MACON COUNTY, Ala. — A Macon County jury on March 18 convicted Ibraheem Yazeed of murder and felony murder in the 2019 kidnapping and slaying of 19-year-old Auburn University student Aniah Blanchard, sparing him a possible death penalty sentence but facing life behind bars.
Prosecutors said Yazeed abducted the Homewood native from a convenience store in Auburn on Oct. 23, 2019, forcing her into her black Honda CR-V after surveillance video captured them together inside. Her abandoned SUV, blood-soaked in the front passenger seat from a life-threatening wound confirmed as hers, bore a bullet hole in the door, shell casings in the cup holder and a heavy cleaning solution odor signaling a desperate cover-up. Weeks later, her remains turned up in a wooded Macon County thicket; an autopsy pinned her death to a single gunshot wound.
Witness accounts painted a chilling aftermath, with an associate claiming Yazeed admitted shooting a girl who “went for the gun” and later dragged what looked like legs wrapped in a comforter from her car to a remote cemetery off Interstate 85. Yazeed, then free on bond for prior Montgomery robbery, kidnapping and attempted murder charges, allegedly enlisted help to refuel her vehicle in the predawn hours before dumping the body.
The verdict ends a trial marked by days of testimony from investigators and forensic experts on blood evidence and timelines the defense contested. Yazeed pleaded not guilty to capital murder counts involving kidnapping, robbery and a vehicle but was convicted on lesser offenses.
Sentencing is set for May 7. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said the state will pursue the maximum penalty. Defense attorneys plan an appeal.
The high-profile case spurred “Aniah’s Law,” letting Alabama judges deny bond in violent crime cases.