Found Deceased CA - Melodee Buzzard, 9, Vandenberg Village, 14 Oct 2025 *Mother arrested*

[truecrimel]

I'm confused. Why would she be tried in California? Wasn't the murder in Utah?

According to the officials during the PC, they are going to put her on trial in Cali because she formed intent and premeditated the crime in California.
IMO she should be tried in Utah.

 

[bearfossils]

I am betting all that driving was, in part, to hype herself up to actually go through with it, and also she premeditated the killing but the body disposal and when were still question marks in her mind. So she drove all around from state to state, looking for that perfect opportunity, the right spot, with no witnesses and the nerve to follow through to all combine in the right moment.

Until finally, on the return leg of the trip it became now or never, so she found the spot, no traffic at the time, suggested they get out and take some pictures or stretch their legs, and at long last, followed through with her plot to murder her child.

Agreed. The extensive trip also creates a vast area in which law enforcement must search, with few clues to narrow down the place in which Ashlee ultimately chose kill and dispose of her daughter.

This is also MOO, but if Ashlee is indeed bipolar, as some have speculated, then that could have played into her actions as well. I’m bipolar, and driving often helps me clear my head and makes it easier to work through my thoughts. The long drive might have been an opportunity to be away from the people in her life seeking answers about Melodee, so she could think through what she was ultimately going to do, and how to go about doing it, without interference or interruptions from others.

Once she fixated on her morbid goal, she impulsively chose a spot she believed to be isolated enough to kill and abandon Melodee’s body, hoping enough time would pass for decomposition to take place, while animals and the elements would take care of the rest. I don’t think she honestly believed anyone would stumble on to her daughter’s remains so quickly. Thankfully, they did.

 

[Knox]

But the PI said she had made the trip many times which I do believe since the rental car people said she was there often… so what was different this time?…

In a manic state on that trip? Obviously I can't answer your great question, but I hope we learn if she made that trip often and what the purpose was.

 

[Ghostwheel]

I'm not sure if Utah would push for jurisdiction because it would be so expensive for the investigation, as everyone and everything is based hundreds of miles away. It would be very expensive to carry out a thorough investigation and interview all of the witnesses, etc. [Santa Barbara School district, CPS, Melodee's extended family, neighbours, AB's co-workers..]

And the trial would be very expensive, as well, for Utah. .

I know it says that Concurrent Jurisdiction is very rare, but this might be one case where it makes sense.

I suppose it also depends on if the death penalty is on the table and the powers that be want it to matter. CA won't be executing anyone anytime in the foreseeable future, where Utah will.

It will be interesting to see what proof there is that the planning took place in CA. And then what happens if the murder weapon was purchased in Nebraska, and there is no solid evidence that any planning happened in CA? Does she get tried in Nebraska? I really am curious as to how this plays out.

 

[Knox]

 

[Knox]

I want to know more about this too. What’s in Nebraska? If the murder was premeditated as far back as before their departure from CA, why bring Melodee all the way to Nebraska and then kill her when they were almost home again? If they weren’t being so clear about the premeditation that would make me think that Ashlee just snapped about something as they were driving through there.

I’m also remembering those other reports of sightings in Utah that mentioned a purple-haired companion. Was that Melodee? If so, why bother with all the disguises—why not kill her earlier so she wouldn’t be spotted? All that to say I wonder if there was some reason that Melodee needed to be with her for whatever she was doing in Nebraska.

If you google driving directions from Lompoc to Nebraska, the most direct route sends you through Colorado. But according to LE she went to Wyoming then on to Nebraska. Does that hint towards what part of the state she went to, or is it just that I-80 seems to be a preferred travel route?

• October 24, 2025: Detectives released a detailed travel timeline documenting a multi-state round-trip travel route that included California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, and Nebraska with a return route including Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California. Investigators learned Ashlee Buzzard switched license plates and backed into gas stations to avoid surveillance cameras. Melodee was last seen on video with Ashlee on October 9, 2025, near the Colorado-Utah border. Investigators now believe Melodee was murdered shortly after that point.

Ashlee Buzzard Arrested for Murder of Daughter Melodee Following Discovery of Remains in Utah – Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office

Proud to Protect and Serve Santa Barbara County The men and women of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office are proud to protect the people of this beautiful county. Our dedicated team of professionals uphold our five core values, integrity, caring, courage, fairness and service, in all that...

www.sbsheriff.org

 

[TMich6811]

IMO I think what made this trip different:
100% the school was stepping up so she knew something was going to get followed up on and she was afraid of Melodee talking. Of either: a. Abuse/neglect or b. Illegal activity. C. (IMO) both.

