SANTA MARIA, Calif. (Scripps News San Luis Obispo) — Ashlee Buzzard has pleaded not guilty to the October murder of her daughter, Melodee Buzzard, in Utah.
The plea and denial of special allegations of discharge of a firearm causing death and murder by lying in wait were entered during Buzzard’s arraignment before Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge John McGregor in a Santa Maria courtroom Friday morning.
Ashlee Buzzard pleads not guilty during a court appearance on Dec. 26, 2025. (Scripps News San Luis Obispo)
Many of Melodee’s family members were in attendance, and several pink bows were shared in her memory by people watching the court’s Zoom feed.
In court, the prosecutor announced the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office would not be seeking the death penalty against Buzzard, 40, but would be seeking life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Dressed in a top and pants and not jail attire, Buzzard waived her right to a preliminary hearing within 10 days, replying, “Yes, your honor,” to the judge when asked if she understood her preliminary hearing now must take place by Feb. 24, 2026.
Judge McGregor also approved the defense’s request for a temporary gag order, which prohibits Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown and his employees from speaking about the case and from releasing evidence and documents related to it that are not already public.
That motion is expected to be heard in Lompoc on Jan. 7.
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Buzzard was arrested Tuesday, Dec. 23, and charged the following day with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of her daughter.
The criminal complaint alleges “the crime involved great violence, great bodily harm, threat of great bodily harm, or other acts disclosing a high degree of cruelty, viciousness, or callousness” and that Melodee was particularly vulnerable. It also states the crime was carried out with “planning, sophistication, or professionalism.”
“The defendant took advantage of a position of trust or confidence to commit the offense,” the criminal complaint states.
Buzzard’s arrest came more than two months after a multi-state investigation into the disappearance of her daughter was launched.
The search for Melodee began back on Oct. 14 when school administrators in Lompoc notified the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office of Melodee’s prolonged absence.
The sheriff’s office said Buzzard was uncooperative with the investigation and was not providing information to authorities about her daughter’s whereabouts. Sheriff Brown on Tuesday said Buzzard’s demeanor had not changed following her arrest.
At least one search warrant was served before the FBI began assisting with the case less than a week later.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said investigators believe Buzzard killed Melodee on Oct. 9, shortly after she was last seen with her mother at a stop on the Colorado side of the Colorado-Utah border during a multi-day road trip. The sheriff’s office says Buzzard returned home on Oct. 10 alone from that trip, which extended as far east as Nebraska.
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Authorities say they’ve determined the mother and daughter wore wigs and the license plate on the car rented by Buzzard was changed at least once during the trip.
Melodee’s body was discovered in Wayne County, Utah on Dec. 6 by two people in the area taking photos, but her remains were not positively identified as a familial match to Ashlee until Dec. 22.
Sheriff Brown called the killing “ruthless and heartless,” adding it was “calculated, cold-blooded and criminally sophisticated premeditation.”
He said Melodee died from multiple gunshot wounds to the head, adding that cartridge cases found at the crime scene in Utah were positively linked to an expended cartridge case that was found at Buzzard’s Mars Avenue home during one of the searches and also “a live round of similar ammunition” located inside her rental car.
Earlier this week, Sheriff Brown said the firearm used in the killing had not been recovered and a motive had also not been determined.
Buzzard is being held in the Northern Branch Jail in Santa Maria without bail.
This story was originally written by Kathrene Herndon for Scripps News San Luis Obispo, an E.W. Scripps Company.
