In a devastating turn of events, California authorities have arrested a mother for the alleged murder of her nine-year-old daughter after the child’s remains were discovered in a remote area of Utah. Ashlee Buzzard, 40, was taken into custody Tuesday on suspicion of first-degree murder following the grim discovery of her daughter Melodee’s decomposed body earlier this month.
The tragic case began when Melodee was reported missing by her school on October 14th, though she hadn’t been seen since August. According to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, investigators faced significant challenges as the child’s mother failed to cooperate with the investigation from its inception.
The breakthrough came when a couple photographing scenery in rural Utah stumbled upon human remains on December 6th. The body, later identified through DNA analysis on December 22nd as Melodee Buzzard, showed evidence of gunshot wounds and was found discarded off the side of the road.
Sheriff-Coroner Bill Brown described the case as “extraordinarily tragic,” noting that evidence indicates the child was murdered by “the very person she relied upon and trusted the most.” Security camera footage from October 9th captured the mother and daughter together near the Colorado-Utah border, which investigators believe was shortly before the murder occurred.
Buzzard had previously been arrested in early November on unrelated false imprisonment charges after allegedly holding a man against his will who had been assisting in the search for her daughter. Those charges were later dismissed by a judge before the murder charges were filed.
The investigation continues as authorities work to build their case against Buzzard, who remains in custody without bail.