California woman charged with murder in her 9-year-old daughter’s death

California Mother Charged with Murder After Daughter’s Remains Found in Utah

A 40-year-old California woman faces murder charges after authorities discovered the remains of her missing 9-year-old daughter in a remote area of Utah, officials announced Tuesday.

Ashlee Buzzard was arrested following a multi-state investigation that began when her daughter, Melodee Buzzard, was reported missing by school administrators in mid-October. Santa Barbara County Sheriff-Coroner Bill Brown described the killing as “calculated, cold-blooded” and premeditated, though investigators have not yet determined a motive.

“Today, we stand together in grief, but also with resolve,” Brown told reporters at a press conference. “Melodee deserved a far better life than she had.”

The grim discovery came on December 6, when a couple taking photographs near Utah’s State Route 24 stumbled upon human remains in a rural area. Medical examiners determined the child had died from multiple gunshot wounds to the head. The FBI’s DNA analysis confirmed the remains belonged to Melodee through a familial DNA match to her mother.

Forensic evidence proved crucial in building the case against Buzzard. Investigators matched bullet cartridges found near Melodee’s body to a used cartridge case discovered in Buzzard’s Lompoc, California home. Authorities also located similar ammunition in a car Buzzard had rented for the cross-country trip.

The investigation revealed a disturbing timeline of events. Buzzard and her daughter left California on October 7 in a rented white 2024 Chevrolet Malibu. Surveillance footage shows the pair had altered their appearances before departing, with Melodee wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a dark, straight-haired wig that differed from her natural hair. Her mother was also seen wearing a long, curly wig.

The pair traveled through Nevada, Arizona, and Utah, going as far east as Nebraska before beginning their return journey through Kansas. Melodee was last seen alive on October 9 in video surveillance footage near the Colorado-Utah border. Investigators believe the murder occurred shortly afterward.

According to the sheriff’s office, Buzzard took extensive measures to avoid detection, swapping wigs throughout the journey and changing the license plate on the rental vehicle. She returned to California alone on October 10, with no sign of her daughter.

School officials became concerned about Melodee’s extended absence and reported it to authorities on October 14. When deputies visited the family’s home in Lompoc, Buzzard refused to disclose her daughter’s whereabouts, triggering the investigation that would eventually lead to her arrest.

Lilly Denes, Melodee’s grandmother, told the Los Angeles Times that her granddaughter was “loveable, always smiling and well-behaved.” Denes revealed that Melodee’s father had died when the child was only six months old. Upon hearing the news from a detective that authorities had “found the baby and the baby is with her dad,” Denes immediately understood the tragic implication. “I knew he was telling me that the baby is dead,” she said.

Buzzard is currently being held without bail at the Northern Branch Jail in Santa Barbara County. Online jail records do not list an attorney representing her in this case. The public defender’s office, which represented Buzzard in an unrelated matter in November, has not responded to requests for comment.

Sheriff Brown noted that the investigation remains active, with authorities still searching for the murder weapon. Investigators continue to piece together the full sequence of events that led to Melodee’s death, including analyzing evidence from multiple states along the mother and daughter’s travel route.

The case has shocked the Lompoc community, where neighbors described the quiet family that largely kept to themselves. Local schools have made counseling services available to students and staff affected by the tragedy.