Prosecutors argued Ibraheem Yazeed, now 36, killed 19-year-old Aniah Blanchard during a robbery in October 2019
Credit: Auburn Police Department (2)
NEED TO KNOW
- The man accused of kidnapping and killing the 19-year-old stepdaughter of UFC fighter Walt Harris has been found guilty of lesser charges
- Ibraheem Yazeed, 36, was convicted on charges of murder and felony murder
- Prosecutors argued Yazeed killed Aniah Blanchard during a robbery in October 2019
The man accused of killing 19-year-old Aniah Blanchard in 2019 has been found guilty of lesser charges after a long-awaited murder trial.
A jury in Macon County, Ala., convicted Ibraheem Yazeed, 36, on charges of murder and felony murder on Thursday, March 19, according to WBMA, WFSA and the Montgomery Advertiser. The verdict reflects lesser charges than the original indictment, which accused him of capital murder during a kidnapping and during a robbery.
A third count of capital murder involving a victim in a vehicle was dropped shortly before closing arguments were held on Tuesday, March 17, WSFA reported. He had pleaded not guilty to all charges in connection with the death of Blanchard, who was the stepdaughter of UFC fighter Walt Harris.
Yazeed is expected to be sentenced on May 7. Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a statement Thursday that prosecutors "intend to seek the maximum sentence allowed by law," per WFSA.
"I pledge to do everything in my power to ensure that Ibraheem Yazeed spends the rest of his life in prison. I believe that is what justice demands in this case. Aniah deserves it, as does her family."
Blanchard, who was a student at Southern Union Community College, was reported missing on Oct. 24, 2019. She was last seen on surveillance footage the night before inside a convenience store in Auburn, Ala., before getting into her black 2017 Honda CR-V and driving southbound, authorities said.
Surveillance footage showed Yazeed inside the convenience store, and a witness reportedly saw him force Blanchard into her car outside, the Associated Press previously reported.
Two days after she was reported missing, police found her car nearly 60 miles away at an apartment complex in Montgomery, Ala. Police said at the time that the CR-V had visible dents and scratches to the right bumper that it didn’t have when she went missing.
Authorities said evidence in the car led them to believe Blanchard had suffered a "life-threatening injury," per an affidavit previously obtained by CBS News.
About a month after Blanchard disappeared, her remains were recovered in a wooded area in Macon County, Ala., per a press release from the Alabama Attorney General’s Office. Her cause of death was determined to be a gunshot wound.
The investigation eventually led authorities to Yazeed, but he wasn't indicted on capital murder charges until November 2022. Prosecutors said Yazeed “did intentionally cause the death of Blanchard by shooting her with a gun during the course of abducting her and robbing her of a vehicle and cell phone,” according to the release.
Credit: courtesy Walt Harris
During the trial, prosecutors argued Yazeed killed Blanchard while she was inside her car and then transported her to the woods, where he shot her again, this time in the head, before leaving her there, WFSA reported.
Defense attorneys contended there was a lack of DNA evidence connecting Yazeed to the crime but prosecutors pointed out the surveillance footage and witness testimony, WFSA reported. Yazeed did not testify during the trial.
At the time of Blanchard's death, Yazeed was out on bond on unrelated kidnapping and attempted murder charges, the Montgomery Advertiser previously reported.
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In the aftermath of her killing, lawmakers passed Aniah’s Law in November 2022, allowing judges to deny bail to those accused of violent offenses.
Additionally, Blanchard's mother, Angela Harris, has dedicated herself to helping families find missing loved ones, founding Aniah’s Heart, a nonprofit that provides search resources and promotes violence prevention.
Angela reacted to the verdict on Thursday, saying in a Facebook post, her family is "happy [Yazeed] was found guilty," but noted it should have been on the capital murder charge.
"We are not ok," she wrote. "It’s gonna take a while to come to terms that that’s not what he got!"
She said she "will talk more when I get myself together" and hopes Yazeed gets the maximum prison sentence.
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