, I told her I needed to eat first. Do you remember that? Not, no, I'm not taking her. That was not her response, was it? She wasn't. No, it was not her response. So your statement then, that she did not do anything after that, wouldn't necessarily be true. [02:49:31] Speaker 4: How does she, does she know whether she did that or not? [02:49:35] Speaker ?: Yes. [02:49:36] Speaker 3: In this text message, did she ever say to her aunt, I'm not taking notes? Not in that text message, she did not say that. Speaking directly about Mr. Taylor and Ms. Binning, did she ever tell you, did she ever tell you that in any way that he was violent towards her? [02:50:19] Speaker 2: No. [02:50:21] Speaker 3: Did she ever tell you in any way that he threatened her? [02:50:27] Speaker 5: No. [02:50:27] Speaker ?: No. [02:50:27] Speaker 3: So outside of this incident, in regards to what you heard, but no one else heard, what you heard, but no one else heard, there is no other situation throughout the course of Mr. Taylor and Ms. Binning's relationship, that there has ever been any form of violence or threat against her. Isn't that true? [02:51:06] Speaker 2: No. [02:51:08] Speaker 4: I'm casting witness. All right, does the state have a redirect? [02:51:12] Speaker 1: I do. [02:51:12] Speaker 4: How long do you think that would be? [02:51:14] Speaker ?: It would be at least 30 minutes. It could be a minute. Do you need to take a short break? Yeah, I just want to go to the restroom. [02:51:21] Speaker 4: Well, it goes with that gentleman right there. Thank you. [02:51:24] Speaker ?: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. [02:53:53] Speaker 1: I am going to ask that the witness be handed a copy of her [02:54:23] Speaker ?: transcript interview with Detective Smith for Matt Knight. Ms. Jackson, if you could please turn to page two of the transcript, if you could go to line 27-330. [02:54:49] Speaker 1: And can you read out what you said about Chianti? And anything that Ms. J Benning said about Chianti to Detective Smith? [02:54:58] Speaker 3: I'm going to object for reading for something that has not been offered into evidence. The prosecutor composed the question, but to read for something not into evidence is inappropriate. [02:55:07] Speaker ?: I'm happy to ask it in question format. You're over. You're over. [02:55:10] Speaker 1: Ms. Jackson, is it true that you said, it sounded like that, it sounded like I can't even explain it. Like, it was like, get your ASAP. And she was trying to say the guy's name is Chianti. And she was like, it's Chianti. But she was, but like she was trying to say his name, but she couldn't. But I could tell that's what she was trying to say. I'm going to object to counsel testifying and reading for evidence. [02:55:44] Speaker 4: Okay. I'll overrule the objection. [02:55:46] Speaker 1: Is that what you said to Detective Smith about what Ms. Benning said about Chianti? Yes. And you never told Detective Smith that Ms. Benning asked you to call Chianti. Isn't that correct? [02:56:00] Speaker 2: Correct. [02:56:01] Speaker 1: And you called Chianti on your own. And why did you do that? [02:56:07] Speaker 2: Um, like I said, like, I feel like she was scared. I heard Chianti and I was just with her and I wanted him to hear the way that she sounded. So that's why I made the decision to call Chianti. [02:56:20] Speaker 1: And if you could turn to page four of that same transcript. And if you could look at lines 42 through 47. When you were asked about Ms. Benning and Mr. Taylor's relationship after January of 2023, you responded to Mr. Smith. She doesn't send him any pictures, ultrasounds. Like, I just went to her house two days ago and the ultrasounds were on the countertop. I get there today and they're gone. So she tried. It's not like she tried to hide it from him. Hang on a second. [02:57:02] Speaker 4: What is your question? [02:57:03] Speaker 1: I'm asking her if this is what she said in response to what the relationship was like. Ms. Collins. Ask her. What did you say in response to Detective Smith when he was asking you about their current relationship after January 2023 in that February time frame? Your Honor, I'm going to object. [02:57:29] Speaker 4: Oh, a real