The mother of Aniah Blanchard broke her silence on Tuesday, a day after authorities announced that remains likely belonging to the missing Alabama teen were found following a month-long search.
At Tuesday’s vigil which was held in Blanchard’s native town of Homewood, Angela Harris revealed that she felt guilt about her daughter’s presumed death and warned families to “make a plan” and talk to their children about the various dangers in the world.
“Maybe not even anything I could have done, but I should have prepared her just a little bit better for things she might have come into contact with,” Harris said through tears, according to WBMA. “She’s never gonna have my grandbabies that I wanted her to have or see her get married. She’ll never be a teacher or softball coach.”
Blanchard, 19, was reportedly abducted from an Auburn convenience store on October 23. On Monday, authorities revealed that remains likely belonging to the missing teen were discovered in Macon County.
So far, two men have been charged with Blanchard’s kidnapping. One of the suspects, Ibraheem Yazeed, 30, was reportedly caught on the convenience store’s surveillance cameras around the time of Blanchard’s disappearance. A witness at the store that night claimed he saw Yazeed force the teen into her car.
Two days after her disappearance, Blanchard’s car was found damaged and covered in blood at an apartment complex in Montgomery. Reports indicated that Yazeed and the second suspect, Antwon Fisher, 35, live in Montgomery.
Authorities had previously said the amount of blood discovered in Blanchard’s car suggested the missing teen had suffered a life-threatening injury.
Fisher, who was arrested on Friday, allegedly provided Yazeed with transportation and destroyed evidence related to the ongoing investigation. A third man, David Johnson Jr., 63, was arrested on Monday on charges of hindering prosecution. The Commerical Dispatch reported that police have accused him of lying to about his son driving Yazeed from Alabama to Florida, where Yazeed was arrested on November 7.
At the time of Blanchard’s disappearance, Yazeed was out on bail on attempted murder charges — despite having a lengthy criminal history which includes arrests for kidnapping and robbery. Further, Fisher has a 2005 felony murder conviction for fatally shooting a woman during a drug deal in Montgomery.
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[Featured image: Aniah Blanchard/Facebook]
