Hello, everyone, and welcome back to True Crime with Kendall Rae.Thank you so much for joining me today.And if you're new, then welcome.I'm so happy to have you.
So, guys, today we're going to be talking about a case that I mean, they all break my heart.This one really hit me hard.
I think it's because this victim is so young and because this was so preventable that it left me feeling incredibly angry, but also very inspired by this family.
who has done so much for the community and to prevent this from happening to other people after going through one of the, I mean, in my opinion, the worst thing possible in life, losing your child at a young age in such a violent, horrific way.
And just this victim, Aniyah Blanchard, was such a special young woman.And the family, their interviews and everything, I just, I am beyond heartbroken for all of them.
I think what really inspired me so much about their family is the way that they all came together and the way that they fought so hard for Aniyah.
And in the wake of their own tragedy to then think about how they can help others in their community and prevent this from possibly happening to others is just, it's amazing to me.
I don't know if I could, you know, focus on helping other people after losing my child.I think that is just,
beyond devastating, and I'm just kind of rambling now, but I can't even put into words how sorry I feel for them, how heartbroken I am for them, but also at the same time, how impressed I am with them, especially because they still haven't gotten justice yet.
It is right around the corner.I'm very confident that they will get justice very soon.But Ania Blanchard, who we're talking about today,
like I said was so young but she was also just such a special young woman who had an amazing life ahead of her and her death is such a loss to not only her family and friends and to her community but really to the world.
I think she would have really gone on to do amazing things.
Also today I wanted to make my background blue to honor Anaya because it was her favorite color and has really been a symbol to remember her and to channel her strength while her family and community has fought so hard for her.
We do have a lot to go over today so I'm going to just jump right in by telling you more about Aniyah.So Aniyah Haley Blanchard was born on June 22, 2002 to her loving parents Angela and Elijah Sr.
Now the day that she was born was special for many reasons but it was an especially special day because was the same day her mom was born so the two of them got to share a birthday which I thought was so so cool.
A really special connection for the two of them and I know it made Angela feel even closer to her daughter than they already were.Anaya was also very very close with her father Elijah Sr.as well as her older brother Elijah Jr.
who also seems like an incredible young man.He's only 17 months older than her so I imagine that made them pretty close but also their parents divorced when they were very young.
I believe Anaya was about two years old, so I think that oftentimes brings siblings closer as well.And despite their divorce, both Angela and Elijah Sr.did their best to co-parent and raise their children with love, compassion, and faith.
Anaya's dad was a local pastor, so having a strong faith and belief in God was very, very important to them.And in the aftermath of what happened, I know that they leaned heavily on their faith to get them through, and I'm
really thankful that they, you know, had that to lean on.And they also leaned on their community, which seems amazing, the community of Homewood, Alabama.
Homewood is just outside of Birmingham, and this is where Aniyah and her brother were raised by their parents as well as their step-parents.
After getting divorced, Elijah went on to marry a very intelligent and successful, not to mention beautiful woman named Yeshiba, who is an attorney specializing in veterans' disability law, probate law, domestic relations, and plaintiff's litigation.
And then Angela went on to marry UFC heavyweight fighter, Walt Harris, who has been very, very outspoken about his relationship with Anaya.I personally had never heard of Walt Harris.
I'm not really plugged into the UFC world, but I've got to say, I'm a fan.He was at one point ranked ninth in the world, I believe, or possibly the country.I can't remember the exact details off the top of my head, but he did very well.
He is very impressive as a fighter, but most impressive as a stepfather.I've got to say the interviews with Walt have just tore me up.His passion for his stepchildren is just so
It's so special and so rare, I think, to see a bond that close between step-parent and child.I mean, he had always treated Aniyah and Elijah as his own children, and I just loved that, but...
Hearing him speak about how this has affected him and him demonstrating the pain and anger that he and their whole family has been through just really got to me.I'm just so beyond heartbroken for all of them.
You know, Anaya was pretty young when Walt came into her life.I'm talking like three, four years old.And from the beginning, he was super, super active in her upbringing.I mean, really, it never felt like he was her stepfather.
He was really just her other dad.And like I said, the same goes for her brother, Elijah.Walt really loved both Angela's children as if they were his own.And I don't think there's ever been any question that they felt the same about him.
Aniya was actually one of Walt's biggest supporters in life, especially when it came to his fights.He says that she always pushed him to keep going and that win or lose, her love and support really never wavered.
Which I will say seems to be very true to her character.Aniya grew up playing softball and not only was she very talented and dedicated to the sport, but what really made her stand out was her sportsmanship.
Regardless of if her team won or lost, she was always the one inviting the opposing team onto the field to shake hands after, and I think that really tells you a lot about the type of person that she was.
She had such a big heart and was always willing to put others first, that's what so many of her friends have said about her.
In fact, her mom and Walt went on to have two other kids together, Asa and Isla, and Aniyah helped a lot with them when it came to their child care.
Her mother Angela is a pediatric emergency room nurse, so as I'm sure you can imagine, she had a lot of nights where she was busy and wasn't able to come home.
And despite being a teenager and having really no obligation to help, she never hesitated to step in and look after her younger siblings. I mean, really, to her core, Anaya seemed to be an incredibly empathetic, loving, nurturing person.
And it only seems fitting that, of course, one day she had hoped to become a teacher and a softball coach as well.She had natural leadership skills.She had an infectious laugh and a smile that her loved ones say they'll never forget.
the videos that you're showing and what they're saying is exactly who she was.She was so beautiful.But not only beautiful on the outside, her heart was so beautiful.And she was just so funny and so sweet and so caring.She was just the best.
