Melodee Buzzard: Mom charged with murder as police release more details – National

Ashlee Buzzard, 40, was arrested Tuesday after bullet cartridges found near Melodee Buzzard’s body were linked to a used cartridge case found in her home, Santa Barbara County Sheriff-Coroner Bill Brown said.

She was taken into custody and booked at the Santa Barbara County Northern Branch Jail for first-degree murder. Ashlee is currently being held without bail.

“This level of criminal activity is particularly shocking given the calculated, cold-blooded and criminally sophisticated premeditation and heartlessness that went into planning it and the ruthlessness that went into actually committing the crime,” Brown said.

“We have recovered a significant amount of evidence that clearly indicates that this heinous crime was committed by Ashlee Buzzard, Melodee’s mother, and the very person upon who she relied upon and trusted the most in this world.”

Ashlee has not been found guilty in a court of law.

Melodee’s decomposing body was discovered on the side of a road on Dec. 6 in Wayne County, Utah, by a man and a woman taking photos off State Route 24, Brown said during a press conference on Tuesday.

By Dec. 8, Wayne County authorities had notified the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office of the remains and determined the girl had “died from gunshot wounds to the head,” according to police.

On Monday, FBI Crime Lab analysis confirmed that the remains discovered in Utah were a familial DNA match to Ashlee Buzzard, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

The investigation into Melodee’s disappearance began on Oct. 14 when a school administrator reported Melodee’s extended absence. Through the ongoing investigation, detectives found evidence that the young girl was with her mother as recently as Oct. 7.

Buzzard left California with her daughter on that day, driving a rented white 2024 Chevrolet Malibu, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. They travelled as far as Nebraska with stops in Nevada, Arizona and Utah, and a return route included Kansas. Melodee was last seen Oct. 9 on video surveillance near the Colorado-Utah line.

Detectives learned the mother and daughter changed their appearance during travel. Video from the rental car office in Lompoc, Calif. shows the child wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a wig that was darker and straighter than her natural hair, police said. The video shows her mother wearing a long, curly wig.

Investigators believe that Ashlee swapped wigs throughout their trip, “changing to a darker wig that is similar in color and style to the one Melodee was seen wearing.”

“This change in appearance is believed to have been intentional to avoid recognition during travel,” police added.

Police said Ashlee had been “uncooperative” and had “not provided any information about Melodee’s current location or welfare.”

On Tuesday, authorities said she is “still not cooperating” and it appears she “acted alone.”

“This is an extraordinarily tragic case involving the murder of a child by the very person she relied upon and trusted the most,” Brown said in a statement on Tuesday. “While maternal filicide is rare and difficult to comprehend, the evidence in this case clearly indicates a calculated, deliberate, and ruthless act.”

Brown said the loss of Melodee is “heartbreaking” and he had hoped she would “be found alive,” adding that the outcome of the investigation “is devastating.”

“This investigation does not end here,” Brown added. “We remain committed to working closely with prosecutors to ensure justice is pursued with integrity, care and compassion. Melodee deserved a far better life, and she will never be forgotten.”

Officials said the weapon has not been found, and the case remains under investigation.

Lilly Denes told the Los Angeles Times that her granddaughter was lovable, always smiling and well-behaved. Denes’ son, the child’s father, died when she was six months old. A detective told Denes on the phone Tuesday that authorities had “found the baby and the baby is with her dad,” Denes said.

“I knew he was telling me that the baby is dead,” Denes said.

— With files from The Associated Press

&copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.