Police Friday night fatally shot a 13-year-old boy following a foot chase in a residential neighborhood in the upstate New York city of Utica after the teen displayed what appeared to be a gun, authorities said. Police later determined the teen was carrying a replica handgun. 

Three officers stopped the two teenagers at around 10 p.m. local time Friday as part of an investigation into several recent robberies, Utica police said in a news release Saturday night. While the authorities were questioning the teens, one of them fled on foot, police said. 

As the victim ran, police spotted what “appeared to be a handgun,” Utica Police Chief Mark Williams said in a Saturday morning news conference, during which he was frequently interrupted by outraged community members. One of the officers fired his gun and struck the teen, described as an Asian male. 

“A Utica police officer ultimately discharged his firearm once, striking the male, during a ground struggle,” Williams said.        

The teen, identified as 13-year-old Nyah Mway, was given immediate first aid by officers on scene and was brought to Wynn Hospital, where he died from his wounds, Williams said. 

Following the shooting, according to Williams, officers recovered a pellet gun resembling a Glock 17 handgun with a detachable magazine. 

“This replica handgun was ultimately found to be a pellet gun,” Williams disclosed.

The officer who fatally shot Mway was identified as Patrick Husnay, a six-year veteran of the department. Two other officers, Bryce Patterson and Andrew Citriniti, were also involved in the incident, police said.

In their release Saturday night, police said that the three officers were patrolling the area in response to at least two recent robberies “in which the suspects were described as Asian males who brandished a black in color firearm and forcibly demanded and stole property from victims” — the latest of which had occurred Thursday.

The three officers approached the two teens because “they matched the robbery suspects’ descriptions and were in the immediate vicinity of the previous robbery at nearly the same time of day,” police said.  

Police Saturday night also released several minutes of footage from the body cameras of all three officers, along with a photo of the replica handgun which was recovered.

In the footage, the teen identified by police as Mway takes off running from the scene almost immediately after being stopped by the officers. While running, he appears to briefly point what police say was the replica gun at the pursuing officers.

Within about 15 to 20 seconds of when the foot chase started, the footage shows Patterson tackle Mway on a sidewalk, and while the two wrestle on the ground, Husnay approaches them and fires a single shot. 

Separate cell phone video of the incident captured by a neighbor has been obtained by CBS News. Regarding that video, police said in a statement that it was “aware of a video of the incident circulating on social media platforms, which does not portray the incident in its entirety.”

The New York attorney general’s office also announced Saturday night that it has opened an investigation into the shooting. 

Utica police said it is conducting its own investigation. All three officers involved were placed on paid administrative leave.

An interpreter was at the contentious news conference to translate for the victim’s family and community members. At one point, Utica Mayor Michael Galime took the microphone, calling for calm. 

“We understand the weight of this situation and want to ensure that every single piece of this is understood,” Galime said.    

The ethnicity of the victim’s family has not been provided, but Utica has resettled large numbers of refugees in recent years.  According to the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees, one of the largest numbers of Asian refugees Utica has resettled are from Burma, including from the Karen ethnic group, as well as other groups. Other Asian refugees include Vietnamese, Thai, Cambodians along with Bosnians, Dominicans and more, the center said. Just over 19% of the once rapidly declining industrial city is now foreign-born, the center said. 

“This tragedy reminds us of the tremendous challenges our community faces, particularly our partners in law enforcement, who tirelessly strive to ensure our streets remain safe,”  Utica City School District interim superintendent Dr. Kathleen Davis said in a statement Saturday.

Utica, a city of about 65,000, is located approximately an hour’s drive from Syracuse.  

This story originally aired on Sept. 16, 2023. It was updated on June 29, 2024.

It was not the news Steve and Kristi Goncalves wanted to hear. In August 2023, just six weeks before the murder trial of Bryan Kohberger was set to begin, he waived his right to a speedy trial.They would have to wait indefinitely for their day in court.

It was not the news Steve and Kristi Goncalves wanted to hear. In August 2023, just six weeks before the murder trial of Bryan Kohberger was set to begin, he waived his right to a speedy trial. They would have to wait indefinitely for their day in court.

Kristi Goncalves: I was realy hoping that, um, we could get this show on the road because the not knowing … it’s just, it’s agony. It’s agony.

Steve and Kristi, the parents of Kaylee Goncalves, haven’t left anything to chance. After the judge issued a gag order to attorneys and law enforcement “to preserve the right to fair trial,” they drilled down on their own investigation and are now sharing what they believe that investigation found. Steve says he believes transparency is the best path to justice.

Steve Goncalves: We’re not gonna just sit back and cross our fingers and pray that we’re gonna get justice.

SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS

It has been a long and painful journey for the families of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison “Maddie” Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin — the four University of Idaho students who were savagely murdered by a knife-wielding assailant in the wee hours of Nov. 13, 2022, as they settled down to sleep in their off-campus house on King Road.

Peter Van Sant: Do you ever dream of your sister?

Jazzmin Kernodle: Yeah. I’ve had some dreams of her. There’s times where I prayed and asked God to see her another time and I did and just gives me some peace knowing that I know she’s OK.

Jazzmin Kernodle, who is speaking for the first time, was a senior at Washington State University and lived only 15 minutes away from her younger sister, Xana. Often mistaken as twins growing up, she says they were best friends.

Jazzmin Kernodle: She just was always fun. She was uplifting. And she took any bad situation and turned it into a good one. 

Peter Van Sant: Jeff, what did you love most about your daughter? 

Jeffrey Kernodle: Everything … she cared about people. She was a people person. She cared about her friends just as much as, like, her family. 

For the first time in her life, Xana had fallen in love … with fellow student Ethan Chapin, a triplet who loved his siblings, boats and working on a tulip farm.

Jazzmin Kernodle: The sweetest kid ever. They were just two happy people and they’re — just seeing the videos and photos of them you can just like tell how happy they are … they were just amazing together. 

Sadly, they will now forever be linked in death. On Sunday morning Nov. 13, Xana’s friends started calling Jazzmin saying something bad had happened on King Road.

Jazzmin rushed over to Xana’s house.

Peter Van Sant: And while you’re driving that eight, nine miles over to the house, are you trying to reach your sister then?

Jazzmin Kernodle: Mm-hmm.

Peter Van Sant: How many times did you call her? 

Jazzmin Kernodle: A lot. I called her a lot, called Ethan a lot.

Her next call was to her father. Jeffrey Kernodle had been visiting Jazzmin for Dad’s weekend and was on his way home.

Peter Van Sant: So, you answer the phone. What do you hear? 

Jeffrey Kernodle: I hear her kind of crying and just telling me to get back to Moscow and meet me at Xana’s house. And you know, my heart drops … instantly race back down there.

The house was cordoned off and swarming with investigators. As soon as Jeffrey said he was Xana’s father, he and Jazzmin were escorted to the Moscow Police Department.

Peter Van Sant: And Jazzmin, what does the officer say to you and your father? 

Jazzmin Kernodle: I don’t — I don’t remember exactly. Just that four people passed away and that one was Xana (in tears). 

Jeffrey Kernodle: The worst day of your life, just your worst nightmare. This happened, you know, what do you do? You can’t do a damn thing.

One-hundred miles away, the Goncalves family also had been getting frantic calls saying something bad had happened to their daughter, Kaylee. But no one knew what.