And I don't know, she was our best friend.Even though she's our daughter, she was our best friend.She was just the life of our family, to be honest with you.
Like I keep saying, the closeness of this family is just so beautiful to me.And the fact that they only had 19 years with Aniyah, it's just so, so unfair.
And her older brother Elijah was definitely hit incredibly hard by this loss, not only because the two of them were very, very close, but also because he was with Aniyah the night that it happened, not long before it happened.
In 2019, Elijah was a student at Auburn University and the running joke in their family was that Aniyah followed him to school.
After graduating from high school, she started attending Southern Union State Community College, which was just about 20 minutes down the road from Auburn.
She even got an apartment with her friend Sarah, which was actually only about 10 minutes away from where Elijah was living.And that brings us to October 23rd, 2019, which actually was a tougher day for them but was fairly normal.
I mean no one expected what would end up happening but that day she and her brother were in northern Alabama actually attending a funeral for a family friend and understandably it had been a very long and emotional day for them.
Not to mention the fact that they had driven there about four hours so they had a long trip home ahead of them and both of them had work the following morning so
As evening was rolling around, Anaya told their mom that they needed to start making that trip back home.Angela remembers telling Anaya that she loved her.
She gave her a big kiss on the cheek and breaks my heart to say that she had no idea this would be the last time that she would ever see her daughter again. On their drive home, they made a brief pit stop in Homewood to see Waltz.
And he says that as soon as they left, he felt like he should have told them to stay.Ania had mentioned being really tired and they still had two hours left at their drive at that point, but she assured him that she would be okay.
So they said, I love you, which actually would be the last time.And then the two of them were back on the road.By the time that Ania had dropped Elijah back off at his place, it was around 11 PM and
They did what they normally did, said I love you to one another, and Anaya told him that she would call him the next day, but that call never came.
And it's heartbreaking to think about this, but like I mentioned, she only lived 10 minutes away from him, so she only had 10 more minutes to go until she would be home, but she never made it home.
At 11.09pm, after dropping her brother off, Anaya's roommate Sarah sent her a message on Snapchat asking if she was almost home.Anaya responded and said yeah, and the two of them were so close that they shared their locations with one another.
And one of the reasons they did this, and this is very eerie to think about, but... One of Aniyah's biggest fears in life was being kidnapped and murdered.
And I know that this is a very common fear for most women, I mean people in general too, but especially for women considering the statistics.But This was a deep fear for Anaya, so much so that she had nightmares about it often.
She brought it up to people a lot, and it was part of the reason that she often didn't stay out late at night.I mean, she would stay out, but normally she wouldn't stay out or be out alone unless it was a very, like, rare circumstance.
I just think that is so sad to think about that she, you know, had suffered from these nightmares, that this was such a prominent fear for her, that she was bringing it up all the time.It's... I don't know, it's almost like she knew.
But anyway, she responded to Sarah, said that she would be home soon, and so Sarah, of course, expected to see her, well, pretty soon.
And like I just said, she was only about 10 minutes out, but then 30 minutes went by and Aniyah was nowhere to be seen.
So Sarah follows up with another message asking if she had gone out without her possibly and the response that she got definitely didn't seem like it was from Anaya.
The response which came about a minute later at 11 38 p.m said, I'm smoking a blunt lol.And she immediately thought this was weird because she had never heard Anaya use the term blunt before.
and at 11 40 she responded back to her asking who she was with and then just about a minute later Anaya responded saying Eric.Now this was also strange to Sarah because she had never heard of Eric.
She had no idea who this was so she responded saying who's Eric?And Anaya's response, and I'm sure you're probably already picking up on the fact that it wasn't Anaya responding, but the response from Anaya's phone said that she
just met him and after that Sarah asked where they were and the responses just stopped altogether at that point.So at this point Sarah is thinking this is strange.
Her mind isn't going to the worst possible scenario yet but it was just strange enough that she decided to check Aniya's location and it actually showed that Aniya was at this apartment complex that a lot of students lived at.
So she thought maybe she was just there with someone and she didn't know who Eric was or whatever.So she felt comfortable just going to sleep.And I totally get where she was coming from.
I mean, it's very common for college students to just meet up with random people.And she knew that this apartment complex was an area tons of students lived. plus she knew it to be a pretty safe area as well.
So yeah, she goes to sleep and she figured she would get the tea on who this Eric guy was in the morning, but then morning rolled around and she quickly realized that Anaya never made it home.So by this point, the alarm bells are going off for her.
She knew something was wrong because, I mean for several reasons, but Some of the biggest being that she thought this was so out of character for Anaya.She never would just stay the night at someone's place that she had just met.
It just wasn't something she did.And she had just adopted this adorable puppy named Blue, and really in no world would she have just left him home alone.
And then another big reason is that her phone was no longer showing her location, as if it had been turned off, which was very out of character for her.
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And right around the time that Sarah was starting to realize that something was wrong here, her mother Angela was also starting to get that feeling as well.
And that's because she and her daughter spoke on the phone basically every single morning right around 8am, which I think is so rare and special and really shows you how close they were.
But when she tried to FaceTime her that morning, Anaya didn't answer. And truthfully, I mean, she tried not to think too much about it.I mean, it definitely gave her a weird feeling because Anaya just always really answered the phone.
But it wasn't enough to raise alarm bells just yet.Sarah, though, on the other hand, her weird feelings were just... really starting to grow.
