Ashlee Buzzard, the mother of 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard, was arrested Tuesday and is accused in her daughter’s death after the child’s body was discovered in rural Utah more than two months after she vanished from Southern California.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said investigators uncovered a “significant amount of evidence” indicating that Ashlee Buzzard, 40, killed her daughter. Buzzard is being held without bail on suspicion of first-degree murder, Brown said.
“Maternal filicide is rare and always difficult to comprehend,” Brown told reporters. He added that the case was especially disturbing because of what he described as calculated planning and “cold-blooded” premeditation.
Body Found in Utah; DNA Confirmed Identity
Melodee’s body was found Dec. 6 in Wayne County, Utah, by two people who were taking photos in the area, Brown said. Authorities determined the victim was a girl who “died from gunshot wounds to the head,” he said.
An FBI DNA analysis later confirmed the body was Melodee’s, Brown said.
Evidence Recovered, But No Weapon Yet
Officials said searches of Buzzard’s home, a rented storage locker and a rental car turned up an expended cartridge case and a live round of similar ammunition. Investigators have not located the suspected murder weapon, authorities said.
Brown said law enforcement pursued multiple lines of investigation at once, including constant surveillance of Buzzard and extensive collection and analysis of physical, digital and forensic evidence.
Neighbors told NBC News affiliate KSBY in San Luis Obispo that they saw deputies removing Buzzard from her home in Vandenberg Village early Tuesday. Sheriff’s officials have previously said Buzzard was uncooperative during searches and during the investigation into Melodee’s disappearance.
School Concerns Helped Trigger Law Enforcement Notification
The Lompoc Unified School District said in October that Buzzard brought Melodee to enroll in an independent study program in August, but the child did not attend through early October. The district said repeated truancy steps were taken before the matter was ultimately reported to law enforcement.
Investigators Focused on Multi-State Trip
Investigators have centered much of the case on a road trip the pair took from Southern California to Nebraska between Oct. 7 and Oct. 10.
According to the sheriff’s office, security footage showed Melodee wearing a wig on Oct. 7 at a rental car business where the pair picked up a Chevrolet Malibu. Detectives believe the wig may have been used to make her harder to identify or locate; they also said her mother was known to wear wigs.
During the trip, the car’s license plate was temporarily swapped for a New York plate, authorities said, allegedly to avoid detection.
Detectives have said Melodee was last seen Oct. 9 near the Utah-Colorado border, during the return portion of the trip. She was not with Ashlee Buzzard when Buzzard returned home with the rental car on Oct. 10, investigators said.
Brown said investigators believe Melodee was killed shortly after the stop near the Utah-Colorado border.
Prior Arrest, Community Anxiety, and Family Questions
In a separate case, sheriff’s deputies arrested Ashlee Buzzard on Nov. 7 on suspicion of felony false imprisonment. A man testified that she held him at her home against his will and had a box cutter, KSBY reported. That charge was dismissed Nov. 20; prosecutors later cited contradictory information and insufficient evidence, a spokesperson for the regional district attorney said.
Attempts to reach Ashlee Buzzard since late October were unsuccessful, and her mother declined to comment when contacted by phone.
Melodee’s disappearance drew growing concern in Vandenberg Village, about 160 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Residents at times gathered outside the home and called out questions about where the girl was.
Corinna Meza, Melodee’s half-sister, told KSBY, “We’re all looking for answers.” She said Melodee’s father died when the child was a baby and that Melodee was rarely seen, even among relatives.