Kristi Goncalves: I just kept saying, over and over, “What do I do? What do we do? What do we do?”

Finally, at around 4 p.m., a deputy appeared at their door. 

Steve Goncalves: And we said, “what’s going on?” … “I confirmed your daughter’s died. She’s passed away.”

Kristi Goncalves Then he said there were four victims. And I said, “four?” And he said, “Yes, ma’am.” … I said, “Can you tell us if one of the victims was Maddie Mogen?” And he said, “Yes, ma’am.” 

Maddie Mogen — Kaylee’s best friend from childhood.

Peter Van Sant: Give us a sense of just how close Kaylee and Maddie were in life? 

Kristi Goncalves: I think that they had a very amazing relationship … the epitome of true best friends from very early. … I mean they were sisters through and through.

Alivea Goncalves: They were completely inseparable.

As soon as the news hit, Alivea, the eldest of the five Goncalves children, and her parents went into detective mode.

Alivea Goncalves: We had zero details. We just knew they were gone.

Alivea got into her sister’s call log and frantically started cold-calling recent numbers. She says a friend told her that Kaylee had been at the Corner Club bar around 1:07 a.m. and later texted a rideshare driver, who Alivea managed to track down.

Alivea Goncalves: The rideshare driver said … around 1:45 Kaylee had texted him requesting a ride from the Grub Truck, which is the local mac and cheese food truck … to take her back home to 1122 King and she had with her another female.

Alivea then uncovered one of the most important leads in the case. The rideshare driver told her about a camera mounted on the Grub Truck.

Alivea Goncalves: So, I was able to look it up and find Kaylee on the video and I saw the girl that she was with was Maddie … So, at that point, I knew Kaylee and Maddie were together. They got into the car to go home together and alone. 

The driver told her the exact time Kaylee and Maddie were dropped off at their house on King Road, 1:56 a.m. — a timeline she says she confirmed before the police.

Alivea Goncalves: I immediately took it to the police officers … “Here’s her phone information … Here’s … the rideshare driver’s name.”

Alivea says Kaylee made a call to her boyfriend at 2:56 a.m., but he didn’t answer. The Goncalves’ believe Kaylee fell asleep shortly after.

According to the police affidavit, Kaylee and Maddie were stabbed to death between 4 a.m. and 4:25 a.m. Just as they had done since they were little girls, they were sleeping in the same bed.

Kristi Goncalves (in tears): Those two best friends since little girls, I don’t think there’s anything more terrifying than what they went through. I really don’t.

The killer took four lives in a matter of minutes. But he left behind two surviving roommates — one of whom would provide a key description of the intruder.

NEW DETAILS OF KILLER’S RAMPAGE

If there is one picture that speaks to the Idaho student murders, it’s the one of six smiling college students blissfully unaware of the carnage to come.

Howard Blum: It’s staged in a way that is almost, in a strange way, ominously predicting.

Investigative journalist Howard Blum has written extensively on the student murders for Graydon Carter’s online magazine, Air Mail. He is now writing a book on the case.

Howard Blum: On the ends of the picture are the two survivors. … in the middle … are the victims … and they’re huddled together.

Kaylee with a beaming Maddie on her shoulders – friends for life. Ethan with his arm around Xana – young love in full bloom. A moment that should have been a memory of their idyllic college years would eternally be a reminder of the gruesome murders that put them in their graves.

Howard Blum: What makes it so tragic is … They’re … forever preserved in this moment. … they’ll never be able to leave this moment.

Hours after the photo was taken, the four friends would be murdered; their deaths so violent, even the house seemed to be bleeding.

Bryanna Fox: There was literally blood oozing out from the home. Uh, you could see it on the exterior walls.

CBS News Consultant Bryanna Fox is a former FBI agent and professor of criminology at the University of South Florida.

Bryanna Fox: That’s how bloody and gruesome the crime scene is.

According to the affidavit, which outlines law enforcement’s investigation, the bodies of Xana and Ethan, who was sleeping over, were found in or near her bedroom on the second floor.

The bodies of Kaylee and Maddie were on the third floor in the same single bed in Maddie’s room.

Peter Van Sant: How did your — your daughter die in that house? What do you know?

Steve Goncalves: We know the autopsy. We know the means of what is officially how she died. … she was assaulted and stabbed.

Kristi Goncalves: Several, several times … her death certificate is the ugliest, disgusting-est piece of paper that you will ever see in your life.

Peter Van Sant: And every line is a horror show.

Kristi Goncalves: Every line because there’s causes of death and then there’s contributions to death.

Kristi and Steve spoke to Coroner Cathy Mabbutt before the gag order was issued, and they say she told them how the two friends were positioned in the bed.

Kristi Goncalves: The bed was up against the wall. The headboard was touching the wall and the left side of the bed was touching the wall. And we believe that Maddie was on the outside and Kaylee was on the inside.

According to Mabbutt, the killer’s first victim was Maddie, says Steve.

Peter Van Sant: And then from Maddie, he moved on to your daughter. You believe she had awakened at that point?

Kristi Goncalves: Yes.

Steve Goncalves: There’s evidence to show that she awakened and tried to get out of that situation …

Kristi Goncalves: The way the bed was set up is what –

Steve Goncalves: She was trapped.

Kristi Goncalves: She was trapped.

We know from the affidavit that Kohberger’s cellphone pinged in the vicinity of the house 12 times prior to the murders. Steve says before the gag order, one of the lead investigators told him they believe Kohberger had been scouting out the house.

Peter Van Sant: You believe these visits were like — he was like on an intelligence mission, a scouting mission?

Kristi Goncalves: Yes.

Peter Van Sant: Looking at lifestyle patterns when they came and went, who came to the house?

Steve Goncalves: Yeah. Yeah. … he had to know when people were coming, people were going.

It makes the Goncalves’ wonder if he’d ever gone inside the house.

Kristi Goncalves:I think that he at least had opened that door, went in, tested the waters, looked around.

Steve says the coroner told him the killer’s rampage started on the third floor where both Maddie and Kaylee had their bedrooms. Kristi thinks he wasn’t expecting to find the two friends together in the same bed.

Kristi Goncalves: I do think that his plan went awry. I do think that you know … he intended to kill one and killed four.

Bryanna Fox also believes Xana and Ethan were collateral damage. According to the affidavit, Xana received a Door Dash food delivery at 4 a.m., then went back to her room on the second floor. It’s possible, says Fox, that Xana, still awake, came face to face with the killer.

Bryanna Fox: And she sees somebody that she doesn’t expect, and I don’t think he was expecting to see her either.

One of the two surviving roommates, Dylan Mortensen, later told the police that she heard what she thought was crying coming from Xana’s room. She heard a male voice say something to the effect “it’s OK, I’m going to help you.”  Not something a killer would likely say to an intended target, says Fox.

Bryanna Fox: He probably was trying to make a split-second decision: do I run away, do I kill her, what do I do? … and he decided to kill her.

At approximately 4:17 a.m., police say an outside security camera less than 50 feet from Xana’s room picked up distorted audio of what sounded like voices, or a whimper, followed by a loud thud. Shortly after, Dylan – the surviving roommate whose bedroom was near Xana’s – opened the door.

Howard Blum: According to the police affidavit, when Dylan opens the door, she saw a man dressed in black with a black mask, and she says he has bushy eyebrows. Those bushy eyebrows become very important when the police are making their identification.

