A mother from California has been formally charged with the murder of her nine-year-old daughter, whose remains were discovered in a remote part of Utah, in a case described by authorities as "calculated" and "cold-blooded".
A Grisly Discovery and a Cross-State Investigation
Ashlee Buzzard, aged 40, was arrested on Tuesday, 23 December, following a complex investigation that connected ballistic evidence from two states. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff-Coroner, Bill Brown, stated that bullet cartridges found near the child's body were forensically linked to a used cartridge case discovered in Buzzard's home in Utah.
The tragic discovery was made on 6 December when a couple taking photographs off State Route 24 in Utah reported finding human remains. The body was later identified through FBI DNA analysis as that of Melodee Buzzard, providing a familial match to her mother. Officers concluded the child died from gunshot wounds to the head.
A Journey of Disguise and Deception
Investigators pieced together a detailed timeline of the pair's movements prior to the girl's disappearance. According to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, Buzzard and her daughter left their Lompoc residence on 7 October in a rented white 2024 Chevrolet Malibu.
The pair embarked on a multi-state journey, travelling through Nevada, Arizona, and Utah, reaching as far as Nebraska before a return route that included Kansas. Crucially, detectives learned that the mother and daughter actively changed their appearance to avoid detection. Surveillance footage from the rental office showed Melodee wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a dark, straight wig, unlike her natural hair. Her mother was seen wearing a long, curly wig.
Police said Buzzard swapped wigs throughout the trip and even changed the license plate on the rental car. Melodee was last captured on video surveillance near the Colorado-Utah border on 9 October. Ashlee Buzzard returned to California alone on 10 October. When deputies visited the family home on 14 October after the school reported Melodee's prolonged absence, Buzzard refused to disclose her daughter's whereabouts.
Mounting Evidence and a Mother in Custody
Further strengthening the case, detectives found similar ammunition in the Chevrolet Malibu that Buzzard had rented. Sheriff Brown emphasised the premeditated nature of the crime, though a clear motive has not yet been established. The murder weapon itself remains missing, and the investigation is ongoing.
Ashlee Buzzard is currently being held without bail at the Northern Branch Jail in Santa Barbara. Online records did not list an attorney or a court date. The public defender’s office, which represented her in a separate case in November, has not commented.
The victim's grandmother, Lilly Denes, remembered Melodee as a lovable, well-behaved girl who was "always smiling". Denes revealed that a detective informed her by phone that authorities had "found the baby and the baby is with her dad"—a reference to Melodee's father, who died when she was just six months old.