objection. I have a seat. She has a right to bring up consistent information that you for two hours asked her. [02:57:37] Speaker 3: But she's not allowed to read through something that's not in evidence. She is on direct examination. [02:57:44] Speaker 4: Have a seat. Thank you. [02:57:46] Speaker 3: May I have a ruling, Your Honor? [02:57:49] Speaker 4: The ruling is have a seat. [02:57:51] Speaker 3: Thank you. [02:57:53] Speaker 4: Now, what is your question? [02:57:55] Speaker 1: My question is, can you please answer what you told the detective about their current relationship? [02:58:02] Speaker 2: I told them that I would ask her if she would send Blaze pictures of, like, her ultrasounds and things like that. And she said no ultimately because she doesn't want to get him all riled up. And she knows that she's not going to get the reaction that she wants from him, like, acknowledging that, you know, that they were beautiful or any way that would give compliments to her or her pregnancy. [02:58:30] Speaker 1: So she described to you that if she talked to him about her pregnancy, he had negative feedback. [02:58:35] Speaker 2: Yes. [02:58:36] Speaker 1: And were you aware, did he go to any pregnancy appointment with her? [02:58:42] Speaker 2: No. [02:58:43] Speaker 1: Were you aware of whether or not Ms. Binney asked him to go to the appointments with her? [02:58:49] Speaker 2: Yes. [02:58:49] Speaker 1: And did she send you his responses? [02:58:53] Speaker 2: Yes. [02:58:54] Speaker 1: And what were his responses? [02:58:57] Speaker 2: Pretty much like he was too busy. [02:59:01] Speaker 1: Did you have any indication that Mr. Taylor was interested in actively being involved in Ms. Binnings' pregnancy in February of 2023? [02:59:13] Speaker 2: I'm sorry. One more time. [02:59:14] Speaker 1: Did you have any information that Mr. Taylor did anything to be actively involved in her pregnancy? [02:59:21] Speaker 2: No. [02:59:22] Speaker 1: And you were asked questions about if there were any discussions about abortion. [02:59:29] Speaker 5: Mm-hmm. [02:59:31] Speaker 1: Could you please describe what your discussions were with Ms. Binning about abortion? [02:59:37] Speaker 2: Um, we briefly talked about it in terms of like, just like I said, girl talk, having conversation, but she never like actually said that she wanted to have an abortion. [02:59:52] Speaker 1: Did she ever say that she wanted to have an abortion? No. Did she actually say the opposite of that? [02:59:58] Speaker 2: Yes. [02:59:59] Speaker 1: And when abortion came up, what was the context of that conversation? [03:00:06] Speaker 2: She was saying she was not having an abortion. [03:00:09] Speaker 1: Was there anyone that was party to that pregnancy that wanted her to? [03:00:14] Speaker 2: Yes. [03:00:14] Speaker 1: And who was that? [03:00:15] Speaker 2: Blaze. [03:00:17] Speaker 1: And did she express that to you? Yes. And what was Ms. Binning's response to him wanting her to have an abortion? [03:00:26] Speaker 2: Um, she was basically saying, I've made my decision of keeping my baby and there's really not, nothing you can do to change my mind about it. [03:00:34] Speaker 1: And is that what ended their communication in November of 2023? Yes. That text message that you assisted her with drafting, was that in response to him wanting her to get an abortion? [03:00:47] Speaker 2: Yes. [03:00:48] Speaker 1: And then he completely stopped talking to her? [03:00:52] Speaker 2: Correct. [03:00:52] Speaker 1: And that November 16th contact, did he, are you aware that he asked her to unfollow him? [03:01:03] Speaker 2: Yes. [03:01:04] Speaker 1: And do you know why Ms. Binning was asked to unfollow Mr. Taylor on social media? [03:01:11] Speaker 2: He said he did not want to see anything about the baby, he wanted to know parts, he didn't want to see anything that she posted or any mention of Jay being pregnant on social media. [03:01:22] Speaker 1: And you were asked about Ms. Binning and not posting, did you know why she was not posting to social media? [03:01:30] Speaker 2: Um, about the pregnancy? [03:01:32] Speaker 1: Yes. [03:01:32] Speaker 2: Yes. [03:01:33] Speaker 1: And why was that? [03:01:34] Speaker 2: I think