So she ends up deciding to reach out to this woman named Corinna who Anaya babysat for and she absolutely loved Corinna's children and she was supposed to babysit for them that morning.
So she calls her and just wanted to see if maybe Anaya had gone over there early. early or something.And she really did love those children and loved children in general and was also just very responsible.
So never in a million years would she have just not showed up for work.But that is exactly what happened.Sarah got a hold of Corinna and she said that Ania was a no-show that day. Now Karina and her kids were very close with Anaya.
They really, really loved her.And Karina had always said that Anaya was the most reliable nanny that she ever had.So her just not showing up that morning raised some serious red flags.
So now, at this point, Sarah's very freaked out and she decides to start physically looking for Ania.She got in her car and drove all around Auburn, but there was no sign of Ania.She also reached out to Elijah, but it was the same thing.
He hadn't heard from his sister and this story about her smoking a blunt with Eric seemed really out of character to him as well.So he began driving around as well and finally decided it was time to alert his parents.
And when Walt and Angela received that call, their hearts just sank.They knew that something had to be wrong here.Because again, Anaya for her age was just so responsible, so reliable, that all of these things together just made no sense.
So pretty much immediately they made the two-hour drive from Homewood to Auburn, which was two of the longest hours of their lives.And that's because they knew that something was wrong and they just couldn't get there fast enough.
And the same goes for her dad and stepmom.They were equally as panicked.I mean, this is just a call that no parent ever wants to receive.
Elijah also decided to go ahead and message Corinna just to make sure that Aniyah didn't suddenly show up late or something, but he got the same answer that Sarah did. that Anaya was a no-show.
And after more friends and family showed up in Auburn to try and search for Anaya themselves, they decided that it was time to just go ahead and report her missing.
Now thankfully, due to some connections that her stepmom had, the media did pick up the story right away and also, great news here, police believed them and acted instantly.
They didn't pull the whole, you know, she probably just ran away thing that they oftentimes do.That was never a possibility in their minds either.They were just quick to support and believe this family.
So they kicked off an investigation for her right away.And by October 25th, a shocking discovery was made.
Around 6.15 that evening, law enforcement responded to a tip that led them to a parking lot of an apartment complex 55 miles away in Montgomery, Alabama.And there, in that parking lot, they discovered Aniyah's car.
It had sustained damage that was not there prior to her disappearance, and inside her car, well, investigators didn't say what they found, just that it pointed to signs of foul play.
New information tonight in news we've been following out of Auburn.Detectives now say foul play is being considered as a possibility in the case of missing 19-year-old Aniah Blanchard from Homewood.
Blanchard is a Southern Union State Community College student that's right in the Auburn area.She was first reported missing October 24th.
Last night, her car, a black Honda CRV, was recovered at an apartment complex off of Atlanta Highway in Montgomery.Auburn Police and Montgomery Police work to process the vehicle at the scene.
If you have any information about Blanchard's whereabouts, you're urged to call the Auburn Police Department.
And this just absolutely broke my heart, but Corinna, the mom that she babysat for, said that when she broke the news to her kids, they started googling how many houses were in Montgomery because they wanted to check every single one of them.
I mean, how do you even explain something like this to kids?Ugh, just horrible.But really nothing about her disappearance made any sense and her loved ones were absolutely determined to find her.
Paul Harris, Andrew Harris here.If you have any leads on where our daughter is, Naya Blanchard, please, please, please go to authorities, tell someone she was last seen in a black Honda CRV 2017.Tag is B, actually, excuse me, 49B2356.BS.
BS356, I'm sorry.She was possibly last seen downtown at
And in just those first few days, Anaya's family, along with search teams, scoured miles and miles of land.And they were looking in alleyways, backyards, densely wooded areas, anywhere that they thought they might possibly find her.But Anaya was
nowhere to be found.A reward was quickly put together and actually the UFC organization was a very big help.The UFC president Dana White and also a heavyweight champion each donated $25,000 and in those first few days the reward got up to $105,000.
Like I said the community just really came together for them and they prayed together for her safe return and their family really mourned every minute that they went without answers.
Like I said, baby blue was Aniya's favorite color and so baby blue ribbons were appearing all over Auburn to signify everyone's hope for her safe return, but every day that passed without finding her felt like an eternity.
But thankfully, local and federal agencies were working diligently to find her. And after learning that her cell phone had shut off in the area near the Clarion Inn, which is not too far from her house, surveillance cameras in the area were checked.
And that's when they ended up finding something major.At 11.21pm on the night that Anaya went missing, she could be seen on surveillance footage at a Chevron gas station that was located only two miles away from her apartment.
Only a few seconds of this footage has been released, but it's been said that she purchased a bag of sour cream and onion chips as well as a drink before walking out.
And her mom said that having a late night kind of bedtime snack was very common for Anayat, something that she loved to do.So this was no surprise to see that she had stopped for a snack.
But even though she was only there for a minute or two, this footage ended up being crucial.And authorities did end up releasing that footage to the public on October 28th.
The search for Naya Blanchard stretches into day five.Police released new surveillance video that might help the case in regards to her last whereabouts here at the Chevron gas station as her parents continue to cry out for answers.
She was last wearing a dress that was black and white with some black stockings.Beautiful, beautiful girl.
A desperate plea from Anaya Blanchard's mother, Angela Harris, asking anyone with information to do the right thing in hopes that her daughter will be found safe after police released surveillance video where she was last seen Wednesday night.
We just want our daughter home.We want her found as soon as possible.
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Investigators also discovered that her license plate was picked up by a tag reader at the entrance of Interstate 85, which coincided with the direction of which her car was found.So obviously the big question here was, who was driving her car?
