An Alabama teen who was found dead earlier this month reportedly fought her abductor before she was fatally shot.
Affidavits detailing kidnapping and capital murder charges against Ibraheem Yazeed, 30, stated that police spoke to a person who claimed they saw him at a Montgomery residence wearing only shorts and a gun tucked in them. The Montgomery Advertiser reported that the person said Yazeed had Aniah Blanchard’s SUV but there was no sign of the teen.
“The subject further advised during a subsequent conversation with Yazeed, Yazeed admitted to shooting a girl and stated the girl ‘went for the gun,'” according to documents filed in court on Wednesday.
Blanchard was abducted from a convenience store in Auburn on October 23. Her body was discovered on November 25 in a wooded area off Highway 80 in Macon County.
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. WALA reported that he was filmed “exiting the passenger side of Blanchard’s vehicle and later re-entering the vehicle” at another store.
Two days after her disappearance, Blanchard’s car was found damaged and covered in her blood at an apartment complex in Montgomery. Reports indicated that Yazeed and a second kidnapping suspect, Antwon Fisher, 35, live in Montgomery.
Authorities had previously said the amount of blood discovered in Blanchard’s car suggested she had suffered a life-threatening injury.
Earlier this week, Lee County District Attorney Brandon Hughes announced they are seeking the death penalty against Yazeed. He revealed that Blanchard died of a gunshot wound, but declined to disclose additional details regarding her murder.
Fisher, who was arrested on first-degree kidnapping charges on November 22, allegedly provided Yazeed with transportation and destroyed evidence related to the criminal investigation.
A third man, David Johnson Jr., 63, was arrested on November 25 for allegedly hindering prosecution. He was accused of lying to police 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. Fisher has a 2005 felony murder conviction for fatally shooting a woman during a drug deal in Montgomery.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Listen to a related episode:
Featured image: Aniah Blanchard/Facebook; Ibraheem Yazeed/Montgomery County Detention Facility]