The man with the bushy eyebrows kept walking to the rear of the house without harming Dylan.

Howard Blum: Why was Dylan not killed? Again … There’s no definitive answer … He — he didn’t kill her because he didn’t see her, he was sort of transfixed on getting out. … he didn’t kill her because he was satiated.

Or he was simply too depleted to kill again, says Fox.

Bryanna Fox: Even stabbing somebody for a minute and a half, not only is that overkill, but it actually would become rather exhausting.

The police believe the murder weapon – which has not been found – was a military style KA-BAR knife. The details are disturbing.

Bryanna Fox: This is not a civilian knife. … It was actually meant to tear apart bone, ligaments, organs. … So … this is extremely brutal … and something that you would never expect a person to walk in and want to commit unless they took some pleasure out of the brutality of it.

After seeing the intruder, Dylan, the surviving roommate, told investigators she locked herself in her room. It would be almost eight hours before 911 was called, causing an uproar on social media criticizing Dylan’s alleged inaction. But Bryanna Fox says it’s not unusual for people to freeze or be too afraid to intervene.

Bryanna Fox: She had no reason to, you know, know how to handle herself in that moment.

According to the affidavit, the male walked towards the back sliding glass door and presumably left the scene. But committing murder and getting away with it are two different things, says Fox.

Bryanna Fox: For an offender to get away with a crime, a murder, they have to bat a thousand. They have to be absolutely perfect — if they make one singular mistake, that’s all it takes.

And that one possible mistake in this case may have been the sheath to the KA-BAR knife — one was found on the bed next to Maddie Mogen. It would lead investigators to the door of a man studying for a career in criminology:  Bryan Kohberger, the alleged killer.

INSIDE THE INVESTIGATION

Peter Van Sant: Day after day and week after week passed and there is no suspect that is arrested. What was that time like for you?

Steve Goncalves: That was the worst.

For 47 days after the murders, the families of Kaylee, Maddie, Xana and Ethan — and the country – waited and wept and weighed in.

POLICE CHIEF FRY (to reporters): We do not have a suspect at this time.

POLICE CHIEF FRY (to reporters): People of Idaho and those throughout our nation who provided information has been very impressive. We received over 19,000 tips.

On Dec. 30, 2022, Bryan Kohberger was arrested in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania. At the time, his attorney said Kohberger looked forward to being exonerated.

Peter Van Sant: What goes through your mind when you see the face of the alleged killer?

Jeffrey Kernodle: Awe. I wonder, why – who is this? Why, you know? Never heard of the person before … it still is confusing. Why?

At this point, the families knew as much about Kohberger as the public did: a PhD candidate studying criminology just 10 miles away at Washington State University.

Alivea Goncalves: I remember thinking I only have a few minutes … to look up this individual and to try and get any credible information before things start getting wonky.

Some of Alivea Goncalves’ online discoveries of Kohberger made her uneasy.

Alivea Goncalves: He had made a few posts on Reddit in which he was conducting — seems like a questionnaire to people in prison or jail who had committed crimes … “how did you pick … your victim or your target?”

For seven weeks, the families and the country were left wondering.

Bryanna Fox: I think for this type of an investigation, 47 days is actually quick.

Criminologist and CBS News consultant Bryanna Fox says the Moscow police kept things moving, starting with a video canvass which produced footage from those early morning hours showing a white car making three passes by the girls’ house starting around 3:30 a.m. Less than an hour later, investigators say the killer struck.

Bryanna Fox: They noticed that this car approached King Road, left, came back, almost did a U-turn, finally went there around 4:06 in the morning, and that car then departed in about 25 minutes … and sped off.

Multiple surveillance cameras then captured that white car as it traveled what appeared to be a less direct route back to Pullman, Washington, arriving around 5:30 a.m.

That information helped investigators identify the make and model of the vehicle.

James Fry (YouTube): We’re looking for a 2011 to a 2013 Hyundai Elantra.

Howard Blum: Washington State Police find the car parked outside graduate housing. They get the license plate … and they get Bryan Kohberger’s name. … They then get driver’s license, and they see the bushy eyebrows that, in the eyes of one of the Moscow detectives, must be the eyebrows of the killer.

Now armed with a warrant, investigators retrieved cell tower data from that morning which captured Kohberger’s phone around 2:47 a.m. in Pullman when it suddenly stopped connecting to the network. According to the affidavit, this was also around the time cameras caught a white Elantra leaving his apartment complex.

Bryanna Fox: There was also an indication that he turned off his cellphone … which is something that a lot of people do when they wanna avoid law enforcement knowing their whereabouts.

His cellphone signal was picked up again two hours later south of Moscow as it traveled back toward his apartment building.

The affidavit described a deeper dive into Kohberger’s phone history that revealed this was a familiar neighborhood to him going back several months.

Bryanna Fox: Cellphone records … indicated that he has traveled, passed, and was very near the vicinity of this crime scene on 12 separate occasions.

And towers actually captured a 13th trip just hours after the murders.

Bryanna Fox: Anecdotally, a lot of killers … they like revisiting the memory … of the crime … you know, I won, I was able to get away with this and you guys won’t catch me.

Howard Blum: But they had one secret weapon to make their case. They had the knife sheath … and there was a microscopic spot of … DNA on this. Could they tie this DNA to Kohberger? 

According to the affidavit, the DNA was found on the button snap of the sheath but when investigators ran it through the national database, there were no matches.

It’s unclear if Bryan Kohberger knew law enforcement was watching when he left Washington in mid-December. Kohberger and his father, who had flown in from Pennsylvania, drove back home together in his white Elantra.

Howard Blum: Kohberger, from what I’ve heard, tells his father he’s in trouble with his job.

Howard Blum: He’s concerned enough about his son to wanna make the drive back with him.

On the 2,500-mile journey from Washington, they are stopped twice for traffic violations.

Howard Blum: What’s also interesting is Kohberger’s reaction to the police. He’s pretty calm and cool.

Father and son made it home to Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, where Blum says investigators initiated a stealth operation.

Howard Blum: What they did is they sent a team of Pennsylvania state troopers to Kohberger’s family’s house.

Law enforcement recovered Kohberger’s father’s DNA from the trash outside their home, which tested as a high probability it was the biological father of whoever left DNA on the knife sheath. 

Howard Blum: So, that was the eureka moment which they decided they could get an arrest warrant.

Bryanna Fox: At that point they made the arrest of Bryan Kohberger, and they got a separate — essentially a search warrant for his DNA.

And when investigators compared his DNA to the DNA on the knife sheath, they say it was a statistical match, at least 5.37 octillion times more likely to be Kohberger’s than anyone else.

POKING HOLES IN THE CASE

Peter Van Sant: Where you sit today, are you certain that Bryan Kohberger is the killer?

Kristi Goncalves (to Steve) With what you know.

Steve Goncalves: I don’t trust anybody or anything, so I have to see it myself. I have to see everything.

As the months pass, Steve and Kristi Goncalves remain a united front in wanting justice, but their wait has brought different perspectives.

Peter Van Sant: Your mind is still open to the potential —

Steve Goncalves: Of course.

Peter Van Sant: — that it could have been someone else?

Steve Goncalves:  Of course. Yep, I go into that 100 percent. Yep, course.

Peter Van Sant:  That’s not where you are?