I mean, Anaya had just told her roommate Sarah that she was about to be home and this gas station was only two minutes away.So the idea that she had just suddenly decided to hop on the interstate and leave,
didn't make any sense especially when you consider they found her car two days later abandoned with no sign of her meaning that she had likely been intercepted by someone between leaving the gas station and getting into her car and sadly on October 31st, Halloween
The idea that Aniyah was met with foul play was confirmed.
That day, law enforcement officially confirmed that the evidence found in Aniyah's car suggested that she was the victim of foul play and they believed that she had suffered a life-threatening injury.
And to say that her loved ones were devastated, especially because they had been really holding out hope, I mean, that doesn't even begin to describe the pain that they felt.
And during this time, they were really leaning on prayer vigils as a source of strength and even still, It just didn't take away from the pain that they were experiencing.
Well, dozens of people gathered here tonight at Open Door Christian Faith Worship Center in Montgomery, and they're not giving up on hope that Anaya Blanchard will return home safely.
And church members stood in a circle holding hands, praying for a good outcome in the disappearance of the 19 year old from Homewood, and investigators say they do suspect foul play.
But people here at the church in Montgomery say they're holding out hope.
Togetherness, prayer, hope, support, just letting our fellow brethren and sister and know that in times like this, we come together.
Another vigil held here in Southwest Birmingham.This was a scene outside Jesus Israel Ministries.A few people showed up to show support.They sang songs, prayed, hoping for her safe return.
The searches have been ongoing as investigators suspect foul play in her disappearance.
So then on November 6th, which was just about two weeks since Anaya had disappeared, a major announcement was made.
And that announcement was that police were now seeking help in identifying a man that was seen at the same gas station at the same time as Anaya, on October 23rd, and this man was now being considered a person of interest.
Auburn Police asking for your help to identify a person of interest in the case of missing student Anaya Blanchard.Take a good look at this man on your screen.
On the left there, captured on surveillance video inside the same convenience store that Blanchard was last seen in.He's described as being in his early to mid-20s, between five foot, five 10.They also say that he has the word vans
in white and that was written on the back of a camouflage jacket.Take a good look at this picture.If you've seen this man, you're asked to call the Auburn Police Division immediately.
And get ready to be pissed off because you will not believe how they figured out that this guy was connected.I'm seriously getting chills of anger even thinking about this, but
it turns out that a witness came forward saying that he saw an individual force Anaya into her own car and drive off with her.Okay, so this witness confirmed that this individual he saw was the same guy on the surveillance footage and he
Sorry, I'm just getting mad, but this dude literally saw her get abducted and did nothing about it.Made no calls, didn't alert anybody, nothing.
And I guess this dude told authorities that right after it happened, he told his wife and she told him that it was none of his business and to stay out of it. Oh my god it makes me so mad.
Now authorities did say that this guy seemed incredibly remorseful that he didn't call 911 right away as he fucking should in my opinion. I am trying to give him a little grace.
I know that this is not his fault, but if anything, please learn from his mistake that if you see something, say something.It is law enforcement's job to look into anything that you see and decide for themselves if it's something suspicious.
There is no harm in ever calling 911.If something looks wrong to you, feels wrong to you, always make that call.It is always worth it.You could save someone's life.
and thinking about the fact that this man possibly could have saved Denia's life just, it just makes my blood boil.
Seriously, even if you are in that situation and you call 911 and it turns out to be nothing, you are not wasting law enforcement's time at all.
I could really sit here and go on and on about how angry this detail made me, how disappointed I was to hear this. But, um, can't change the past now, so I guess let's just continue on here.
Anyways, though, it didn't take investigators very long to figure out who this guy was on the surveillance, who was seen forcing Anaya into her own car and leaving with her.And, shocker, didn't end up being a guy named Eric.
And on November 7th, they determined that the man believed to have abducted Anaya was 30-year-old career criminal named Ibrahim Yazid.And by the 7th, he was no longer a person of interest, but instead he was named as a full-blown suspect.
Breaking new developments in the case of missing college student Anaya Blanchard.
Police name a suspect in Blanchard's disappearance.They say he kidnapped the young woman and he's got a violent arrest history.
Police actively looking for this man right here, 30-year-old Ibrahim Yazeed.They say he's dangerous and possibly armed.
And when I tell you more about this guy and how he was able to kidnap Anaya, you're gonna be pissed off, or at least you should be.I... Like I said, this case has just made me so unbelievably angry.But first, let's talk about his capture.
Between November 6th and November 7th, a tip came in that led investigators to Pensacola, Florida.
And it was a good tip because in the early morning hours of November 8th, after attempting to evade authorities, Ibrahim was arrested in Escambia County and taken into custody on charges of first degree kidnapping.
And if you're watching this episode, then You're seeing it now, but because of the fight that Ibrahim had put up during his arrest, he had a very significant injury to his eye, which caused it to swell up.
So he looks pretty fucking wild in his pictures.And he fully deserved that, in my opinion.Now, like I said, this guy, you're gonna be blown away when you hear about him.
And I need to take a minute now to tell you about his criminal record because it is an extremely important element to this case.
Starting in 2011, Ibrahim was charged with two counts of first degree robbery, followed by two counts of attempted murder the year after that because of an incident where he tried to hit a police officer with his car.
Now, all four of those charges were eventually dropped, but it does not stop there.
In 2013, he was charged with possession of marijuana, crack cocaine, drug paraphernalia, possession of carrying a pistol without a warrant, as well as attempting to elude law enforcement.
