State, defense rest in trial of Ibraheem Yazeed; jury to begin deliberation

TUSEKEGEE, Ala. (WSFA) – Witness testimony wrapped up on Monday- or day 6 of testimony – in the trial of Ibraheem Yazeed with the state and defense resting their cases for the man accused of killing Aniah Blanchard.

The state called around 40 witnesses to the stand throughout the trial, the defense called none.

The defense filed a motion Monday afternoon that the state had not met their burden of proof in order to move on, a motion the judge denied.

The last three witnesses were called to the stand as well Monday, a forensic anthropologist, the Chief Medical Officer for the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, and an FBI Agent.

Forensic Anthropologist

The first testimony the court heard from on Monday was that of a forensic anthropologist that helped recover and examine the remains of Aniah Blanchard when they were discovered around a month after Blanchard went missing.

Accompanying the specialist was a giant map – about the height of the courtroom – that mapped out the scene where Aniah’s body was found. Each piece of evidence was marked as to where it was found on the map.

The expert said that by the time they got there, much of the remains were scattered and damaged due to scavenging from animals.

Notably, the anthropologist demonstrated that where Aniah’s body likely began to decompose (due to the color of the soil) was also near where a projectile was found in the soil.

They then showed the jury a lay out of what investigators could recover in their exact anatomical position, stressing that due to scavenging and other factors, much of what they found was damaged.

When the defense cross-examined the expert, they estimated that Aniah’s remains were found “maybe 1000 meters” from the rear corner of the nearby church and around 700 meters from County Road 2.

The expert added that based on their examination, they could not say for certain if a shot was fired at that location.

According to the expert, there are “absolutely” still bones missing on County Road 2 near where Aniah’s body was found.

Dr. Edward Reedy

Dr. Reedy, the Chief Medical Officer for the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, was on the scene of Aniah’s remains as well.

He testified that it appeared the majority of decomposition occurred 20 to 30 yards into the tree line and also stressed the amount of scattering by animals.

He explained that he took Aniah’s dental records to the site and used those to identify her.

He determined Aniah’s cause of death to be homicide, and the cause to be a gunshot wound to the head.

Dr. Reedy said he was there when the projectile was found, and it was consistent with it going through Aniah’s head while she laid on the ground.

While he said he was aware there was a possibility of Aniah being shot in her vehicle, Dr. Reedy testified there was not enough skeletal material to determine the pathway of a bullet if it went through her torso because of both the scavenging and there not being enough material present to indicate a bullet passed through her ribs.

When the defense cross-examined Dr. Reedy, he testified he could not tell how far away Aniah’s skull was from the muzzle of a gun when she was shot.

FBI SPECIAL AGENT

The FBI special agent that testified works for their CAST (Cellular Analysis Survey) team. That team specializes in both active and historical cell phone and social media mapping and tracking.

The agent testified they looked at three cell phone records in connection to this case: that of Aniah Blanchard, Ibraheem Yazeed, and Antwon “Squirmy” Fisher.

They tracked Aniah’s phone from 11:14 to 11:47 p.m. on Oct 23.

11:14- moving towards Chevron on S College St.
11:18-11:22- Aniah’s device is in the vicinity of the Chevron.
11:22-11:36- Aniah is tracked heading south on S College st.
11:32-11:35 – By this point, Aniah is located on Cox Rd. headed northwest to Wire Rd., from there then went south onto Shug Jordan Pkwy, and then gets back on S. College St.

11:47 is the last activity Aniah’s phone transmitted.

From there, she was tracked heading towards I-85 just north of the Chevron station when her phone stops transmitting at 11:47.

They tracked Yazeed’s phone from around 9 p.m. on the 23rd to 9 a.m. on the 24th.

The last user activity on the night of the 23rd was at 11:04 p.m. and after that, several incoming calls go to voicemail.

The agent testified that the defendant’s phone being left in Auburn overnight was consistent with their findings.

The agent says Antwon “Squirmy” Fisher’s phone records indicate his device consistently used cell phone towers that provide coverage to the location he worked until just before 5 a.m. on the 24th.

5:19- 6:08 a.m. that same morning: Fisher’s device showed up near his home.
6:08 to 6:20 – Heads toward Shell gas station on Montgomery’s Wares Ferry Rd.
6:24- The device moves closer to Fisher’s home.
6:31- back in the area of the Shell gas station
6:39- back near Fisher’s home
6:48-6:53- near area where Aniah’s vehicle was recovered.
7:02- likely along I-85.
7:18- outgoing call

The agent testified there was no way to know who was using the phone, although they could find out who was on the other end but did not specify who.

Between 8 and 9 a.m. it was difficult for those in attendance that were not able to see the exhibit to show the exact location that received a signal from a cell phone tower, but was in this time period the signal was likely near the site of where Aniah’s body was found.

Attorneys are scheduled to meet Tuesday morning before closing arguments begin at noon.

Once closing arguments (what the state and defense believe the evidence has shown) are delivered, the jury will begin deliberation, a process that could take anywhere from a few hours to several days.

If found guilty, Yazeed faces either life in prison or the death penalty.

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