Welcome to Arrest Stories. A forty-year-old California mother has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of her nine-year-old daughter, whose decomposed body was discovered in rural Utah more than two months after they left on a cross-country road trip together. Here's what may have happened.
On October seventh, Ashlee Buzzard and her daughter Melodee left their Lompoc, California home after renting a Chevrolet Malibu for what was described as a three-day road trip. Surveillance footage from the rental car facility showed Melodee wearing a wig as she left with her mother. The pair never returned.
During the October seventh through tenth timeframe, Ashlee Buzzard drove from Southern California to the Nebraska area and back across several states. According to officials, Buzzard switched the car's license plates during the journey and wore wigs, with surveillance images capturing her apparently wearing a wig on October seventh.
In early December, a man and woman taking pictures in Wayne County, Utah discovered a body in a rural area. The remains were formally identified Monday through DNA analysis as nine-year-old Melodee Buzzard. Officials determined she died from gunshot wounds to the head.
Ashlee Buzzard was arrested in Santa Barbara County and is being held without bail on first-degree murder charges. Sheriff Brown stated that as of Tuesday morning, Buzzard remains uncooperative with the investigation. Lieutenant Gotschall said law enforcement believes Buzzard acted alone.
Officials have searched Buzzard's home, a rented storage locker, and the rental car, stating they have recovered a significant amount of evidence, though the murder weapon has not yet been found.
Authorities described the case as showing cold-blooded and criminally sophisticated premeditation and heartlessness that went into planning, calling maternal filicide rare and always difficult to comprehend.
All suspects presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Do not take this report as factual, always verify facts. Thanks for watching Arrest Stories.