In 2015, he was indicted on those charges, and in two separate hearings, he received two 13-month sentences.However, those two sentences ended up being suspended, and he never served any time.
So then in 2017, he was charged with aggravated assault, battery of an officer, possession of marijuana, and fleeing police.And despite a 16-month sentence for these charges, he was released after only serving eight months.
And it doesn't end there, because in 2019, just months before abducting Anaya, he was charged with two counts of kidnapping, two counts of robbery, and attempted murder after he and two others kidnapped a 77-year-old man and beat him nearly to death.
After he did that, he was driving erratically and so police pulled him over and that's when they found this poor older man in the vehicle clinging on to life.And this is where you're going to get especially mad.
This is where the problem lies because despite this long history of criminal behavior, often violent criminal behavior, Ibrahim was still allowed to post bond.
For these last charges that he was facing, which let me remind you included attempted murder, his bail was posted at $295,000.And so after posting it, dude was a free man.
I mean, not legally speaking, of course, but clearly he isn't one to be concerned with what the law says.So essentially a free man.
And it was because of the fact that he was even granted bond in the first place that the door was open for him to go on and reoffend, which is exactly what he allegedly did, which I am pained to have to say allegedly, because there's so much evidence.
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Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to RocketMoney.com slash Kendall Rae.That's RocketMoney.com slash Kendall Rae.One last time, RocketMoney.com slash Kendall Rae. But with that being said, let's go over that evidence.
So on top of the witness identifying Ibrahim as the man who forced Anaya into her car, investigators also found that her car was spotted at another gas station not long after it's believed she was abducted.
And just take a guess at who was seen exiting her car. It was Ibrahim.Not only that, but later on, they found his DNA in her vehicle.
Which, speaking of, after he was arrested, the arrest affidavit confirmed what evidence had been found in Anaya's car that led them to believe that she was the victim of foul play.And it was blood.A lot of blood.
They also found a hole from a bullet in the car door, which indicated to them that she most likely had been shot.
Now, following his arrest, Ibrahim appeared in court and was quickly extradited back to Lee County, Alabama, where he would be facing first-degree kidnapping charges.
And as for murder charges, they were holding off until they had something more concrete. something like Anaya.
The searches for her continued into mid-November and meanwhile Ibrahim was being held without bond, thank god, in Lee County Detention Facility and his attorney actually asked that he be transferred back to Montgomery County, which is where the crimes allegedly took place, but a judge denied this request after the DA successfully argued that Montgomery County had repeatedly allowed this violent offender to
quote evade prosecution like in what world should this dude be able to go back to the same county whose judicial system allowed him to be free in the first place doesn't make a whole lot of sense they did end up putting him into solitary confinement in lee county after he was getting death threats from other inmates but
being able to be transferred to Montgomery, there was no way that was happening.
Now, during each of his court appearances, Aniyah's loved ones showed up because they wanted to show this guy that they were not backing down and they were never going to let him feel like he had any power over them.
And Walt said that it physically took everything in him not to tear this fucking guy to pieces.And it made me beyond pissed off seeing the footage of this guy in court.Like, what a smug little piece of shit.I don't even know how to describe him.
There aren't bad enough words to describe this human.But during one of the hearings, he was looking back and sort of smirking at them.I mean, his whole attitude during the whole thing was just a disgusting, truly psychotic,
way to behave, in my opinion.He's like smiling, kind of laughing.I mean, some of the things he was saying, like, this isn't fair to me.He just seriously did not care at all.And of course, he's only allegedly responsible for this.
I keep having to say that, but just the way that he's acting, there are no words.He is such a piece of shit.And I don't know how Walt was able to hold back.I would lose my mind being in the same room with this
I can't even come up with anything else to say about him.There are not words bad enough.
Now of course, more than ever, her family and friends, the community, just wanted to find her and although the authorities strongly believed that Aniyah was no longer alive and it really did seem that way, of course her family held out hope that maybe she was and I totally get where they're coming from and I would probably hold on to that hope as well if I were in their position.
Angela and Walt even went on to the Dr. Phil show and stated that they were still looking for her and hoped that she was somehow still alive.
They were really doing anything they could to get the word out there and just, yeah, clinging onto that hope.But unfortunately, breaking news on November 22nd changed everything.
That day, authorities announced that a second man, Antoine Fisher, who was known as Squirmy, also had been arrested and charged with first degree kidnapping in Aniyah's case.
According to court records, he provided material assistance to Yazeed by providing transportation to Yazeed and disposing of evidence.
Now, he did post a $50,000 bond and the charges against him were eventually dropped, but his cooperation ultimately led them to find Aniyah's body.
But before getting into that, though, let's talk a little bit more about Antoine and what he said happened.For starters, he also had an extensive criminal history, including a guilty murder conviction from 2005.
And he only served three years in an actual prison out of a 20-year sentence because 17 of those 20 years were suspended and served on probation, which for the life of me, I will never understand.
and he said that on the day Anaya was murdered, Ibrahim came to his house in Montgomery looking for some help.
Antoine identified the vehicle that he was driving as a black Honda CRV, aka Anaya's car, and he said that he followed him to the same apartment complex where her car was later located.
Following this, Antoine said Ibrahim got into his truck, and the two of them drove to a cemetery behind a church, and when they got there, Ibrahim got out.
And of course, I mean, we sort of have to take what this guy, Antoine is saying with a grain of salt considering his history, I mean, how much can he really be trusted, but he said that he happened to look into the rearview mirror, and he saw Ibrahim dragging something wrapped in a comforter.
