r/CaughtMyEye • u/Iambhalo • 8d ago
In 2019, 19-year-old Aniah Blanchard disappeared after stopping at a gas station in Alabama. That night, she told her roommate she was smoking with someone named Eric, whom she had just met. She never came home, and days later, her damaged car was found 55 miles away.
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u/HundRetter 8d ago
hearing the interviews with her family are heartbreaking. her step dad blames himself for not telling them to just stay the night
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u/Individual_Friend709 8d ago
I wish they would let her step dad, (former ufc fighter) Walt Harris, have a few moments with the man that took her life.
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u/HundRetter 8d ago
in one of his interviews he said it took everything in him not to attack her murderer in court
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u/Negative_Salt_4599 8d ago
I can’t even imagine. This is so sad. If somebody took my son from me. I just couldn’t keep my cool. What’s the point of living anymore when you lose your kid.
I certainly don’t care about living anymore if my kid doesn’t outlive me.
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u/Rasp_Berry_Pie 8d ago
You have other family or friends to live for. It’s hard but I doubt his other kids or wife or parents wanted to see him put in jail too.
Emotionally you want to do it but logically you’re only gonna hurt yourself and your family more to do something to put you in prison.
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u/Key_Check5753 5d ago
I'm a UFC fan. It's very sad to read this because Walt Harris is an incredibly kind man.
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u/BeansArePastaSauce 8d ago
The accomplice’s past criminal history:
Around the same time, 35-year-old Antione Fischer was arrested and charged with first-degree kidnapping for allegedly providing transportation to Yazeed and helping dispose of evidence.
Fischer had a prior conviction for felony murder from 2007, for which he had served three years of a twenty-year split sentence.
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u/InAShensh 8d ago
3 years for FELONY MURDER? Whomever allowed that violent shitbag out of prison should be held accountable.
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u/Weenington_ 8d ago
The law isnt for protecting us regular people. Only the rich get protected. I was assaulted in the worst way and carjacked years ago, and while there was an awesome sheriff who found me after someone else picked me up and dropped me off, it seemd almost like the local department put no effort into finding the people responsible after the fact. Maybe if I'd been murdered, they would have tried, or if I were rich and powerful...
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u/Competitive_Window75 8d ago
This Antione Fischer guy doesn't come off to me as a rich person
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u/Weenington_ 8d ago
I'm talking about the girl not being protected. If it had been Kim Kardashian attacked, there would be consequences. Criminals get caught and released all the time unless their victims are powerful.
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u/binsiourgengorge 8d ago
Felony murder, contrary to what the name implies, is not the same as murder. It just means you were involved somehow. It’s super complicated and not indicative of how malicious the person is.
One of the more egregious cases was a guy lent his car to his roommate who then went on to commit murder, and the guy who lent his car was convicted of felony murder.
Or if you and your friend robbed a bank and your friend killed someone, you would be charged with felony murder even if you never agreed to hurt anyone or even if you told them not to
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u/feralperilsheryl 7d ago
Felony Murder implies that a murder happened during a felony he committed. I didn’t read this case but it’s possible someone died but he didn’t commit the murder himself.
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u/NoWomanNoTriforce 7d ago
A lot of the times felony murder is actually the result of how law enforcement handled a situation.
Say for instance, you are joyriding and the cops chase you down. During their pursuit, the cops actually hit and kill a pedestrian. Or their PIT manuever kills your passenger. Guess who is getting charged with felony murder?
Arkansas cops are notorious for reckless TVI/PIT manuevers and vehicle takedowns during car chases. Even on criminals not escaping from a violent crime or even with a history of violent crimes. And if a cop kills someone while pursuing you, under Arkansas law you are the one who gets the murder charge.
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u/Bonanza86 8d ago
My heart goes out to her family. Two life sentences for the culprit seems the appropriate punishment.
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u/Vuedue 8d ago
They're concurrent, unfortunately, and not consecutive. There's a possibility he gets out on parole eventually.
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u/Certain_Noise5601 8d ago
Hopefully not since he has such a violent history. I’m surprised he got off so easily on assaulting police officers. I don’t think any parole board is letting him off.
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u/TK__angel 8d ago
You would think not. It’s kind of insane how many senseless murders happen because somebody who should clearly have stayed behind bars was let out.
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u/DarkDaysBrightNlghts 8d ago
Smoking with someone you barely know, is never a good idea. Sounds like a set up to me.
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u/Yup_Seen_It 8d ago
A witness saw her being forced into her own car, the texts were sent after that. She was kidnapped and murdered.