Kristi Goncalves (looking at Steve):  No.

Steve Goncalves (to Kristi):  Yeah, that’s fine.

Bryanna Fox: I don’t think there’s any slam dunk.

Criminologist Bryanna Fox says with the gag order in place, any hint of Kohberger’s defense has come from court documents.

Bryanna Fox: It seems that the defense is alleging there was a rush to judgment, law enforcement made an arrest too fast, and they focused on their client too quickly. 

A defense filing did reveal Kohberger’s alibi for the night of the murders. It simply stated, “Mr. Kohberger was out driving alone.”

Bryanna Fox: The defense is not necessarily having to prove that he’s innocent, they just have to raise doubt.

Both Fox and Howard Blum think the defense can find ways to poke holes in the prosecution’s case, challenging some of the key evidence presented in the affidavit – including the cellphone location data and the white Elantra.

Bryanna Fox: There’s other concerns such as whether Bryan Kohberger’s car was accurately identified at the onset … or if that was revised after knowing what Bryan Kohberger drove.

Howard Blum: The cellphone data … makes one suspicious of Kohberger, but it’s not convincing … It’s not putting … someone at someone’s doorstep, it’s putting … someone in someone’s neighborhood.

Howard Blum: If you can raise doubts about the validity and the accuracy of the cellphone data, I think you’re halfway there … to getting the case against Kohberger, either a hung jury or a not guilty verdict.

And there’s more according to the defense.

Bryanna Fox: That there is no DNA or forensic evidence found from the crime scene at the apartment, car, office or on Bryan Kohberger’s person. So, they were basically alleging how could he have committed such a brutal murder and yet have no evidence found on him of that.

After consulting their own investigators, Kristi and Steve Goncalves theorize that Kohberger likely brought what they call a “kill kit” with him.

Peter Van Sant: What do you mean by a kill kit?

Steve Goncalves: I think he had a backpack.

Kristi Goncalves: A change of clothes … We don’t know if it was coveralls, pants, hood, we don’t know.

A defense filing also claimed the presence of other, unidentified, male DNA was found on the premises.

Bryanna Fox: Three separate and distinct male DNA profiles were found from the crime scene. Two were inside the house, one was outside on a glove.

Howard Blum: The defense wants to know … who are these people, and what role could they have played in this whole story?

Howard Blum: So, what the defense is doing now is trying to look for other narratives that make sense.

Howard Blum has written extensively about this case, including a piece on a possible alternative defense theory involving drugs.

Howard Blum: Maybe someone had reneged on a drug payment, and this was … a retribution of vengeance for people not paying for drugs they had ordered.

Peter Van Sant: I want you guys to respond to one thing that’s out there … this speculation that somehow drugs were involved in this attack?

Steve Goncalves: That’s just Hollywood nonsense. I just dismissed that because I understand our society wants to believe in some of these movies that they watch … they don’t have these crazy lives where they’re crossing paths with people like that.

Kristi Goncalves: That storyline of it being drugs, gives people a reason to think why it happened, because nobody knows why. And the reason I think it happened is because he wanted to. That’s what he wanted to do. He wanted to commit a murder.

Bryan Kohberger’s defense attorneys argue there’s a lack of evidence linking their client to the students.

Bryanna Fox: The defense is claiming that the defendant, Bryan Kohberger, and the victims have absolutely no connection. There’s no motive.

In the minutes after Bryan Kohberger was publicly named, the Goncalves family went online.

Kristi Goncalves: They told us the name and we immediately started Googling.

They believed they had found a possible connection through Instagram and immediately took screenshots.

Kristi Goncalves: From our investigation of the account, it appeared to be the real Bryan Kohberger account.

Among the people this account was following were Maddie Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves — in addition to several people with the name Kohberger.

Steve Goncalves: But when we looked through there, it appeared to have other family members that were related to him.

At first, Steve Goncalves, who works in IT, was skeptical — thinking someone created a fake account in the minutes following Kohberger’s arrest. But according to the family, they uncovered more possible connections.

Kristi Goncalves: You would go to Maddie’s Instagram account and look at her pictures, and he “liked” them … Bryan’s name was under a lot of Maddie’s pictures. … liked her pictures, liked that picture, and that picture and that picture, and that picture. So, he was actively looking at the Instagram account.

Peter Van Sant: And the importance of that is what?

Steve Goncalves: Just digital evidence … that this particular account … had some type of connection with the victims.

“48 Hours” has not confirmed the authenticity of this account, which has since been deleted, and the gag order prevents investigators from commenting.

After dedicating months looking for their own answers, the Goncalves’ say they are mentally prepared for trial — no matter when it begins.

Kristi Goncalves: I think he is done. … He’s going to feel all of us just staring at the back of his head. And he’s going to know that we are the Goncalves family. And he knows, you know, what he did to our daughter.

COPING WITH THEIR GRIEF

Steve Goncalves: How could this happen to the group of kids that are … doing everything the way they’re supposed to do?

Kristi Goncalves: To not know is what keeps you awake at night. … and it’s every day, all day. It never stops. Why, why, why? There is no why.

It is as unexplainable today as it was the day Kaylee Goncalves, Maddie Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were murdered.

Jazzmin Kernodle (in tears): I wish — I wish we knew. They were — all four of them were just such great people and made such an impact on the lives around them.

For now, the families are left with thoughts of what might have been.

PROVOST AND EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT (University of Idaho graduation): Kaylee Jade Goncalves has been recommended … to receive a posthumous bachelor’s degree. Her family will receive the diploma of the University of Idaho.

On May 13, 2023, exactly six months from the day of the murders, an occasion that would have been a cause for celebration, graduation, was, instead, another reminder of what was lost.

Kristi Goncalves (wiping tears): Seeing all those graduation photos, it just — they should be here.

Graduation is just one of many milestones that will be missed.

Jazzmin Kernodle: She would’ve been my maid of honor and I probably would’ve been hers. And it’s, like, sad to have to go through those life moments without her.

 Alivea Goncalves: The memories that we share … we don’t do it lightly, because they are very private memories and sometimes it feels like I’m giving away a part of them. … But I do it for the importance … to realize, how great of a loss it is. … because nothing is going to bring them back.

Jazzmin Kernodle planned to work side by side with her sister Xana, creating their own marketing business.

Jazzmin Kernodle It’s just not the same without her because she just brought like such a crazy different energy than anybody else I’ve ever met.

Kaylee Goncalves’s future was in sight. She had accepted a job in Austin working for an IT firm. Kaylee not only pushed herself, say her parents, but pushed them.

Steve Goncalves: We lost that person that would force us to make new memories and force us to go and take on something that seems a little daunting at first

For the Goncalves,’ amid all the loss, there was an addition to the family. In February, Alivea gave birth to a baby girl.

Alivea Goncalves: So, her name is Theodora MaddieKay. Obviously, MaddieKay is after Maddie and Kaylee.

And if one were to believe in signs, there were, says Alivea, several with Theodora MaddieKay’s arrival. In the hospital, her room number, 1113, was the same as the date of the murders: November 13. And eerily, the time of birth, 4:21 a.m., is in the timeframe that Kaylee and Maddie are believed to have been killed.

Alivea Goncalves: To have birth and life and firsts …  first giggles, first walks … that they would be there somehow, you know, even if it’s just a namesake.

