A shocking case of maternal filicide has unfolded across multiple US states, culminating in the arrest of a mother after her daughter's body was discovered in a remote desert. The grim find was made by a couple who had stopped to take scenic photographs in Utah earlier this month.
A Terrifying Discovery in the Desert
On December 6, deputies from the Wayne County Sheriff's Office responded to a call from a couple near the eastern entrance to Capitol Reef National Park in Utah. The pair had made a harrowing discovery: the decomposed body of a young girl. Authorities would later identify the victim as nine-year-old Melodee Buzzard.
The child had been reported missing from Lompoc, California, on October 14. Investigators quickly focused their attention on a four-day, multi-state road trip Melodee had taken with her mother, 40-year-old Ashlee Buzzard, which began on October 7.
A Calculated Cross-Country Journey
Surveillance footage from that day captured the pair renting a 2024 Chevrolet Malibu. In a deliberate attempt to alter their appearance, both were seen wearing wigs. Investigators believe Ashlee Buzzard murdered her daughter shortly after they were spotted on the Colorado-Utah border on October 9.
The mother returned to Santa Barbara alone the following day. When authorities later questioned her about Melodee's whereabouts, she refused to provide any information. The investigation revealed a calculated effort to evade detection, with Brown stating Ashlee had switched the rental car's license plates to ones from New York and often reversed into petrol stations to avoid surveillance cameras.
The FBI coordinated with seven field offices across the Western United States to trace the pair's journey through California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado.
Evidence Mounts and an Arrest is Made
A significant break came when a search of Ashlee Buzzard's Lompoc home on October 30 uncovered an expended cartridge. Similar ammunition was found in the rented Chevrolet Malibu. After the body was discovered in Utah, ballistic analysis linked cartridge cases from the scene to those found at the home and in the vehicle.
On Monday, December 11, the FBI confirmed a familial DNA match between the body and Ashlee Buzzard. By the morning of Tuesday, December 12, Ashlee was seen being escorted from her home in handcuffs. She is now facing murder charges and is being held without bail. Sheriff Bill Brown confirmed Melodee's body was discovered with at least one gunshot wound to the head.
"This level of criminal activity is particularly shocking, given the calculated, cold-blooded and criminally sophisticated premeditation," Brown said at a news conference. He admitted a clear motive has not yet been established, calling the case a "maternal filicide." The murder weapon also remains unrecovered.
A History of Concern and a System Questioned
Family members have since revealed a troubled background. Melodee's aunt, Lizabeth Meza, told media that Ashlee had previously lost custody due to mental health issues. Melodee's grandmother, Lilly Denes, claimed she was in the process of adopting the girl when Ashlee "took her away" after a release from a mental health facility in 2021.
"The system failed her by giving her back to a mother time and time again when she was unstable," a tearful Meza stated. Denes described Ashlee as wanting to "cut off" Melodee "from the entire world."
As the legal process begins, Sheriff Brown vowed to seek justice, declaring, "Melodee deserved a far better life than she had."