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u/ApoTHICCary 8d ago
Definitely a setup, but smoking with Ibraheem Yazeed, or “Eric” as he likely called himself, was probably not her idea. The fuel station attendant admitted to knowing more about the situation but was told not to get involved by another accomplice. There was also no CCTV footage of her abduction time.
More than likely the fuel station attendant was part of the crime ring, stopped the CCTV from recording, and pretended to be innocent while aiding and abetting. Aniah did not have much of a choice here, but we will never know because those involved show no remorse.
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u/vixenpeon 8d ago
I don't believe it was her who sent that text or she was told to say that to throw off any worries from her family/friends
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u/StillMarie76 8d ago edited 8d ago
She was carjacked and shot. She wasn't going smoking with a stranger. She'd been with family at a funeral all day that was 180 miles round trip. She was a responsible college student. She had just dropped off her brother and was almost home. Her biggest fear was being kidnapped and that's exactly what happened. What a horrible thing to happen over a car.
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u/DarkDaysBrightNlghts 8d ago
I agree, ive known people who have died for less. Sad ass world we live in. Couldve just taken the damn car and let her walk away smh.
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u/StillMarie76 8d ago
I think that was the original intent. She wasn't sexually assaulted. I wonder if she caught him by surprise somehow. Maybe she tried to jump from the vehicle or something. He wouldn't have shot her in the car he was trying to chop and sell.
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u/spotlight-app Mod Bot 🤖 8d ago
Mods have pinned a comment by u/Iambhalo:
On October 23, 2019, 19-year-old Aniah Blanchard disappeared after stopping at a Chevron gas station in Auburn, Alabama. Earlier that day, she and her brother, Elijah Blanchard Jr., had driven to Hamilton for a funeral. After returning to Auburn around 11 p.m., Aniah dropped her brother at home and continued toward her apartment.
At 11:09 p.m., her roommate, Sarah O'Brien, texted to ask if she was close to home. Aniah said she was. Surveillance footage later showed her buying snacks and a drink at the gas station. About 30 minutes later, Aniah told Sarah she was smoking with a man named Eric, whom she had just met. She stopped responding soon afterward.
Read the full story here.
[What is Spotlight?](https://developers.reddit.com/apps/spotlight-app)
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u/ComprehensiveFun620 8d ago
Kidnapping, attempted murder, robbery, out on bail. What a joke of a justice system. Judges should be held accountable for these atrocious decisions.
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u/ThatsCraazyy 8d ago
The full story explains that, at the time, Alabama law generally required judges to grant bail to defendants charged with crimes other than capital offenses. Aniah Blanchard’s alleged killer was free on bail while facing several serious charges, including kidnapping, attempted murder, and robbery. After Aniah was kidnapped and murdered in 2019, her case sparked widespread outrage over Alabama’s bail laws. In response, the state passed “Aniah’s Law,” which expanded judges’ authority to deny bail to defendants charged with certain serious offenses, including murder, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree rape, first-degree robbery, and other violent crimes. Alabama voters approved the constitutional amendment in 2022.
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u/ComprehensiveFun620 8d ago
I saw this after I came back to finish the article. At least they got that right in the end, but shouldn’t take a tragedy like this to enact common sense laws. I guess their constitution didn’t expect such a horrible class of people to be roaming the streets.
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u/robot_writer 8d ago
Went to OPs “full story” link and got a scammy “your iPhone is infected test now” pop-up
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u/TailsofaGiftHorse 5d ago
His record included the attempted killing of two police officers in 2012, a 2017 arrest for assaulting a law enforcement officer, and a January 2019 robbery in which he and an accomplice beat two men at a Montgomery hotel, leaving a 77-year-old victim unconscious.
Almost preventable.
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u/Justkly90210 8d ago
I still think about her often. Because of her, I take extra precautions in the south. Rip Aniah.
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u/phil-yahiney 8d ago
Should take extra precautions anywhere, especially rural areas, and especially when there's men around.
If you ever feel unsafe, go live. Cameras save lives.
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u/Competitive-Fix-6136 8d ago
especially when there's men around.
So women are incapable of kidnapping and murder?
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u/AnguavonUW 7d ago
For every 100 women murdered, 75 or murdered at the hands of a male they know, usually an intimate partner or family member. Of the remaining 25, 20 are murdered by a man they don't know.
For every 100 men murdered, 16 are murdered by women they know. Of the remaining 84 less than five are killed by women they don't know.
They stats around sexual assault are even more one sided. Let's not pretend it's an apples to apples comparison.
So yes, it can happen to anyone but there's a reason why women pick the bear.
