Jury reaches verdict in capital murder trial of Ibraheem Yazeed

A jury in Macon County has reached a verdict in the capital murder trial of Ibraheem Yazeed.

The jury found Yazeed guilty of felony murder and guilty of murder in the two main counts he faced in the shooting death of 19-year-old college student Aniah Blanchard in 2019.

He was not found guilty of capital murder in either count he faced.

Aniah Blanchard was from Homewood and was a student at Southern Union Community College. She was the stepdaughter of UFC fighter Walt Harris.

She was last seen in a Chevron gas station on South College Street in Auburn in October 2019. A massive search was launched for her, which got national attention, even on the “Dr. Phil” TV show. Evidence showed Yazeed was in the gas station at the same time she was.

Her car was found at an apartment complex in Montgomery. There was blood inside.

Her body was later found in woods in Macon County, about a month after her disappearance. Evidence showed that she had been shot in the head.

Yazeed was arrested in Florida. He has a lengthy criminal history. He is from Montgomery.

Yazeed was out on bail at the time of Blanchard’s death. That led the Legislature to pass, and Alabama voters to approve, “Aniah’s Law,” which limits the granting of bail for certain offenses.

Yazeed originally faced three counts: Capital Murder during a kidnapping, Capital Murder during a robbery and Capital Murder involving a victim’s vehicle. Earlier this week, the judge dropped the Capital Murder involving a victim’s vehicle charge.

Sentencing is set for May 7 at 10:00AM.