Ashlee Buzzard, the mother of 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard, pleaded not guilty on Friday, Dec. 26 to charges connected to her daughter’s death, after the child’s October disappearance prompted a multi-state search.
According to reports from NBC News, ABC News and NBC Los Angeles, Buzzard, 40, of Lompoc, Calif., entered the plea through her attorney and was ordered held without bail. Her next court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 7, NBC LA reported.
Court documents cited by ABC allege that Buzzard personally and intentionally discharged a firearm, causing Melodee’s death, and that the killing involved “lying in wait.” Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of life in prison without parole, the outlets reported.
Outside the Santa Barbara County courthouse, Melodee’s paternal grandmother, Lilly Denes, told reporters she was outraged by the not-guilty plea.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(927x592:929x594):format(webp)/melodee-buzzard-102725-ffa70378a15f40219a79e3209eef5999.jpg)
Timeline of the case
Authorities say Melodee was last seen on Oct. 9 with her mother near the Colorado–Utah border, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
On Dec. 6, Melodee’s body was found along a roadside in Wayne County, Utah, Santa Barbara County Sheriff-Coroner Bill Brown said during a press conference on Tuesday, Dec. 23. The remains were decomposed, and investigators believe she was killed in October. Authorities said she died from gunshot wounds to the head.
Brown said Melodee was positively identified on Dec. 22, when the FBI notified the Sheriff’s Office that DNA from the remains matched her mother.
“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. He added that investigators recovered evidence they say points to Ashlee Buzzard as the person responsible, including an expended cartridge found at Buzzard’s home that authorities allege was matched to casings recovered at the scene in Utah.
Investigation details
Melodee’s disappearance was reported on Oct. 14 after her school notified police about her “prolonged” absence.
Investigators say Buzzard was uncooperative early in the inquiry. Authorities allege she traveled with Melodee from California through multiple states, including Nebraska, starting Oct. 7, and returned home on Oct. 10 without her daughter.
During the trip, authorities allege, Buzzard changed Melodee’s appearance—reportedly using a wig—to “alter her appearance.” Security camera footage from a California car rental business dated Oct. 7 allegedly shows Melodee wearing a hoodie and appearing to have short, wavy hair, contrasting with the long hair shown in missing-person posters.
Prior arrest mentioned in reports
During the broader investigation, Buzzard was arrested in November on an unrelated allegation of false imprisonment, according to reports citing KTLA and ABC News.
In that case, the alleged victim told police Buzzard displayed a box cutter and prevented him from leaving her home, after becoming “visibly distressed after sharing information she appeared to regret disclosing,” the outlets reported, citing officials. Those charges were later dropped after an audio recording played in court contradicted the man’s account and indicated Buzzard opened the door for him to leave, KEYT reported at the time.