that she did not want to upset Blaze, I guess. I'm not really sure that she just didn't want to cross that bridge with him simply because he made it very clear that he did not want that. [03:01:48] Speaker 1: Did he in any way claim to be the father of that child prior to that statement he made in the hospital that you testified to? [03:01:55] Speaker 2: No. [03:01:59] Speaker 1: And you were asked a lot of drug use and specifically some random text message about edibles are you certain of whether or not Ms. Binning did any marijuana or alcohol after she found out she was pregnant? [03:02:19] Speaker 2: Yes. [03:02:19] Speaker ?: Yes. [03:02:19] Speaker 1: And what is it that you absolutely know about that? [03:02:23] Speaker 2: She was not. [03:02:24] Speaker 1: I can have just one more minute. Miss Jackson, at the beginning of questioning, um, you were asked about Ms. Appeldini and you said you knew of her and then you said you met her before. [03:02:53] Speaker 2: Uh-huh. [03:02:53] Speaker 1: And you met her before any of this happened. [03:02:56] Speaker 2: Yep. [03:02:57] Speaker 1: Thank you. [03:03:00] Speaker 4: And re-crushed. [03:03:02] Speaker 3: Yes. Thank you. I had asked you earlier. [03:03:39] Speaker 4: What's your question? [03:03:41] Speaker 3: My question is, you stated before that there was no call, like you didn't know what time your call was, a second call. You remember that? Mm-hmm. And in fact, that call was at 947. [03:03:57] Speaker 4: That wasn't asked on redirect, so where are we going on that? [03:04:00] Speaker 3: Well, when you talked about the drugs on redirect, do you remember that? Yes. And do you remember stating at the bond source hearing, you testified under oath, that the only drug that you and Ms. Benning did was marijuana. Do you remember that? [03:04:23] Speaker 2: Correct. [03:04:23] Speaker 3: But that wasn't the truth, was it? Yes. [03:04:26] Speaker 2: It said me and Ms. Benning. [03:04:28] Speaker 3: Well, didn't we talk about the fact that y'all were going to do mushrooms together? [03:04:32] Speaker 2: I never did. [03:04:34] Speaker ?: Okay. [03:04:40] Speaker 3: You talked about, on redirect, in regards to Mr. Taylor's involvement with the baby. Do you remember that? [03:04:51] Speaker 2: Yes. [03:04:52] Speaker 3: Didn't you ever state at a patient that you knew that he and Ms. Benning talked about naming the baby Jim? [03:05:01] Speaker 2: Yes. [03:05:02] Speaker 3: Well, that would be involved with the baby, wouldn't it? I mean, yeah. If he and Ms. Benning, together, had came up with a name, that would be in direct contrast to him not wanting to have anything to do with the baby, isn't it? [03:05:19] Speaker 2: Um, no. Not necessarily, no. [03:05:23] Speaker 3: And, in fact, that baby's name that they came up with was Jim, wasn't it? G-E-M. She came up with that. And he agreed to it. Okay. Because his name was Blaze and hers was Jay. Isn't that true? [03:05:35] Speaker 2: I'm not sure about that. [03:05:37] Speaker 3: So, your best friend didn't tell you that? [03:05:39] Speaker 2: I knew about the name Jim. That they agreed to come up with together? That she liked it and he agreed on it. Thank you. [03:05:50] Speaker 4: Thank you. [03:05:51] Speaker 1: One question. Ms. Jackson, do you know what Jade Benning intended to name her baby girl? [03:05:58] Speaker 4: Ivy? [03:05:59] Speaker ?: Thank you. [03:06:00] Speaker 4: Ivy Blair. [03:06:01] Speaker 2: Ivy Blair. [03:06:02] Speaker 4: Ivy? [03:06:03] Speaker 2: Yes, ma'am. Let me start. [03:06:04] Speaker 3: Okay, one question. If she intended to name the baby Ivy Blair, then what were you just talking about when you said that he agreed to Jim? You just said she came up with the name of Jim, right? Mm-hmm. That's different than Ivy Blair, isn't it? [03:06:24] Speaker 2: Yes, there was consideration after they agreed on that name. That wasn't, like, final. That's just something that they discussed. [03:06:31] Speaker 3: I just wanted to make sure that what you were saying is that Mr. Taylor was involved in the name of Chief E. M., right? [03:06:41] Speaker 2: He agreed on the name. Thank you. [03:06:43] Speaker ?: Any other questions? No, you're on. Thank you. You can leave that there.