Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
CBS 48 Hours recently took a look into the murder case of Aniah Blanchard and the investigation that involves her accused killer, Ibraheem Yazeed. The episode, titled “Fighting for Aniah,” aired on Saturday, June 29, 2024. An official synopsis of the episode reads, “College student Aniah Blanchard had a deep fear of being kidnapped. When she disappears, UFC fighter Walt Harris battles for justice for his stepdaughter. CBS News special correspondent James Brown reports.”
Aniah Blanchard was a 19-year-old Southern Union State Community College student and the stepdaughter of UFC fighter Walt Harris. She went missing on October 23, 2019, after dropping her brother Elijah off at his Auburn home. Authorities first located her abandoned car, and then surveillance footage traced her final steps. This led them to a convenience store and gave them the identity of a potential suspect, Ibraheem Yazeed.
Reportedly, weeks after the disappearance, authorities found Aniah Blanchard’s remains in a wooded area. The discovery was a breaking point in the missing case, which turned into murder. The accused killer, Ibraheem Yazeed, now faces multiple capital murder charges to which he pleaded not guilty.
Aniah Blanchard’s cause of death: How did she die?
CNN reported that after the discovery of Aniah Blanchard’s remains in Macon County, an autopsy revealed she died of a gunshot wound. CBS News further stated that detectives alleged that a witness claimed to have seen a man force Aniah into her car on the night she went missing. The incident occurred at the convenience store where she bought potato chips after dropping her brother off and returning home.
Detectives used surveillance footage from the convenience store to identify Ibraheem Yazeed as a person of interest. The establishment was two minutes from where Aniah Blanchard lived with her roommate, Sarah O’Brien. Moreover, on the night of the disappearance, Sarah texted the 19-year-old, “Are you almost home?” to which the latter replied, “Yeah.” However, she never made it back home. Two days later, on October 25, authorities found her car outside an apartment complex 55 miles away from Auburn.
Reportedly, in November 2022, a grand jury indicted Aniah Blanchard’s accused killer, Ibraheem Yazeed, on three counts of capital murder. Per the indictment, Ibraheem faces one count of capital murder during a kidnapping in the first degree, one count of capital murder during a robbery in the first degree, and one count of capital murder involving a victim in a vehicle.
The indictment also alleged that Ibraheem fatally shot Aniah as he attempted to kidnap her while also trying to rob her phone and vehicle. The accused had a lengthy arrest record at the time of the crime and was out on bond charges, including attempted murder, kidnapping, robbery, and assault. These counts were from an unrelated case.
Authorities arrested Ibraheem Yazeed in November 2019 and had initially charged him with kidnapping in Aniah Blanchard’s case. However, a subsequent discovery of her remains changed the course of the investigation. According to Montogomery Adviser, Ibraheem pleaded not guilty to all capital murder charges stemming from Aniah’s killing.
In 2020, Aniah Blanchard’s family advocated for the introduction of “Aniah’s Law.” The bill, which was passed in the Alabama House in February 2021, denied bond to suspects accused of committing violent crimes. Later, in November 2022, voters successfully passed the bill. Aniah’s stepfather, Walt Harris, claims he “will always fight for my baby girl,” stated another CBS report.
Aniah Blanchard’s accused killer, Ibraheem Yazeed, now remains in a detention center and is awaiting trial.