The families of Kaylee, Maddie, Xana and Ethan have all searched for ways, sometimes together, to cope with a horrible new normal.

Jazzmin Kernodle: We all are always gonna be there for each other and it’s just, difficult. We all — we’re all going through it in our own ways.

For Ethan’s parents, Stacy and Jim Chapin, one way of coping involves creating a foundation, Ethan’s Smile, raising money for scholarships by selling tulips planted in honor of Ethan, who had worked at a tulip farm.

Jim Chapin: Ethan had a great smile, smiled all the time.

Stacy Chapin:  So, Ethan will live on through the foundation … that’s what motivates us to, to do this.

Peter Van Sant: How do you live with this, Jeff?

Jeffrey Kernodle: It’s not easy. You just got to keep going, you know.

Jazzmin Kernodle: I think just like living our lives like Xana would want us to. …  I know that she would want us to talk about the life that she lived and to be her voice right now.

Kristi Goncalves (looking at photos): She had a beautiful smile. Her and Maddie …

Alivea Goncalves: The memories that we share … we don’t do it lightly, because they are very private memories and sometimes it feels like I’m giving away a part of them. … But I do it for the importance … to realize, how great of a loss it is. … because nothing is going to bring them back.

Bryan Kohberger’s trial has been set for June 2025.  

“48 HOURS” POST MORTEM PODCAST

“48 Hours” correspondent Peter Van Sant and producer Liza Finley share additional details about the case with “48 Hours” contributor and CBS New streaming network anchor Anne-Marie Green in the “48 Hours:” Post Mortem” podcast.

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Produced by Liza Finley, Mary Noonan and Ruth Chenetz. Michael McHugh is the producer-editor. Greg Fisher and Elena DiFiore are the development producers. Hannah Vair is the field producer. Jud Johnston, Greg Kaplan and Diana Modica are the editors. Anthony Batson is the senior broadcast producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer.

[This story previously aired on Aug. 28, 2021. It was updated on June 29, 2024.]

Aniah Blanchard, 19, was widely known for always putting other people before herself, but she also had a deep-seated fear of being kidnapped and harmed.

On Oct. 23, 2019, Aniah vanished without a trace after she dropped her brother off in Auburn, where they both attended college, and she texted her roommate that she was nearly home – only minutes away. “Just the worst feeling ever to not know where your child is,” Blanchard’s mother, Angela Harris, tells James Brown.

It would take two agonizing days before Aniah’s badly damaged car was found 55 miles away, and a blood-soaked seat and a bullet in the door told investigators that Aniah’s worst fear had likely became a tragic reality.

Aniah’s disappearance captured the nation as her family, the local community and law enforcement searched for more than a month to find her, and to uncover the truth of what happened to her that fateful night.

Now, her grief-stricken parents are fighting to get a new law passed because her alleged killer was out on the streets even though he was arrested for kidnapping and beating two men earlier that year.

A VIBRANT PRESENCE

Angela Harris: I had Aniah on my birthday, June 22nd. … That was just gonna be … something so special in life for she and I to share … the same birthday.   

Her laugh, infectious.  Her spirit, irrepressible. Aniah Blanchard was just 19 when she vanished – her vibrant presence replaced by the terrifying silence of her absence. 

Angela Harris: She just embraced people. She just loved people. 

Walt Harris: She would walk in and no matter how you felt, how down you were, she could pick you up. 

Aniah’s stepfather, UFC heavyweight Walt Harris, was a rising star ranked ninth in the world in the fall of 2019.  He says Aniah constantly inspired him. 

Walt Harris: After wins … we celebrate.  If it’s a loss, she’d always pick me up, and … she was always that rock … that voice that kept me going. 

Aniah grew up in Homewood, Alabama, near Birmingham.  It’s practically local folklore, that after every school softball game, Aniah invited the opposing team to join hers on the pitcher’s mound to share high fives and the Lord’s Prayer. 

Hannah Crocker: And even if we lost, the other team lost, no matter what … no hard feelings. … I think that was her whole thing. … This is a way to connect people. 

Longtime friend Hannah Crocker met Aniah in the sixth grade.

Hannah Crocker: She was one of those people that just … wanted to make sure that, “hey, you’re doing OK. If not, let me help you out. “

James Brown: Did folks ever think you two might be boyfriend and girlfriend? 

Elijah Blanchard: All the time [laughs]. “Is this your girlfriend?” I’m like “no, this is my sister.“

They were nearly inseparable, says Aniah’s older brother, Elijah Blanchard. 

Elijah Blanchard: We grew up 17 months apart. … We were always together and … she even followed me to college. 

Elijah headed off to Auburn University in 2017.  Aniah enrolled at nearby Southern Union State Community College a year later, finding an apartment just minutes from her brother.   

Elijah Blanchard: I would call her every morning [pauses]. Sorry. It gets kind of rough sometimes.

On October 23, 2019 – Aniah, Elijah and their mom, Angela, attended the funeral of a family friend in northern Alabama.  Immediately after the service, the siblings had to leave. Both had to work the next morning back in Auburn — 185 miles away.   

Angela Harris: She looked over at me.  She said,” hey, mom, we really need to leave now … because it’s getting late.”  And I said, “Yeah, you’re right, it’s 7 o’clock. … You’ve got a 4-hour drive.” And then she hugged me, and I kissed her on the cheek, and I told her I loved her. 

Driving right past Birmingham, Aniah and Elijah made a pit stop at home to see their stepfather, Walt.  He was training for his next fight.   

Walt Harris: I didn’t ever call them stepkids. They were my children. It’s just the way I saw it, you know. I loved them like my own.  

The children’s biological father — Elijah Blanchard Sr., a local pastor and businessman —  remained a close presence in their lives.  He and Angela divorced in 2004. Soon, she started dating Walt Harris.  And then he met Aniah and Elijah Jr for the first time. 

James Brown: You came into her life around age 3.  … Tell us about how that bonding process went.

Walt Harris: I think it started day one. … Man, we did everything together.

Angela Harris: It was beautiful for me to watch their bond grow over the years.  

Walt Harris: They loved me like they knew me their whole lives. …   We just felt like a little family.  

Walt and Angela made it official, getting married in January 2010.  They eventually had two children of their own – Asah and Aylah. 

Angela Harris: He was with them more than I was because I worked a lot.  

Angela, a pediatric emergency room nurse, worked nights at a Birmingham hospital.  So, it was Aniah who helped Walt with the younger children. 

Walt Harris: It was me and Aniah.  She helped me basically raise her little brother and sister.  

Walt Harris: Coming from a strong Christian background. … I wanted to … be a good influence in their lives. 

The kids certainly look up to their dad. At 6’5,” 250 pounds, Walt Harris has been a towering presence in their lives and in the bruising octagon cage of the Ultimate Fighting Championship – the UFC. 

Win, lose, or draw, Walt’s family has always been in his corner. 

Walt Harris: My family’s always been the reason why I fight, and they’ve always been the reason why I get back up.  And Aniah, she was the main catalyst for that. 

After the funeral, Aniah and Elijah’s visit with Walt was all too short.  A brief talk, a long hug, and they were back on the road to Auburn … still about 2 hours away.  When they left, Walt says he was left with a growing sense of regret. 

Walt Harris: I struggle with it every day. … I should have just told them to stay. 

