Shaquille Taylor Had ‘Short Temper, Bad Attitude’ but Did Not Function ‘Like a Five-Year-Old,’ Former Co-Worker Says

A former coworker of Shaquille Taylor, who is accused of fatally shooting Belmont University freshman Jillian Ludwig in the head, said in a Friday interview that Taylor did not seem to have reduced cognitive abilities during their workplace interactions, and instead said he regaled her with stories of his criminal history.

After recognizing Taylor from photographs spread by the media, WSMV4 claims a Nashville woman said she worked with the alleged killer “at a fast food chain off White Bridge Pike.” Speaking to the outlet, she disputed reports that Taylor has the mental capacity of a small child.

Taylor was charged with a felony for aggravated assault in 2021, but the charges were ultimately dismissed by Judge Angelita Dalton in May, after three doctors testified that Taylor operated on the intellectual level of a kindergartner. District Attorney Glenn Funk did not appeal the decision.

“I would just get the impression that he had a short temper, bad attitude and maybe that he was misunderstood, but not that he functioned like a five-year-old,” the woman told the outlet.

Taylor’s former coworker reportedly told WSMV she was not surprised to learn he was in trouble, and said Taylor would regularly discuss his “run-ins” with law enforcement “and how he was running from police” while at work, even though the outlet reported she “only worked with Taylor for a few weeks.”

The woman also claimed Taylor “would talk about all the guns he had” and other “incidents” in which he was involved.

In a separate news report posted online Saturday, the outlet said its reporter spoke to Taylor’s grandmother, who was “extremely upset and feels like the system failed her grandson.”

As The Tennessee Star reported, when criminal defendants in the state are found to be incompetent to stand trial, but also are found to be unlikely to become competent if involuntarily committed to a mental facility, the state may provide a treatment plan for up to two years in a bid to make the defendant able to stand trial. Instead of arranging for this treatment, Dalton released Taylor with no conditions.

In a comprehensive fact check of Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton’s claim that Ludwig would still be alive had the Tennessee Senate adopted bills passed by the House during the recent special session, The Star noted a recent study found 81 percent of defendants deemed to be incompetent to stand trial are later determined to be competent after three to four months in treatment.

Though the charges against Taylor were dropped in May, he was arrested on September 21 as the suspect in an alleged carjacking. He was granted the low bond of $10,000 by Nashville magistrate Steve Holzapfel, and secured his released two days later through Brooke’s Bail Bonding. Prior to allegedly shooting Ludwig, he missed a November 3 court appearance for the carjacking case, causing his bond to double to $20,000.

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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photos “Shaquille Taylor and “Edgehill Community Memorial Gardens Park” by Metro Nashville Police Department.