TUSKEGEE, Ala. (WIAT) — The man accused of kidnapping and killing a 19-year-old woman in 2019 is maintaining his innocence, pleading not guilty in a recent court appearance.

Ibraheem Yazeed, 33, was in court Monday, where he pleaded not guilty to capital murder and kidnapping charges in the death of Aniah Blanchard, whose body was found in the woods of Shorter on November 25, 2019.

Blanchard, a student at Southern Union State Community College, was reported missing from her home in Auburn on October 24, 2019. She was last seen by family the previous day, the same day she was seen at a gas station in Auburn.

Yazeed, who was out on bond in a kidnapping and attempted murder case out of Montgomery at the time, is accused of kidnapping Blanchard from the gas station and killing her. On Nov. 7, Yazeed was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Escambia County, Florida.

On Nov. 25, Blanchard’s body was found in Shorter.

Blanchard was originally from Homewood.

In the years since Blanchard’s death, Alabama legislators have passed Aniah’s Law, which gives judges and prosecutors more power over denying bond to violent crime offenders.