Walt Harris: … because I felt like she was tired. I remember she said, “No, I’m fine, Dad. I’ll be fine.” … then I hugged her and told her I love her and that was it. 

They made the drive without incident, arriving in Auburn around 11 p.m. Aniah dropped off Elijah at his apartment. 

Elijah Blanchard: So, I just said, I love her, be careful, and make sure you get home safe.

Sarah O’Brien: So, at 11:09 p.m., I texted her and said, “Are you close to being home?” She responded right back, “Yeah.”   

Aniah’s college roommate, Sarah O’Brien.

Sarah O’Brien: She always let me know where she was at and when she would be home.  We actually shared each other’s location on our iPhone.  

That’s because, Sarah says, Aniah had a deep-rooted fear.

Sarah O’Brien: Since the day I met Aniah, she always told me that that was her biggest fear — to be kidnapped or murdered. … Like, as soon as she walked in, she would check every room. … She would tell me multiple times, like, she had nightmares about it happening to her.

Walt Harris: You know, she really never went anywhere by herself at night.  

But that night, after dropping off her brother, she was alone with just three miles to go.   

That’s how far away she and Sarah lived from Elijah – 3 miles, normally a 10-minute drive.  But nearly 30 minutes later, Aniah had not come home.  Sarah texted again.

Sarah O’Brien [reading text]: Did you go out without me?

About a minute later came the reply.

Sarah O’Brien [reading text]: “I’m smoking a blunt, LOL.”   

It was the word “blunt,” Sarah says, that stopped her.  She had never heard Aniah use it. 

Sarah O’Brien [reading text]: I said, “Who are you smoking with?” “Eric.”  I said, “Who’s that?” …”I just met him.” And I responded with, “Where?”  

It was 11:43 p.m.  There would not be another response. Sarah checked her cellphone one last time for Aniah’s location.  She appeared to be at a nearby apartment complex where lots of students lived.  Sarah went to bed, she says, thinking Aniah was hanging out with friends.

“WE CAN’T FIND ANIAH”

The next morning, October 24, Angela Harris took her children to school, and reached out to Aniah to talk. It was their early morning ritual. 

Angela Harris: We FaceTimed every morning … that was kind of our thing like, “good morning. What are you doing? What do you have planned for the day?”

Angela Harris: So, when I called her at 8 a.m. and she didn’t answer the FaceTime, I thought, OK, well, you know, she’s busy, so I’ll give her a little bit longer.

Sarah was eager to hear about Eric, the mystery man Aniah met the night before. She went straight to Aniah’s bedroom. 

Sarah O’Brien: … and she wasn’t there … She would always come home. 

Sarah O’Brien: She wouldn’t spend the night with anyone she had just met. 

Sarah glanced at her cellphone looking for Aniah’s latest location, but there was none. Aniah’s phone had gone dark.   

James Brown: When did concern turn to worry for you, Sarah? 

Sarah O’Brien: When I called the lady that she babysat for and she hadn’t shown up that morning … because she never misses a day to babysit those kids. She loved them. 

Corrina Thomas: She was like a mother to my kids.

Corrina Thomas, the working mother who depended on Aniah, said she was the most reliable nanny she ever had. 

Corrina Thomas: Amazing. I don’t know how else to explain it, like every good quality that you want in a person she had, like everything.

Angela Harris: She never once, never once didn’t show up to take care of those kids. 

Sarah O’Brien: … and that’s when I hopped in the car to look for Aniah’s car … The longer I drove the more worried I got. I didn’t see any trace of her at all. 

Sarah decided to get Aniah’s brother and take a second look.   

Elijah Blanchard: Her roommate calls me and told me that Aniah never even came home last night. Aniah’s missing. 

Sarah O’Brien: And then I told him what she said about Eric. And that she was with him … And he was like, “no, she didn’t tell me anything about that.” 

Elijah Blanchard: …and my heart kind of just sank … And this was completely out of her character … This isn’t Aniah … Aniah wouldn’t have run away.

Elijah Blanchard: So … immediately … I call my parents. … and I was like, uh, “Aniah’s missing.” 

Angela Harris: And he says, “mom, we can’t find Aniah” … and I said,” son what are you talking about you can’t find her” he said “no mom … I’m in her apartment and we can’t find Aniah.”

Immediately alarmed, Angela and Walt took off for Aniah’s apartment, two excruciating hours away.

Angela Harris: We just got in his truck and just flew to Auburn.  

Angela Harris: All types of things are going through our heads. … What’s happened?  What’s going on? … And pure hell.

James Brown: Walt, how did you process all of this when you found out your daughter was missing?    

Walt Harris [in tears]: That drive to Auburn was the hardest thing I’ve ever been through in my life because I knew something wasn’t right.

Elijah decided to check with Corrina Thomas again, maybe Aniah showed up.  

Corrina Thomas: I wasn’t worried until her brother messaged me.

Elijah Blanchard [reading text]: Hey, I’m Aniah’s brother.  I was wondering if you have heard from my sister today?   

Corrina Thomas [reading text]: No I haven’t. I called her a bunch of times this morning, and she missed picking up the kids this morning.

Elijah Blanchard [reading text]: … Yes, I’m at her apartment. We have been looking everywhere for her and can’t find her. 

And Aniah never left her dog Bloo alone overnight. 

Angela Harris: That was her baby … we just knew when we get to her apartment that, wait, there’s something really bad wrong here. 

Word quickly spread to Aniah’s friends. 

Hannah Crocker: And I was like, what? I was just talking to her last night. … what are you talking about? … I mean, I live three hours away from her. I was like, I don’t know where she is. 

Hannah Crocker dropped everything and headed to Aniah’s apartment. 

Hannah Crocker: Once it was 24 hours, I was like, that’s not Aniah. … In my heart … I was like, she’s a female, something happened.  

Former DA Brandon Hughes:  Auburn is a college town. … and it’s a very safe place.  

Former Lee County District Attorney Brandon Hughes. 

Former DA Brandon Hughes: This, from the very beginning, felt very differently, you know, based on the information we had. It just didn’t feel like this was a college student who decided to leave and blow off some steam … that just wasn’t her personality. That’s just not something she would have done. 

Aniah’s disappearance was breaking news. 

WALT HARRIS’ APPEAL:  If you have any leads on where our daughter is, Aniah Blanchard, please, please, please go to the authorities, tell someone. She was last seen in a Black Honda CVR 2017…” 

ANGELA HARRIS’ APPEAL: Please, if you know anything … we have to have her back, we have to have her back.

On October 25, 2019, with Aniah gone for two days, her Honda was spotted in an apartment complex, in Montgomery, Alabama, 55 miles from Auburn.  

And it was badly damaged. Worse still, there was no sign of Aniah. 

Corrina Thomas had to break the news to her children. 

Corrina Thomas [in tears]: And I said, “Aniah’s missing.” And then they cried.  

And then they came up with their own plan to help find her. 

Corrina Thomas: … they got their tablets … “Hey Google, how many houses are in Montgomery?” And I was like, “why are you looking that up?” And he said, “because we got to go see how many houses we have to go look for her at” … they just wanted to find her. 

But nothing anyone did led to an Aniah sighting. Then, a few days after she disappeared, police discovered that after Aniah dropped off her brother, she stopped at a gas station just two minutes from her home.  

Former DA Brandon Hughes: It’s a Chevron gas station on College Street.  

