Ashlee Buzzard Shot 9-Year-Old Daughter Melodee In Head, Abandoned Her In UT: Sheriff

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, CA — Southern California 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard is believed to have been shot in the head by her mother and abandoned along a remote state highway in Utah nearly two months before her body was found, authorities said Tuesday.

Ashlee Buzzard was arrested around 7:50 a.m. Tuesday at her home on Mars Avenue in Vandenberg Village on suspicion of first-degree murder, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown told media at a news conference Tuesday, livestreamed by KSBY.

“Maternal filicide is rare and always difficult to comprehend, but this level of criminal activity is particularly shocking,” Brown said, describing the killing as "cold-blooded" and noting its “heartlessness” and “ruthlessness.”

The missing girl is thought to have died shortly after she was last seen on Oct. 9 via video surveillance in the area of the Colorado-Utah border during a sprawling road trip with her mother, Brown said, although it was not until nearly two months later that her remains were found.

That discovery occurred Dec. 6, when a man and woman taking photos in the rural area reported the decomposed body near State Highway 24 and West Caineville Road in Wayne County, Utah, according to Brown, who said the deceased had suffered gunshot wounds to the head.

Cartridges found at the crime scene were linked to a single cartridge discovered at the Buzzard home, Brown said, adding a DNA analysis confirmed the remains were a familial match to Ashlee Buzzard.

Ashlee Buzzard has been booked at the Northern Branch Jail and is being held without bail, according to Brown, who said the trial will take place in Santa Barbara County.

Authorities do not yet have a motive, Brown said, noting they have not obtained the murder weapon and Ashlee Buzzard remains uncooperative. Lt. Chris Gotschall said authorities don't believe anyone else was involved in the killing.

Melodee Buzzard was reported missing in October. A school official first reported her extended absence on Oct. 14 after Ashlee Buzzard was unable to provide a verifiable explanation for the child’s whereabouts and declined to confirm her welfare. The girl's other family members said they hadn't seen her in months.

Surveillance footage released by the sheriff’s office showed Ashlee and Melodee Buzzard at a rental-car counter in Lompoc on Oct. 7, both wearing wigs. Authorities believe the disguise may have been used to avoid recognition and that the vehicle’s license plate was swapped during the trip.

The two left California on Oct. 7 in a rented white 2024 Chevrolet Malibu with the California plate 9MNG101, going as far as Nebraska and returning through Kansas, according to the FBI. On Oct. 8, the Malibu was spotted with the New York plate HCG9677, the FBI reported, adding that the plate did not belong to the vehicle or to Ashlee. Eventually, the Malibu was returned to the rental agency with its assigned California plate.

Ashlee Buzzard was previously taken into custody last month, the sheriff's office confirmed at the time. But the judge dismissed the false imprisonment case due to inconsistency with the accounts of a victim, KEYT reported.

READ MORE:

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