In the quiet, early morning hours of February 8, 2020, the lives of two young people were tragically cut short on an isolated stretch of Route 58 in Alton, Virginia. Ntombo Joel Bianda, a 21-year-old male from Alexandria, Virginia, and his girlfriend, 19-year-old Ayanna Munne Maertens Griffin of Germantown, Maryland, were discovered deceased in the grassy median.
Their bodies were found near Bianda's silver Nissan Maxima, both having suffered fatal gunshot wounds.
The initial discovery was treated as a single-vehicle crash, but it quickly became apparent to the Virginia State Police that this was a double homicide. The investigation that followed involved multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI. Their efforts led them to 18-year-old Mohamed Aly, a student and varsity football player at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria. Just days after the murders, on February 13, 2020, Aly was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
According to the Halifax County Commonwealth's Attorney's office, Bianda had been driving Aly from Alexandria to Danville. Griffin was also in the car for the ride. During the trip, Aly, who later told police he was having 'bad thoughts and good thoughts,' instructed Bianda to pull over. As Bianda was complying, Aly shot him. After the initial horrific act, he was able to gain control of the moving vehicle and park it. He then left the bodies of Bianda and Griffin in the highway median and drove away. In a chilling turn of events, Aly returned to his life in Alexandria, attending school and posting on social media as if nothing had happened.
In addition to Aly, a 17-year-old male from Danville was also arrested and charged with one count of obstruction of justice and one count of being an accessory after the fact. The motive for these brutal slayings remains a painful unknown for the families of the victims. In December 2020, Mohamed Aly was sentenced to four consecutive life terms in prison, plus an additional 18 years for firearms offenses, ensuring he would be held accountable for the devastating loss of two young lives.