And he said that he saw what he believed to be two legs.And then he claims when Ibrahim returned to the car, Antoine said, tell me that's not a body.To which Ibrahim told him that he shot a girl, quote, when she went for the gun.
So a confession and a confession that suggested that Anaya fought back, which investigators already believed was the case.And believe it or not, there actually was a third arrest.On November 25th, David Johnson Jr.was arrested on charges of hindering
prosecution.And honestly, this part does get a little confusing, so just do your best to bear with me, I guess, while I try to break it down.
But basically what happened was on November 7th, when law enforcement figured out Ibrahim's identity, they got a tip that he might be at this one house in Montgomery.And just a reminder, Montgomery is where Anaya's car was found.
Well, when they got there, this David Johnson Jr.guy told officers that he saw Ibrahim earlier that day, but he left with an unknown white woman in an unknown car.
However, investigators later found out that Ibrahim was actually being driven to Florida by this guy's son, David Johnson III.And his son later confessed to authorities that he helped Ibrahim flee the state.
And in that confession, David Johnson III said that his dad, David Johnson Jr., knew that that's exactly what he was doing.So basically he lied to police on November 7th about Ibrahim's whereabouts, meaning that he hindered the prosecution.
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But anyway, let's jump back into talking about Anaya.The same day that the third arrest was made on November 25th, 2019, her remains were found with the help of Antoine, who led investigators to where he believed she was.
And that was 40 miles away from Montgomery in Macon County, Alabama.Along with her remains, investigators found items of clothing, which they ended up using to help make an identification.
Investigators had texted her parents to come into the station.They didn't say why, but when they did, they showed them a picture of a Sorrel snow boot.And when Walt saw it, he immediately knew it was Aniyah and he knew what it meant.And he...
So unbelievably sad to think about this moment.
This is just something that no parent or stepparent should ever have to go through but he I guess immediately just dropped the phone and Excused himself and he went out into the hallway which was like an outdoor area of this building and started just Beating on this concrete wall like punching a concrete wall.
I can't imagine the anger he must have been feeling in that moment the despair It's just so horrible to think about.It's really every parent's worst nightmare.
Those snow boots were actually a gift that he had recently given to her and I think in the moment, you know, the reality of it all just came crashing down on him.And of course the rest of the family were equally as devastated.
I mean that doesn't even begin to cover it.Heartbroken, confused.I really just can't imagine anything worse. I mean, I just couldn't help but put myself in their position in that moment.
I'm sure so many of you out there with kids or just a loved one in general, you know, you can think about what that would be like to see their clothing item, especially something that you had given to them, something that you saw them wear and just have all of that hope just leave you in that moment.
Oh, it's just devastating.It's so horrible.But anyway, following this discovery, Angela shared a message about the evil and dangers that exist in this world.And hearing her talk about it is just so, so heartbreaking.
Even when dealing with her own pain, she still had a message for everyone else, Bria.
That's right, Guy and Sherry.She had a message for all parents and kids.She stressed to be fully aware of the evil that's out there and for kids to take safety precautions when out.
Surrounded by a sea of support, Angela Harris embraced her daughter's friends.She would be so overwhelmed, but Anaya has always loved using her.
Her girls here the bottom line like everybody loved her and she loved everybody.
Now Harris warns them and others of the dangers lurking.Nothing you do can can prepare you.
for some evil that is out there y'all kids teenagers little kids little kids big kids adults there are things going on in the world right now that you don't think are going on and they're going on i honestly don't think there are even words that can describe what a loss like that would be like especially in a moment like that and it's it's just it's beyond horrible and i'm
like saying I'm sorry for their loss just doesn't even begin to cover it.Anaya just seemed like such a wonderful person, such a genuine, warm, funny, charismatic person who loved children, who loved her friends, who loved her family so much and
This was just such a horrible, senseless act of violence that again was so preventable and it's, it's devastating.And not having justice yet, I know it's coming, but that's just gotta take such a toll on them.But again, justice is coming.
On December 2nd, 2019, the district attorney announced that Ibrahim's charges had been upgraded to capital murder and that they were going to be seeking the death penalty.
In total, he is now facing three counts of capital murder, including one count of capital murder during a kidnapping in the first degree, one count of capital murder during a robbery in the first degree, and one count of capital murder involving a victim in a vehicle.
And this was the first day that the public was made aware of Anaya's cause of death, which was officially determined to be the result of a gunshot wound.
During the course of this investigation into the disappearance of Aniyah Blanchard, it was determined by Auburn Police Division that Ibrahim Yazeed abducted Aniyah from the Chevron on College Street here in Auburn.
Once Mr. Yazeed was arrested and we felt like we had the perpetrator of this crime in custody, our full focus of the investigation turned to finding Aniyah.
On November 25th, investigative efforts led us to County Road 2 in Macon County, where we discovered human remains that the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences later positively ID as belonging to Aniah Blanchard.
And subsequent to that, there was a an autopsy done and the medical examiner ruled that Aniah Blanchard was killed in a manner of homicide.Cause of death was a gunshot wound.As a result of the. Determination by the medical examiner's office.
We are now upgrading the charges from kidnapping in the first degree to capital murder.And in this case, capital murder is the intentional murder during a kidnapping.And we will also be seeking the death penalty against Mr. Yazi.
A few days after his charges were upgraded, Ibrahim returned to court where he essentially fired back at the judge saying that he has rights too and that everything they have against him is hearsay.
