CA mother pleads not guilty in murder of daughter Melodee Buzzard
The mother of a 9-year-old Lompoc Valley girl reportedly pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder of her daughter Friday morning.
Ashlee Buzzard, 40, was arrested and charged with killing her young daughter, Melodee Buzzard, after the girl was found shot to death in a rural area of Utah earlier this month.
The charges against her carried two enhancements for using a firearm to cause death and another for murder by lying in wait — a capital offense punishable by the death penalty or life without parole.
Buzzard’s felony complaint, obtained by The Tribune, alleged the crime involved “a high degree of cruelty, viciousness or callousness” against a “particularly vulnerable” victim. It further alleged Buzzard “took advantage of a position of trust” to commit the crime.
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office will not seek the death penalty, KSBY reported.
Mother pleads not guilty to murder, gag order approved
Ashlee Buzzard entered a not guilty plea and denied both enhancements during her arraignment at the Santa Barbara County Superior Court in a Santa Maria on Friday, multiple news outlets reported.
The plea reportedly caused an eruption of emotions in the courtroom, and the court had to ask the audience to “keep it down,” KSBY reported. Buzzard remained mostly expressionless, Noozhawk reported.
Multiple members of Melodee’s family attended, and pink bows were distributed in her memory, according to the report.
Ashlee Buzzard’s arraignment came nearly three months after she allegedly killed her daughter on a four-day road trip crossing multiple state lines and involved a rental car with swapped license plates and wigs for her and Melodee to avoid recognition during the trip.
Buzzard’s defense attorney, Adrian Galvan, requested a temporary gag order which Judge John McGregor approved prohibiting the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office from commenting publically on the case regarding any information or evidence that is not already public, KSBY reported.
Galvan also represented Buzzard in her November false imprisonment case not directly related to her daughter’s disappearance, which was dismissed due to insufficient evidence at the time.
The next hearing date is scheduled for Jan. 7 at 8:30 a.m. in Department 1 of the Lompoc Division of the Santa Barbara County court.
A memorial for Melodee of flowers, candles and stuffed animals was placed outside the Buzzard’s Vandenberg Village home, Noozhawk reported.
Melodee’s paternal grandmother Lilly Denes emotionally told Noozhawk the family does not know the motive for the killing. She added the family has not launched any official GoFundMe campaign and any existing fundraisers are “fake.”
This story was originally published December 26, 2025 at 2:58 PM.
