In a recent court appearance, California mother Ashlee Buzzard entered a plea of not guilty to charges of murdering her daughter, Melodee. Santa Barbara prosecutors announced they would not pursue the death penalty in this case.
The 40-year-old is accused of ending the life of her 9-year-old daughter, whose body was discovered in a secluded region of southern Utah on December 6, following a nearly two-month search effort.
Authorities revealed that Buzzard embarked on a road trip across several states with her daughter. The journey tragically concluded with the girl being shot multiple times in the head. School officials reported Melodee missing in mid-October when Buzzard failed to clarify her daughter’s prolonged absence.
Melodee’s identity was confirmed through familial DNA matching her mother’s, as announced on Monday. Earlier, investigators found cartridge cases at the Utah scene that matched those found in Buzzard’s Lompoc, California home.
Buzzard was apprehended on Tuesday and formally charged with first-degree murder the following day, tied to her daughter’s tragic shooting.
In Friday’s arraignment, Buzzard’s attorneys refuted special allegations, including claims that she fired a weapon resulting in death and committed the murder by lying in wait, as reported by local NBC station KSBY.
Prosecutors said they’ll be seeking a life sentence without parole, but not the death penalty, when they head to trial. A pre-preliminary hearing was scheduled for Jan. 7.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown told reporters during a press conference on Tuesday that he believes Melodee was killed in a premediated fashion on Oct. 9, shortly after she and her mom crossed the border into Utah. Buzzard is believed to have returned to California alone the following day.
Investigators believe the pair wore wigs when they traveled, as seen in surveillance footage from a rental car location in Lompoc on Oct. 7. Police also said Buzzard went so far as to swap the license plate of the vehicle she rented to avoid detection. The Chevy Malibu was seen on video driving with New York plates, but returned with its original plates on Oct. 10.
The criminal complaint against Buzzard contends that her alleged crime involved “great violence, great bodily harm, threat of great bodily harm or other acts disclosing a high degree of cruelty, viciousness or callousness.” Investigators have not yet offered any insight into a motive for the killing.
Buzzard, whose has been described by family members as bipolar and mentally unstable, will remain behind bars ahead of trial.
