ACTION 8 UPDATE: Jury chosen for capital murder trial of Ibraheem Yazeed

ACTION 8 UPDATE: A jury has now been selected for the capital murder trial of Ibraheem Yazeed of Montgomery, who’s charged with killing 19-year-old college student Aniah Blanchard in 2019.

The jury will be made up of eight women and four men, with four alternates. The jury pool started with 450 juror questionnaires being sent out. There were 108 potential jurors who arrived on Monday for consideration. Those potential jurors were asked about their opinions on the death penalty because prosecutors are seeking Yazeed’s execution if he is convicted.

Action 8 News was not able to speak to the prosecution, defense or the families of Blanchard or Yazeed due to a a gag order in place for the duration of the trial.

The jury is expected to be sworn in at 9:30AM Monday, with opening statements to follow.

Aniah Blanchard

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 gas station in Auburn in October 2019. A massive search was launched for her, which got national attention. Prosecutors say evidence shows Yazeed was in the gas station at the same time she was abducted.

Her car was found at an apartment complex in Montgomery with 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, who is from Montgomery, was arrested in Florida. He has a lengthy criminal history.

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 faces three capital counts:

Capital Murder during a kidnapping
Capital Murder during a robbery
Capital Murder involving a victim’s vehicle

Stay with Action 8 News for coverage of the trial.