Overview
- Yazeed received two life sentences, which Alabama’s attorney general described as the maximum allowed under the convictions.
- Coverage differs on whether the terms allow parole or run at the same time, with Sherdog reporting no parole and MMA Fighting reporting parole with concurrent terms.
- A jury in March found Yazeed guilty of murder and felony murder for Blanchard’s 2019 abduction and death, and his lawyers said they will appeal.
- Prosecutors had pursued capital murder earlier in the case, but reduced charges limited the possible punishment to life in prison.
- The case spurred Alabama’s 2022 “Aniah’s Law” letting judges deny bail for certain violent crimes, and investigators tied Yazeed to the crime through store video, an eyewitness account, blood in Blanchard’s Honda CR‑V, and an autopsy showing a gunshot wound.