Former DA Brandon Hughes: Aniah entered the Chevron gas station approximately 11:21 in the evening on the night of October 23. And she stayed there approximately a minute-and-a-half to two minutes before she left. 

Aniah bought a bag of sour cream and onion potato chips and a drink. 

Angela Harris: … that was her thing every night. … Even at home, growing up, she would snack right before bed. 

Investigators also wanted to speak with anyone who was at that gas station that night. 

Former DA Brandon Hughes: We needed to know if anybody saw anything. … What was she doing? … Was she talking to anybody? Did she leave with anybody?  

THE SEARCH INTENSIFIES

Investigators zeroed in on the Chevron gas station, where Aniah was last seen on video before she disappeared. They were looking for any leads to where she might be. 

The community of Homewood, where she grew up, prayed for Aniah’s safe return. Ribbons and bows in Aniah’s favorite color appeared everywhere.

And, when they weren’t praying for her, they were out trying to find her. 

Hannah Crocker: Pretty quickly, people came together … just like, hey let’s do searches here, let’s do searchers there. 

Elijah Blanchard: We would go in the woods. We would go behind people’s houses.  We would go in alleyways.  

Walt Harris: We drove my truck in backwoods. I mean, we were all in people’s yards … We must have canvassed from Auburn to Tuskegee, just me and her, within the first two or three days.  

The investigation quickly expanded across several counties, especially after Aniah’s car was found 55 miles away in Montgomery. 

Former DA Brandon Hughes: … you have to imagine there were just massive areas that we had to search.

Former DA Brandon Hughes: There were dozens of agencies — state agencies, county agencies, local agencies, federal agencies … huge task force.  

And reward money poured in. UFC president Dana White and Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones each contributed $25,000.

Walt Harris: It’s a pain, it’s an anxiety. It’s just so many emotions. You’re trying to hold hope that something positive is going to come out of it … But as the days go on, your hope just starts to dwindle and dwindle.

Now missing eight days, hope was dealt a major blow. 

NORAH O’DONNELL [CBS EVENING NEWS]: Tonight, police in Auburn, Alabama say that there is evidence a missing college student is a victim of foul play.

AUBURN POLICE CHIEF PAUL REGISTER: Evidence from within her vehicle is the reason that we are aware that, you know, she was harmed, and we do consider this a case where there is foul play involved.

Police would not say what they found, but Aniah’s biological father, Elijah Blanchard Sr., was not ready to give up.  

ELIJAH BLANCHARD SR. [news interview]: That was hard for us. … I am a man of faith and regardless of what the police say, I still have hope that my Aniah is out there waiting for her father to get her. 

Aniah’s disappearance was taking more than an emotional toll on Walt Harris. He immediately cancelled his upcoming fight. Aniah was the only thing on everyone’s mind. 

Walt Harris: I wasn’t able to focus at all … it was chaos. There was sadness. I just wanted to be there for my family … It’s like a dark abyss … you’re fighting that off. 

Then, after 14 days, the police announced they wanted a man seen at the gas station store at the same time Aniah was there.  

An eyewitness said he thought he saw him force Aniah into her car before they drove off together.

LOCAL NEWS REPORT: This is a person of interest …  anyone who sees him is asked to call 911. 

Someone did, and the man the police were looking for was not named Eric. He was Ibraheem Yazeed, a 30-year-old from Montgomery and he had a lengthy arrest record.  

AUBURN POLICE CHIEF PAUL REGISTER [to reporters]: He should be considered dangerous and would be potentially armed.

Police said Yazeed was charged earlier that year with kidnapping, robbing, and nearly beating a 77-year-old man to death.  He was also accused of robbing and beating a second man. Despite the serious charges, he was free on bond and had been staying in a hotel near the Chevron gas station. 

Sarah O’Brien: How is this person free to walk into a gas station? … How is he just minutes down the road from me? How is he in the same gas station as my best friend?

But he was, and that was at 11:22 p.m. Aniah’s car was next seen a few minutes later at another nearby gas station, where Yazeed bought a small cigar.   

It would be a little more than an hour before a license plate reader picked up Aniah’s Honda near the entrance to I-85, heading south towards Montgomery.   

Aniah’s parents clung to hope, and they had faith that their daughter would be found alive … they even prayed for Yazeed. 

ANGELA HARRIS [NBC News report]: You can stop now. … You can change this. You can let her go. God will forgive you.  

Police captured Yazeed the following day hiding in the woods 145 miles away in another state. Police say he did not surrender peacefully. 

ANNE-MARIE GREEN [CBSN]: 30-year-old Ibraheem Yazeed was arrested overnight in Florida on the charge of kidnapping in the first degree.  

Yazeed appeared in a Florida court the next day, with a swollen left eye. And court documents finally revealed what police found in the car. It was blood, and a lot of it.  

NEWS REPORT: Court documents today say blood that was discovered in Aniah Blanchard’s car was “indicative of someone suffering a life-threatening injury… 

Yazeed waived extradition to Lee County, Alabama, where Angela and Walt Harris would be waiting, hoping to find out where their daughter was.

A ROADMAP

The Harrises were committed to facing Yazeed whenever he appeared in court.  And each time felt like the first time. 

James Brown:  As a father, as a guy … I am imagining what might have been coursing through your veins. … Then you see him, Mr. Yazeed looking back at you guys. 

Walt Harris: Anger. I remember shaking. I wanted to climb across the barricade. 

Walt Harris: It made me really angry. Because — he was just kind of smug … like “you’re tough, I’m tough, too.” … like he was challenging me, almost. 

It took all of Walt’s training in the ring, and Angela’s steady hand, to keep him from ripping into Yazeed. 

Walt Harris: She grabbed me, and she said, “just breathe” …  And I just started trying to hear her voice because I could not — I wouldn’t take my eyes off of him.  … like, OK, who’s going to look away first type of deal.

James Brown:  Angela … how did you stay composed? 

Angela Harris: I wanted him to know that I’m representing my daughter. … and that I’m not going anywhere. We’re right here — and we’re going to fight this all the way through. 

Yazeed maintained his innocence, and the burden to find Aniah mounted. 

Former DA Brandon Hughes: Everybody was on edge because there’s a lot of pressure. … there’s pressure to find this little girl. 

Angela and Walt Harris publicized their daughter’s disappearance on “Dr. Phil.”

WALT HARRIS [on “Dr. Phil”]: Love you, baby girl. … we’re looking for you … we are doing everything that we can … and we are going to get you. I promise. 

Former DA Brandon Hughes: They’re on television and you’re doing everything you can. But up to this point, it hasn’t been enough.

By then, the DA, Angela and Walt, had grown close. 

Former DA Brandon Hughes: If you want to call up, get frustrated and yell at me for an hour, cry with me for an hour. I’m there. And that’s just what we were doing. 

A month after Aniah went missing, the DA had news. Authorities now believed that Antwain Fisher, who once served time for murder, helped Yazeed dispose of evidence. He was charged with kidnapping.  He soon cooperated, providing a roadmap to Aniah. 

Former DA Brandon Hughes: Aniah’s remains were located in Macon County, Alabama, which is between Auburn and Montgomery. 

Former DA Brandon Hughes: Obviously, we didn’t … know, to a hundred percent certainty that that’s who it was … there were several items of clothing out there. I saw a boot. I took a photograph of it.

Hughes asked the Harrises to meet at the DA’s office.     

