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. 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 kidnapping.
Who is Ibraheem Yazeed?
Ibraheem Yazeed already had an extensive criminal record before law enforcement agencies apprehended him in Pensacola, Florida, in connection to Aniah’s baffling case in early November 2019. Apart from drug and firearm possession, this Montgomery, Alabama, native has been accused of the attempted murder of two police officers in 2012 — he’d allegedly used his car to ram into theirs. However, these charges were dropped by a grand jury, according to court records. Then, in 2017, he was arrested for aggravated battery of another officer. Furthermore, in 2019, he was connected to a robbery of two men in a hotel in his hometown. For this, he was charged with possession of marijuana, robbery, kidnapping, plus attempted murder.
At the time of Aniah’s disappearance and death, Ibraheem was actually out of jail on a $295,000 bond in connection to this latter case. However, the most severe charge against him, apart from the one that stems from his apparent involvement in the 19-year-old’s murder, is the capital murder indictment on him for the 2018 slaying of Stephen Hamby. As if that’s not enough, it appears as if he also 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.
Ibraheem Yazeed is Currently Awaiting Trial
Once Ibraheem was apprehended by the Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force and extradited to Alabama, he was admitted to the Lee County Jail without 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. In fact, the grand jury indicted him on three counts of capital murder on November 15, 2022, and he pleaded not guilty to all of them on March 6, 2023. As per reports, because of Ibraheem’s history, the fact he attacked officials following his arrest, as well as all the circumstantial evidence incriminating him in regards to this particular matter, the District Attorney’s office is seeking the death penalty.
But alas, right now, having already undergone the a few court proceedings, Ibraheem is just waiting for the legalities to proceed from behind bars. His case has been given to Lee County despite his attorneys arguments that the prosecution cannot prove that Aniah was kidnapped in the area by their client “under false pretense” or by force. Moreover, the defense has also refuted claims the murder transpired 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, 34-year-old Ibraheem Yazeed will remain detained at the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Jail until his ultimate conviction or acquittal.
Read More: Where Are Aniah Blanchard’s Parents Now?