I agree it’s odd to me that this will be cali since the crime occurred in Utah but I don’t know much about this.

 

[Cedars]

It will be interesting to see what proof there is that the planning took place in CA. And then what happens if the murder weapon was purchased in Nebraska, and there is no solid evidence that any planning happened in CA? Does she get tried in Nebraska? I really am curious as to how this plays out.

All the investigation of the crime was conducted from Santa Barbara: all the search warrants, interrogations, witness interviews, the first arrest and observing her in jail, the likely cellphone/computer searches and other monitoring, etc, etc.

Those detectives and the prosecutor they worked with have been with the case from the first day they interviewed A, and she refused to co-operate. They know the case inside and out.

Less than two days after finding her body, Wayne County investigators contacted Santa Barbara police, when they realized it might be M. They had no info themselves, about how she came to be there.

IMO, the FBI, working with Santa Barbara detectives, immediately took over the case from Wayne County.

It makes no sense for the Wayne County prosecutor to file charges: they were not involved in any way except finding the remains and alerting Santa Barbara. They would have almost nothing to contribute to a trial. All the evidence in court will come from Santa Barara, and it was the SB Prosecutor who was key to deciding what charges to lay (premedited murder), and how to bring the evidence to trial.

 

[Knox]

maybe, if she was aware she would end up on CPS radar again due to the school. But also I suspect there was a very real concern that if CPS saw and interviewed her child Melodee would divulge horrible abuse, that would terminate her rights forever and land her in jail.

I suspect perhaps she made the problem go away rather than risk it causing her very real legal consequences. And now here we are, where because of her own actions she faces far worse ones.

This makes the most sense of anything so far. Might not have been horrible physical abuse persay, but if Melodee "knew" certain things and Ashlee was afraid she would be taken away and interviewed by authorities ... I do have questions about Ashlee's finances, she had no discernable income stream other than social security and state aid. Was that enough to buy wigs, e-shop, uber everywhere or rent cars, rent a storage unit? She had a two car garage and no car to put in it. Why rent a storage unit?

But what REALLY doesn't make sense to me is why she enrolled Melodee back in August? None of this would have been an issue, because she wasn't on any school's radar.

Remember when we learned this back in early October - "a California Department of Education spokesperson said there's no record of Ashlee Buzzard filing an annual private school affidavit, which is a requirement for homeschooling". IMO, she hadn't een in school since she was five. Why now?

 

[layer]

This makes the most sense of anything so far. Might not have been horrible physical abuse persay, but if Melodee "knew" certain things and Ashlee was afraid she would be taken away and interviewed by authorities ...

Ashlee was afraid she would be taken away
It just hit me while reading your post that if this was a father that would have been my first guess as to motive. He was afraid she would be taken away from him. It's similar or related to the "if I can't have you, no one can" motive ala Jodi Arias.

 

[starlightstarbright]

This absolutely breaks my heart. Poor beautiful girl.

 

[Rosydecember]

All the investigation of the crime was conducted from Santa Barbara: all the search warrants, interrogations, witness interviews, the first arrest and observing her in jail, the likely cellphone/computer searches and other monitoring, etc, etc.

Those detectives and the prosecutor they worked with have been with the case from the first day they interviewed A, and she refused to co-operate. They know the case inside and out.

Less than two days after finding her body, Wayne County investigators contacted Santa Barbara police, when they realized it might be M. They had no info themselves, about how she came to be there.

IMO, the FBI, working with Santa Barbara detectives, immediately took over the case from Wayne County.

It makes no sense for the Wayne County prosecutor to file charges: they were not involved in any way except finding the remains and alerting Santa Barbara. They would have almost nothing to contribute to a trial. All the evidence in court will come from Santa Barara, and it was the SB Prosecutor who was key to deciding what charges to lay (premedited murder), and how to bring the evidence to trial.

Couldn’t the FBI press charges? Federal… crossing state lines and they were assisting SBSO

 

[Insightful1]

Ashlee Buzzard current docs, for those interested you can look up the penal numbers here https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=667.5.

 

[Jo in Calif]

Buzzard faces special allegations of personally and intentionally discharging a firearm causing death and committing the murder by means of lying-in wait.

Ashlee Buzzard to be arraigned Friday on murder charge with special allegations

A felony complaint has been filed against Ashlee Buzzard, 40, of Lompoc, charging her with one count of murder for the Oct. 9 death of her daughter, Melodee Buzzard, Santa

lompocrecord.com