The man charged with the killing Aniah Blanchard in October 2019 will now face trial.
Ibraheem Yazeed faces three charges of capital murder for allegedly kidnapping and murdering Blanchard, the stepdaughter of former UFC heavyweight Walt Harris.
Yazeed will face trial March 2 in Macon County (Ala.) court, according to the Montgomery Advertiser.
What happened to Aniah Blanchard?
Blanchard, 19, was a college student at Auburn University when she went missing. Her disappearance was reported and an extensive search from authorities and volunteers ensued.
Through surveillance camera and witness interviews, police concluded Blanchard and Yazeed ran into one another at a local convenience store. Footage showed Yazeed entering and exiting Blanchard’s car.
Yazeed, then 29, was eventually located and arrested. Blanchard’s remains were located, as was her car. A “life-threatening amount of blood” was found in the vehicle.
An autopsy showed Blanchard was shot to death.
At the time of the alleged murder, Yazeed was out on $295,000 bail for multiple charges, including kidnapping and attempted murder from a prior incident.
Since his arrest, Yazeed has been incarcerated without bond. He faces the death penalty.
Aniah’s Law
Following Blanchard’s death, “Aniah’s Law” was passed in Alabama.
The amendment tweaked laws that said only capital offenders would not have a right to reasonable bail. “Aniah’s Law” added a series of serious crimes for which bail would not be allowed for accused offenders, like Yazeed was.
Such offenses include first-degree rape, sexual torture, sodomy, terrorism, robbery, human trafficking and more.
