Ashlee Buzzard has been charged with murder with special allegations in the shooting death of her 9-year-old daughter Melodee Buzzard, according to court documents.
The special allegations charge alleges that Ashlee Buzzard personally and intentionally discharged a firearm causing death and committed murder by lying in wait.
She pleaded not guilty at her arraignment Friday, according to KEYT, Santa Barbara ABC affiliate.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office released this surveillance image of Ashlee Buzzard, apparently wearing a wig, on October 7, 2025, in California.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office
Ashlee Buzzard was arrested Tuesday for allegedly killing Melodee, who was shot in the head and found dead in rural Utah in early December, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Bill Brown said that “cold-blooded and criminally sophisticated premeditation and heartlessness…went into the planning” of the crime and “cruelty…went into the commission of the crime.”
The FBI and Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office are searching for missing 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard.
FBI
Ashlee Buzzard’s arrest came more than two months after Melodee was reported missing. Authorities said they believe Melodee was killed shortly after she was last seen alive on Oct. 9, near the Colorado-Utah border, during a road trip with her mother.
Examination of a bullet casing found in Ashlee Buzzard’s home matched what was found at the scene in Utah, and similar live bullets were found in Ashlee Buzzard’s car, authorities said.
The motive has not been determined, authorities said.
