Overview
- A Macon County jury found Yazeed guilty of murder and felony murder in Blanchard’s 2019 killing and not guilty of capital murder, removing the death penalty option.
- Sentencing is scheduled for May 7, and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said he will seek the maximum punishment, including life without parole.
- Prosecutors called roughly 40 witnesses over six days of testimony, while the defense called none and lost a motion claiming the state failed to meet its burden.
- Before closing arguments, the judge dismissed a capital-murder count tied to the victim’s vehicle, and the jury later acquitted on the remaining capital charges.
- Blanchard’s abduction and death, documented through surveillance, forensic findings and witness accounts, helped spur Alabama’s 2022 ‘Aniah’s Law’ limiting bail for violent offenses after Yazeed was previously out on bond.