Well, the capital murder charge that is involved with a death occurring during a kidnapping.The probable cause for that has.Been amended to state what is on the warrant.Each of them satisfy probable cause to charge you with the crime.
The second capital murder charge involves the.Shooting with a firearm inside a vehicle. And that that itself can constitute capital murder as I'm sure your lawyers told you.
I don't have no video, no audio of me shooting anyone.That's why I'm trying to see how y'all gonna bind me over on hearsay, but y'all ain't presenting no evidence.And then now there's a whole different statement.
There's a whole different convenience store you saying So why the kidnapping and all that did not get dismissed?
I'm not a law enforcement officer, and I'm not gonna argue their case for you.But you signed it?What's on the probable cause warrant does satisfy the issuance of the warrant, and I have done that.
And these conversations would be better had with your lawyer outside the presence of a courtroom.
Now, I did mention this earlier, but all of the charges against Antoine were dropped, and that officially happened on December 17th.
Now, it's a bit technical, but I believe the charges were dropped obviously because of his cooperation, but also because they decided that he wasn't technically an accomplice in Anaya's murder.
Charges against Antoine Fisher were dismissed within the past hour by Lee County Judge Russell Bush.This comes after the district attorney's office filed a motion to dismiss.
Investigators originally said Fisher disposed of evidence and provided transportation for the primary suspect, Ibrahim Yazeed Blanchard, went missing on October 23rd.Her body was found last month in a wooded area in Macon County.
I know this episode has been really really tough and I'm going over a lot of the bad, obviously we have to, but I want to take a moment to talk about some of the good and I mean as good as possible given the circumstances.
On December 21st, 2019, a celebration of life was held in honor of Aniyah and nearly 2,000 people showed up in her honor and beautiful really doesn't even begin to describe that day and their community really showed up to give this family their support which
Like I have said, they had been doing since day one.Angela spoke during the ceremony and gave an incredibly heartfelt speech where she thanked everyone who supported them.
And it's just so bittersweet because I'm grateful that they got that support, but I'm devastated that they needed it in the first place.
But I want to say one more thing.I don't think we can stress this enough to say thank you to all the people from day one when we knew that something was wrong.We can't find Aniyah.
hundreds of people, our friends, our family, were there in an instant.And they never left our side.And people we didn't know, the search teams, Vet Dirty, Equal Search, and everybody else, there are so many people to thank.
Seth Burgett, Teola Winston-Haley, Jeremy Hurd, these are just special people that—Will Brooks,
There's a lot of people to thank, but I just want them to know how much that meant to us, because without them, those first 30 days wouldn't have—I don't know what we would have done, but they kept us together and kept us focused.
And I just want to say thank you again to all those people who came and helped, and again, who helped supply meals, supply hotels for our families, the search crews.
And anything you did, anything you did, we can't acknowledge everybody, but I sincerely want to acknowledge everybody because I know everybody has done something.So thank you.
Yeshiva also spoke and her words were just as powerful.She made a commitment as an attorney and as someone who loved Aniyah that they were going to get the laws changed so that this never happens again.
That a violent offender could not be granted bond and given the opportunity to commit murder the way that Ibrahim was allegedly able to do.
There's a lot that us, as parents, we're going to do to help get some laws changed.I'm going to use my platform as an attorney, a Birmingham attorney, an attorney in this great state of Alabama, to get some laws changed.
Me and my husband will be making trips down to Montgomery. along with Angela and Walt.So that alert will be present.So this will never happen again.
And so again, I want to thank all of my colleagues and everybody that reached out and allowed me, Elijah, Angela, and Walt to use their resources.Thank you.
And let me tell you, that's exactly what they did.Anaya's law was passed in November of 2022, and her family did exactly what they set out to do when they decided that a change needed to be made.
Anaya's law, quote, provides judges with more authority to deny bail to individuals charged with some of the most serious crimes.The law is designed to protect the public from individuals who pose a significant risk to society.
It seeks to balance the rights of the accused with the safety of the community. Above all, Aniya's law aims to prevent future tragedies similar to Aniya Blanchard's case.
The law requires that a pre-trial detention hearing be held when a defendant is charged with murder, kidnapping, rape, domestic violence in the first degree, human trafficking in the first degree, burglary, arson, and aggravated child abuse.
This is such a major accomplishment, especially with how quickly they got this done and that in their time of need and grief that they turned their attention to protecting others.
I just hope that they are also proud of themselves for the work that they have done to keep their community safe.And here's a clip of Angela and Walt talking a little bit more about it.
Walt, tell me a little bit about Aniyah's law.You, together, fought to change things in Alabama so that other people wouldn't go through what you're going through.
As I understand it, at the time that Aniyah was killed, Alabama law said that only capital murder suspects could be denied bail, but this suspect was out on bond for kidnapping and attempted murder and robbery, but not a capital crime.
That's different now, right?That's changed.
Yes, ma'am.Anage law is a law that gives judges the opportunity to keep violent offenders behind bars.They have to go, they have a hearing process.They present evidence that either on the side of keeping them or the side of letting them go.
And the judge makes a decision based on what he's hearing.And there's been a amazing amount, excuse me, amazing amount of judges that are using it to keep violent offenders off the street.
I also wanted to mention that during her celebration of life, they officially named December 21st as Aniyah Blanchard Day.
And in the years since they have used the day to, you know, really honor Aniyah to remember her for the beautiful person that she was inside and out.
And a few months later in early 2020, a bench that they dubbed Anaya's Bench was placed at Patriot Park in her memory and it's a place where friends, family, and the community can go and talk about her, feel connected to her, and keep her memory alive.