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u/Right_Ear_2230 8d ago
not at all, but statistically..
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u/Competitive-Fix-6136 7d ago
So again women are incapable of kidnapping and murder. Are the news reports I've seen of them being charged fake then?
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u/NameAccomplished4921 7d ago
Statistically blacks….oh wait. That would make you racist.
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u/Glittering_Desk7250 7d ago
You see no problem with saying that it’s statistically a certain race yet have a problem when people point out a specific gender, interesting.
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u/NameAccomplished4921 7d ago
I don’t see a problem with it. Statistically men, especially black men commit more violence against women. Even in this case, exhibit A…it was a black man.
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u/NameAccomplished4921 8d ago
What about women that transitioned to men? Are they included? Or are they not men enough for you?
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u/AnguavonUW 7d ago
Why wouldn't they be? I don't understand your point here, well, other than rampant transphobia.
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u/Doneyhew 8d ago
This has absolutely nothing to do with the South
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u/PrettyPurrfect 8d ago
The south has entire states that are so deeply radical extremist that they have laws prohibiting alcohol sales because the "Bible says so". (The good Lord sent his son who turned water into wine you don't have to worry about his judgment when it comes to booze, ffs)
I've been sexually assaulted at work by multiple male customers across three states because they feel entitled to my body. I have a guy who keeps trying to buy my hand in marriage where I work right now. Every time he tries the attempted bride price payment is bigger.
Women are property, not people, to men here.
You want to know how many men have done anything to help me or step in when men are being wildly inappropriate in public? One. Dude was homeless and thought he was God. It's been a decade since I last saw him, I hope he got treatment and is doing well and is not dead in a ditch
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u/nickyxpants 8d ago
Ohio has a dry county. The “south” you’re imagining is rural, which is in every state. I will show you hardline Christian right wingers in Ohio just the same as Alabama. The “south” has nothing to do with it.
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u/Doneyhew 8d ago
What the fuck does the Bible and dry counties have to do with some guy murdering a girl?
What does you being sexually assaulted at work have to do with this black guy murdering a girl?
You’re generalizing men for what? Your experience has absolutely nothing to do with the south.
Literally nothing you said has anything to do with what I’m talking about.
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u/AnguavonUW 7d ago
Why do you need to mention race? If it was important in any way, you would mention it for both the attacker and the person attacked. But it's not important. You're just racist.
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u/Doneyhew 6d ago
How tf am I racist? It’s a statement of fact.
This stuff happens all over the place. Not just in the South. And you come in here talking crazy about your personal experiences that have absolutely nothing to do with what anybody is talking about.
It’s fucking crazy how you can claim I’m racist just because I acknowledged a person was black. Redditor logic 😂
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u/Justkly90210 7d ago
And this is the huge problem I find in The South. They use The Bible Belt to protect from the truth. I mean, how many people have been hung from trees lately, while saying they are suicides. NO WAY.
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u/Justkly90210 7d ago
But it does. I’ve never felt more threatened than in the south. I’m a Los Angeles native and have lived in NC, Alaska, Alabama and Colorado. Only in the south have I ever been harassed so much.
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u/Infamous-Package3982 7d ago
Smoking...at a gas station??? That alone should have been a red flag tip.
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u/Red_White_and_Boohoo 7d ago
Why is this story coming up in all these different mystery subs all of a sudden? Its like the 5 or 6 time Im seeing this in the last few days..
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u/NameAccomplished4921 8d ago
She was hot
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u/Lunar-opal 8d ago
If you have nothing nice to say keep it to yourself
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u/NameAccomplished4921 8d ago
It was a compliment.
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u/arose321 8d ago
Imagine being such a pornpud that that you felt the need to comment this on a story about kidnapping and murder ffs
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u/Weenington_ 8d ago
They only have 2 brain cells, so it's going to take too much thinking for them to realize how dumb their comment was.
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u/Iambhalo 8d ago
On October 23, 2019, 19-year-old Aniah Blanchard disappeared after stopping at a Chevron gas station in Auburn, Alabama. Earlier that day, she and her brother, Elijah Blanchard Jr., had driven to Hamilton for a funeral. After returning to Auburn around 11 p.m., Aniah dropped her brother at home and continued toward her apartment.
At 11:09 p.m., her roommate, Sarah O'Brien, texted to ask if she was close to home. Aniah said she was. Surveillance footage later showed her buying snacks and a drink at the gas station. About 30 minutes later, Aniah told Sarah she was smoking with a man named Eric, whom she had just met. She stopped responding soon afterward.
Read the full story here.