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Image: Aniah Blanchard FacebookThe last time anyone heard from 19-year-old Aniah Blanchard, a college student and the stepdaughter of UFC fighter Walt Harris, was on October 23, 2019, according to an interview her stepdad had with PEOPLE in 2019.
She texted her roommate that she would be home soon, but she never came back. Her worried family reported her missing the next day. Surveillance footage showed her at a convenience store in Auburn, Alabama, before she drove away in her black 2017 Honda CR-V.
Aniah's last known image was captured on a blurry convenience store video in Auburn, Alabama. The footage showed her in the store before she left in her black Honda CR-V, driving south. This video later became key in identifying a suspect in her disappearance.
According to police, a few days later, they discovered Aniah's vehicle in Montgomery, some sixty minutes away from her disappearance. That Honda was a complete disaster; it appeared to have been severely damaged. This discovery set off red flags for detectives, who started to believe something bad had happened.
As the cops dug deeper, one person, Ibraheem Yazeed, kept coming up. Security footage showed Yazeed in the store right when Aniah was there. The case broke wide open when someone came forward saying they saw Yazeed shove Blanchard into her car outside the store.
Cops captured Yazeed in Florida on November 8, 2019, suspecting him of kidnapping Blanchard. While this arrest was big news, people were losing hope of finding Blanchard alive. Within weeks, police hauled in two more guys: "Squirmy" Fisher and David Johnson Jr. Kidnapping for one, a cover-up for the other.
Then came November 25, 2019. They found Aniah's body dumped in some woods in Georgia. The autopsy results hit like a punch to the gut - Aniah had been shot dead.
A grand jury slapped Yazeed with three capital murder charges in November 2022: for kidnapping, robbery, and killing someone in a car. They say Yazeed grabbed Blanchard, stole her car and phone, then shot and killed her. If they find him guilty, Yazeed could get the death penalty or rot in jail forever for each charge.
This case has exposed some big problems in how we handle criminals. When Blanchard disappeared, Yazeed was out on bail for separate kidnapping and attempted murder charges. People were furious about this, leading Alabama to pass Aniah's Law, letting judges keep violent suspects locked up without bail.
Blanchard's story shows how scared many young women are of being attacked. Her roommate said Blanchard was terrified of being kidnapped or killed, always checking the house when she got home and having nightmares about it.
Blanchard's mom, Angela Harris, turned her pain into purpose after losing her daughter. She started Aniah's Heart, a charity that helps families look for missing people and teaches ways to stop violent crime.
As the case against Yazeed moves forward with no trial date yet, Blanchard's family and friends are still waiting for justice. This horrible situation reminds us why we need to watch out for each other, support victims' families, and fix our justice system to stop these tragedies.