It was actually a park that she and her friends used to go to together before they could drive and it just holds a lot of significance to their family.
And later on the one year anniversary of her murder, Walt got back into the ring after having taken some time off from fighting.
And he had actually considered stopping altogether, but he says that Ania came to him in a dream and told him to keep going.
And I just think it's really beautiful that he continues to fight in her honor because I really do think that that's something that she would have wanted.She was always in, you know, huge support of Walt and
I think it's kind of a beautiful way to honor her.And then in July of 2020, Angela and Walt created Aniya's Heart, which is a nonprofit that provides resources to help families who have missing loved ones.
Their mission is to preserve her memory and prevent others from becoming a victim of violence.
Aniya's Heart provides safety education and self-defense training to their community, as well as search and recovery support to families who have become victims.
And this week I wanted to make a donation in support of their non-profit and the work that they're doing because I think it is so, so incredibly important.I mean, personal safety is something that we should all be taught.
I think it should be required in the school system and free courses should be offered everywhere. And it's sad that it has to be that way.
It's sad that we live in that world, but being able to get away from someone in a situation like that, it could really mean the difference between life and death.And so I think the work that they're doing is so, so valuable.
You know, I'll be honest, it's hard to get up some days.You know, we're still dealing with it day by day.You know, it never gets easier.But if we can help somebody, I think that'll give us a little bit of solace to get through it.
For all women, they need to understand that these perpetrators don't want to fight.They don't want a person that's resilient, resistant.They want somebody that'll comply.And at all costs, you must fight.
Fight till you can't fight anymore, and it'll probably save your life.
And I'll be sure to link their page below in case you're interested in learning more or maybe you want to consider making a donation yourself.
And just while I'm talking about their family and all of the good that they've done, I wanted to bring up something that really stood out to me in this case.Do you guys remember Carly Russell?I didn't cover Carly Russell on this channel.
I covered it on my other podcast, The Sesh, a little bit, but I really was so angered by that whole situation that I couldn't bring myself to cover it, but
She was the girl back in 2023, I'm sure most of you have heard of her, who faked her abduction.Yeah, real great person.
Well, before Angela knew that Carly was faking it, she and their non-profit, Aniya's Heart, spent like two full days helping search for her.
She was incredibly outspoken about wanting to help find her because she knew what it was like to have her daughter be abducted. only to find out that Carly was a total fraud.
And I could really, you know, spiral into a whole conversation and rant about this, but I just wanted to say how utterly disrespectful Carly Russell's actions were not only to law enforcement, who obviously wasted a ton of resources, time and money, but also to everyone else who invested their time and money and energy and emotions into her bullshit.
I mean, the whole country was invested in the story for a long time or like a lot of people, obviously not the whole country. But, I mean, that whole thing just blew my mind and still makes me mad clearly to this day.
But it's especially infuriating to think about people like Anaya's parents whose child was actually abducted and then killed and for them to have spent their time and energy and resources trying to help.
The whole thing was just so fucking absurd and makes me incredibly angry, but... Angela has said that she has no regrets about what she did to help Carly and that she would do it again.So it just tells you a lot about her.
Her passion for helping other victims is what drives her and she said that she's not gonna let this one horrible incident stop her from doing so.Now before I wrap up this episode,
there are a couple of things that I need to update you on regarding on where the case stands today.
Ultimately, the pandemic, like it did for so many other cases, really slowed down the process of getting justice for Aniyah, and unfortunately, Ibrahim's trial was pushed back again.
Right now, they're saying that he's going to go to trial sometime this spring of 2025, and although the exact date hasn't been set, and as of March 2023, he has pleaded not guilty on all three counts of capital punishment. murder.
And since his arrest, big shocker here, he definitely hasn't stayed out of trouble.In April of 2020, he was accused of biting a corrections officer, which is a literal felony.
I guess he had taken a shower and the officer was trying to get him to go back into his cell and he refused and then just literally bit this man. Then in June of 2020, they connected him to another murder in Montgomery County.
It was a case that had gone cold back in 2018, where a guy named Stephen Hamby was shot to death in a wooded area.And another woman had been shot in the face during that whole incident, but luckily she survived.
And like I said, it had gone cold, but after re-examining the case, Ibrahim was identified as a suspect.
So clearly this man has a lot of time in court ahead of him and if he is truly guilty, which clearly we know how I feel and I know probably how you all feel, then I hope that he is prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
Naya's loved ones deserve justice.They deserve that closure as do all of his alleged victims and their families.Five years is five years too long for this to have just been looming over their heads all this time.
I truly cannot imagine what that would be like and how you would even function let alone go on and do all these amazing things for other people.So I'm just Again, I can't say it enough.I'm so impressed with them.
But after all they have been through, I do believe, I have full faith, actually, that justice is well on its way.But that is unfortunately all I have for you guys on this case at this point.
I suggest following the case, showing this family as much support as you can, and all of the other families who are going to be going through the court process when it comes to Ibrahim as well.
But yeah, I definitely want to hear your thoughts and I just once again want to say my heart just truly goes out to their family and God, it's just so beyond tragic.
Anaya seemed like such an amazing person and saying it's a loss just doesn't feel like enough. That is going to be it for me today, guys.Thank you for joining me for another episode and make sure you follow the show on Spotify and Apple podcasts.
It really does help me out.If you want to watch the video version of this show, you can find it on my YouTube channel, which will be linked, or you can just search Kendall Ray.
I will be back with another episode soon, but until then stay safe out there.
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