Kriti Mehrotra
CBS’ ’48 Hours: Fighting for Aniah’ is an episode that explores the 2019 tale of Aniah Haley Blanchard’s disappearance and death. The 19-year-old Southern Union State Community College student was last seen alive late on October 23 at a Chevron gas station in Auburn, only to be found dead more than a month later in Macon County’s woods in eastern Alabama. During this time, while the extensive search for her gathered massive media coverage, a suspect, identified as Ibraheem Yazeed, was charged and arrested for her murder. Curious to know where he is now? Well, we’ve got the details for you.
Who is Ibraheem Yazeed?
Ibraheem Yazeed already had an extensive criminal record before the law enforcement authorities arrested him in connection to Aniah’s baffling case in Pensacola, Florida, in early November 2019. Apart from drug and firearm possession, the Montgomery, Alabama, native has been accused of the attempted murder of two police officers in 2012 by using his car to ram into theirs. However, these cases were dropped by a grand jury, according to court records. Then, in 2017, he was arrested for the aggravated battery on another officer. Furthermore, in 2019, Ibraheem was connected to a robbery of two men in a hotel in Montgomery. For this, he got charged with possession of marijuana, robbery, kidnapping, and attempted murder.
At the time of Aniah’s disappearance and death, Ibraheem was out of jail on a $295,000 bond in connection to the latter. However, the most severe charge against him, apart from the one that stems from his alleged involvement in Aniah’s murder, is the capital murder indictment on him for the 2018 slaying of Stephen Hamby. In fact, Ibraheem, who got handed this in June 2020, faces an additional count of attempted murder for the woman who got shot in the face during the incident that took Stephen’s life. In other words, with two active capital felony charges against him (for Stephen and Aniah), it seems like Ibraheem is a serial offender of sorts.
Where is Ibraheem Yazeed Now?
Once Ibraheem was apprehended by the Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force and extradited to Alabama, he was admitted to the Lee County Jail without a bond, where he remains to this day. At first, the charge against the then-29-year-old was only that of first-degree kidnapping, but when Aniah’s body was discovered, it got upgraded to capital murder. As per reports, because of all the circumstantial evidence incriminating Ibraheem, the District Attorney’s office is seeking the death penalty for him.
But right now, having already undergone the preliminary hearing process, Ibraheem is just waiting for the legalities to proceed from behind bars. His case has been given to a Lee County grand jury despite his attorney’s arguments that the prosecution cannot prove that Aniah was kidnapped in the area by his client “under false pretense” or by force. Moreover, the defense also refuted the claims of the murder transpiring in Lee County, demanding a dismissal of the matter on the grounds of improper jurisdiction.
“The state cannot establish evidence that the fatal shot was fired in Lee County. Who is to say the fatal shot wasn’t fired in Macon County?” William Whatley Jr., Ibraheem’s attorney and representative, said during the preliminary hearing. “If there’s more evidence out there, the state needs to go find it.” However, despite all this, without a bond or a direct dismissal of the case, Ibraheem Yazeed will stay in Lee County Jail until his ultimate conviction or acquittal.
Read More: Where Are Aniah Blanchard’s Parents Now?