Former DA Brandon Hughes: They don’t know why they’re there.

Former DA Brandon Hughes: … and I showed the Harrises the photograph.

The Sorel boots were a gift from Walt when the family visited New York City.  

Former DA Brandon Hughes: Walt looked at the phone … He just drops it on the table and said, “Y’all excuse me.”

Former DA Brandon Hughes [emotional]: My wife had come up there … she was coming up the back stairwell. She said she saw Walt just punching the wall. I mean, this is a concrete wall. …He’s screaming and just punching this wall. That’s hard [crying].

James Brown: Talk about a parent’s worst nightmare when her body was found. 

Angela Harris: Immediately, I just wanted to actually know if I could see my child. I just want to see her. We were told, no.

Angela Harris: I just didn’t want to go on anymore.

James Brown: Walt? 

Walt Harris: Broken. Confused. Angry. I just wanted to know why and what happened? 

Hughes and the police returned to the woods to search for more evidence. 

Former DA Brandon Hughes: … just literally crawling on hands and knees, looking for evidence … looking for anything that we could find.

And what they found helped the Harrises finally learn what happened to their beloved Aniah. 

FIGHTING FOR ANIAH

A blood-soaked passenger seat.  A bullet hole in the door.  The evidence tells a story of what happened to Aniah that night.  Investigators aren’t certain how Yazeed ended up inside the car with Aniah.  Did he ask for a ride? Did he force her?  But the damage outside suggests there was a struggle at some point as the car was moving. Investigators say Yazeed shot Aniah as she tried to escape.  

FORMER DA BRANDON HUGHES [to reporters]: Aniah Blanchard was killed in the manner of homicide … cause of death was a gunshot wound. 

James Brown: Was your faith shaken? Rocked? 

Walt Harris: To have our angel taken like that, I didn’t know why God would allow it. 

But Walt ultimately found comfort in his faith. 

Walt Harris: It brought me back … it’s helped me understand that God didn’t do this. 

And on December 2, 2019, then District Attorney Hughes announced the person responsible was Ibraheem Yazeed.  He was now being charged with capital murder. 

FORMER DA BRANDON HUGHES [to reporters]: We’ll also be seeking the death penalty. 

Two days later, the Harrises were in court when Yazeed fought back. 

IBRAHEEM YAZEED [in court]:  I got rights too … Ya’ll have no video, no audio of me shooting anyone, that’s why I’m trying to see how y’all going to bind me, over on hearsay, but y’all aren’t presenting no evidence.  

Yazeed seemed pleased when he was done. 

Angela Harris: … the attitude, the smirks, the looks … wow. 

But maybe the most damning evidence against Yazeed comes from Antwain Fisher. Remember, he was facing charges of helping Yazeed. Those charges were dropped.  Fisher told police that just hours after Aniah disappeared, Yazeed showed up in Montgomery looking for help. And he was driving what looked like Aniah’s black Honda.  

Fisher said he followed Yazeed to an apartment complex – the same complex where police would later find Aniah’s Honda. Yazeed then got into the truck Fisher was driving says lead Detective Josh Mixon.  

DET. JOSH MIXON [in court]: They ended up behind a church near a cemetery. … and when he looked in the rearview mirror, he saw Yazeed dragging something wrapped in a comforter. It appeared to be two legs. He dragged it in the woods … come back … got in the vehicle, and he … said, “tell me that’s not a body.”  

Fisher says Yazeed told him he shot a girl quote “when she went for the gun.“ 

Angela Harris [in tears]: Wow — it’s indescribable. … how someone could actually do those things to my beautiful daughter … and it’s so traumatizing to think about what she went through.

Walt Harris: Hearing it in grave detail, it was painful.

And then the Harrises would learn that Yazeed in addition to being charged with nearly beating an elderly man to death, was also being charged with shooting two other people the year before he’s accused of killing Aniah. 

James Brown: What would you like to see happen?

Walt Harris: Justice.

Angela Harris: Definitely justice … I want justice for my daughter. 

But justice has been delayed. The pandemic has slowed all of Yazeed’s criminal cases, and his lawyer declined to be interviewed. 

Walt, who had considered ending his career, found inspiration when Aniah came to him in a dream. 

Walt Harris: … she was sitting in her living room, and there was just a beam of light on her and she had her arms out and I hugged her, and she said, “keep going”. And I just woke up, like with a renewed vigor, I felt fresh. 

Inspired by Aniah, Walt Harris bravely returned to the ring. Incredibly, a fight was scheduled for October 24, the anniversary of Aniah’s murder. 

Angela Harris: When he first told me … I said, “are you sure?” … He said, “I’m sure.” And so, I knew how important that this was to him and how important that this would be to her, to Aniah, and that she would want him to do it. 

Walt flew to Abu Dhabi, and spent two weeks in quarantine, training in a hotel.  

Angela, meanwhile, remained home, caring for their family, and holding a vigil the night before Walt’s fight, marking the anniversary for the last time they saw Aniah alive. 

The following day, the Harrises were on the edge of their seats to watch Walt fight halfway around the world.

Walt started out strong, but in an instant, the fight was over.

In retrospect Walt told “48 Hours” he needed more mental strength. He returned home and a few days later, he released all that pent-up emotion. 

Angela Harris: He just broke down and fell down on the floor, crying.

And through all of her pain, Angela found her new calling. She started a nonprofit, Aniah’s Heart, to teach safety, and help search for missing people. 

Angela Harris: I’ve done group sessions of education. I just did one … with some sophomores from Aniah’s high school, a group of like 20 girls teaching them about education and safety, it was amazing. 

ANGELA HARRIS [addressing reporters at the Alabama Legislature]: This is a must, we have to have this law.

And she’s campaigning for “Aniah’s Law,” a bill which, if enacted, allows judges to deny bond to serious violent offenders. 

Angela Harris: You have people committing multiple violent crimes and they just get out on bond. It’s just not OK. 

Around Christmas 2019, nearly 2,000 people came together to celebrate Aniah’s life. 

ANGELA HARRIS: I know one thing … that I will not stop fighting for her. 

BILL CLEVELAND: … that beautiful smile she had, that could just light up a room.

NOAH VAIL: Aniah was light, when you looked at her in her eyes, the way she made you feel, she just made you feel like you was OK.

AYLAH HARRIS: We will miss you. We are so happy you were our sissy. 

HANNAH CROCKER: Aniah has been my best friend since I met her in sixth grade … she left me with the best memories ever, of course … she was a leader … she would put people first even when she was sad or needed anything. I love you Aniah … You are truly my sunshine on rainy days.   

DENISE LEWIS: December 21, 2019, will be forever known … as Aniah Haley Blanchard Day in the city of Homewood, Alabama. 

Elijah Blanchard: … all this stuff is true. She really was, truly a special human being. 

In March 2023, Ibraheem Yazeed pleaded not guilty to three counts of capital murder in the death of Aniah Blanchard.

In November 2023, Alabama enacted “Aniah’s Law” giving judges discretion to deny bail to defendants accused of violent crimes. 

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Produced by Murray Weiss. Mead Stone is the producer-editor. Iris Carreras is the associate producer. Lauren Turner Dunn is the broadcast associate. Greg McLaughlin and Phil Tangel are the editors. Patti Aronofsky and Alvin Patrick are the senior producers. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer.