Man found guilty of killing college student Aniah Blanchard after kidnapping her from gas station in 2019

TUSKEGEE, Ala. (WBRC/Gray News) — A jury found Ibraheem Yazeed guilty Thursday of murdering 19-year-old college student Aniah Blanchard.

Blanchard went missing in October 2019 after last being seen at a gas station in Auburn, Alabama. She attended Southern Union State Community College.

She was reported missing the day after she was last seen. A few days later, her car was found abandoned and damaged at an apartment complex in Montgomery, Alabama.

Yazeed was identified as a suspect in November 2019. He was seen in the same gas station surveillance footage in which Blanchard was last seen.

A witness also reported seeing Yazeed force Blanchard into her vehicle outside the gas station before driving off with her.

Investigators said there is no indication the two knew each other, and they believe Yazeed targeted Blanchard after seeing her at the gas station.

According to police, at the time of Blanchard’s disappearance, Yazeed was out on bond for kidnapping and attempted murder charges that stemmed from events that allegedly occurred in Montgomery in early 2019.

Authorities arrested Yazeed in Escambia County, Florida, on Nov. 8, 2019. He was extradited to Lee County, Alabama, on a first-degree kidnapping charge.

Court documents revealed that blood evidence “indicative of someone suffering a life-threatening injury” was found in the vehicle’s passenger compartment. It was found to be Blanchard’s blood. Yazeed was denied bond and ordered to provide DNA samples to assist in the investigation.

A second suspect, Antwon “Squirmy” Fisher, was arrested in Montgomery on Nov. 22, 2019, and charged with first-degree kidnapping.

Fisher was initially denied bond for his role, but the decision was overturned. His bond was then set at $50,000. It was revealed in court that Fisher provided transportation to Yazeed and helped dispose of evidence.

On Nov. 25, 2019, police found human remains in a wooded area of Macon County, Alabama. Two days later, authorities confirmed the remains were Blanchard’s. An autopsy confirmed that Blanchard died of a gunshot wound.

The same day the remains were found, a third suspect, David Johnson Jr., was arrested and charged with hindering prosecution. Court testimony revealed that Johnson and Fisher were roommates and Fisher reportedly drove Yazeed to Florida following Blanchard’s abduction.

In December 2019, Yazeed was charged with capital murder.

More than six years after Blanchard’s death, on March 10, 2026, Yazeed’s trial finally began. The trial took place in Macon County, where Blanchard’s remains were found. Yazeed was charged with two counts of capital murder, one for kidnapping and one for robbery.

Prosecutors said during Yazeed’s trial that the DNA and ballistic evidence from the car suggest she was shot in her passenger seat before she was taken to a wooded area in Macon County, where she was shot again in the head.

There was one additional charge of capital murder related to Yazeed allegedly shooting and killing Blanchard while inside her vehicle. Before closing arguments began Tuesday, state prosecutors asked the judge to dismiss this third charge.

Deliberations began on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. The guilty verdict was given on Thursday.

Yazeed’s sentencing hearing has been set for May 7 at 10 a.m. Yazeed has 42 days to appeal the conviction.

Throughout the case and leading up to it, prosecutors said they would pursue the death penalty. However, former Montgomery County Deputy District Attorney Josh Jones said that since Yazeed was not convicted of capital murder, the death penalty is off the table.