Man convicted of murder for 2019 death of Alabama college student Aniah Blanchard
TUSKEGEE, Ala. — A man was convicted of the 2019 murder of Alabama student Aniah Blanchard, whose disappearance attracted national attention, but a jury spared him a possible death sentence Thursday.
Jurors found Ibraheem Yazeed, 36, guilty of murdering 19-year-old Blanchard. Jurors found Yazeed guilty of the lesser charges of murder and felony murder instead of capital murder, a crime that could have carried a death sentence.
Blanchard, the stepdaughter of UFC fighter Walt Harris, was last seen Oct. 23, 2019, at a gas station in Auburn. Her body was found a month later in a wooded area in neighboring Macon County. She was a student at Southern Union Community College.
The case inspired two changes to Alabama law. Under what’s known as Aniah’s Law, judges have greater discretion to deny bail to people accused of violent crimes. Yazeed was out on bail at the time of Blanchard’s disappearance.
Gov. Kay Ivey also signed a law last year to allow visiting judges to handle violent criminal cases to get them to trial more quickly. The legislation was approved after the murder case dragged on for several years without a trial.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said he was disappointed that Yazeed was not sentenced to death, but will seek a life sentence for him.
“I am committed to doing everything in my power to ensure Ibrahim Yazeed spends the rest of his life in prison. I believe that is what justice demands in this case. Aniah deserves it, as does his family,” Marshall said.
Defense attorney William Whatley told reporters the case was rife with false information and misrepresentations “almost rising to the level of a lynching to bring Mr. Yazeed on this capital murder charge.”
