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

[Winterhike]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2003576194047050237

AB seems to have lost more weight every time we get a glimpse of her. Lots of possible reasons for that, but I hope the guilt is eating her up.

 

[Kapua]

Caineville, Utah

Caineville, Utah - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Not much of a town. It's nothing short of miraculous that she was found.

 

[Knox]

AB seems to have lost more weight every time we get a glimpse of her. Lots of possible reasons for that, but I hope the guilt is eating her up.

She'll bloat up nicely in no time at all ...

 

[katydid23]

tonight’s show;

Just looking at these beautiful pictures of her sweet smile and bright eyes is just heartbreaking. She could have lived a wonderful, happy life, given the chance. This is a devastating outcome.

 

[Emerald1328]

Just looking at these beautiful pictures of her sweet smile and bright eyes is just heartbreaking. She could have lived a wonderful, happy life, given the chance. This is a devastating outcome.

What makes it even harder for me to understand is that her eyes seem to be as happy as her smile is. In so many cases where a parent murders their child, the smile doesn’t seem to reach the eyes in most photos of the child when they were alive. I know that Melodee was with different people at different times so maybe these pictures were all when she was being taken care of by others, but it’s just a bit jarring to see photos of a child that seems happy and well taken care of (no bruises/marks, good hygiene, good nutrition) that has their life ended by their parent. What went so wrong?

 

[katydid23]

How on Earth do you get tried where "intent was formed" as opposed to where you actually killed someone? Inquiring minds want to know. If you think about killing someone in 7 states, do you get tried in all of them? What if she hadn't thought of killing Melodee until she got to Nevada, or Colorado? This makes zero sense to me.

It makes sense to me that they would want to try the case in California.

Melodee and her Mom and most of the witnesses are from Cali. Melodee was born, went to school and grew up in Cali. AB planned the murder while she was in Cali. Rented the car, probably acquired the gun, made the travel plans, while in Cali.

The investigators would need to base their investigation in Calki and not in Utah. IMO

 

[Knox]

It makes sense to me that they would want to try the case in California.

Melodee and her Mom and most of the witnesses are from Cali. Melodee was born, went to school and grew up in Cali. AB planned the murder while she was in Cali. Rented the car, probably acquired the gun, made the travel plans, while in Cali.

The investigators would need to base their investigation in Calki and not in Utah. IMO

Key Principles:

• Territoriality: The core rule is that a state prosecutes crimes that occur within its borders. The location where the victim died or the fatal blow was delivered determines jurisdiction, not the suspect's or victim's home state.
• Extradition: If you're arrested in your home state (domicile) for a crime in another state, your state handles extradition, sending you to the crime state for trial.
• Concurrent Jurisdiction (Rare): If elements of the crime (planning, execution, effects) span multiple states, both states might claim jurisdiction, but the actual murder trial usually stays in the territory where the killing happened.
• "Effects" Statutes: Some states have laws allowing prosecution for out-of-state conduct that has significant effects within their borders, but these are less common for murder.

Sounds like there is a legal basis for trying, but if Utah pushes for jurisdiction - they may win. Wonder why the Feds aren't interested in prosecuting the case?

 

[katydid23]

What makes it even harder for me to understand is that her eyes seem to be as happy as her smile is. In so many cases where a parent murders their child, the smile doesn’t seem to reach the eyes in most photos of the child when they were alive. I know that Melodee was with different people at different times so maybe these pictures were all when she was being taken care of by others, but it’s just a bit jarring to see photos of a child that seems happy and well taken care of (no bruises/marks, good hygiene, good nutrition) that has their life ended by their parent. What went so wrong?

I think she is a couple of years younger in these happy smiling photos. She does not look like a 9 yr old here---she looks like she still has her 5 or 6 yr old baby teeth. I think her last couple of years were less happy.

 

[Lebowski]

this is devastating news. i was one of the ones holding out hope AB had hid her with friends.

just unimaginable what she did. i have a daughter close to MB's age, and i hate AB with all my heart.

...and to do it after fighting so hard to keep people from taking MB away??

 

[lynxofsd]

below

 

[lynxofsd]

“This is an extraordinarily tragic case involving the murder of a child by the very person she relied upon and trusted the most,” Sheriff Brown said. “While maternal filicide is rare and difficult to comprehend, the evidence in this case clearly indicates a calculated, deliberate, and ruthless act.”

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

I doubt LE will ever find a motive for this crime.

I think in most of these cases there is no more motive than an evil person who made a decision to commit an evil deed.

The "why's" can then be left to forensic psychologists, but analyses of that nature tend to be academically oriented and rarely provide a satisfactory explanation ("closure") to the family members that remain, law enforcement, or the public at large.

What a senseless tragedy.

 

[Lebowski]

someone mentioned the possibility of her pleading not guilty by reason of insanity. not a lawyer or a psychologist, but i feel like the planning, the ice cold calculating, and the extended period of time from start to finish are all at tension with that idea.

 

[Lebowski]

the relative speed and effectiveness with which LE got all over her and ultimately busted her is nice to see, on one level. but it almost makes the whole thing more tragic. if she'd had any idea how quickly they were going to be on her and how not even close to successful she was at getting away with it, maybe she would have been deterred from trying.

 

[Knox]

I doubt LE will ever find a motive for this crime.

I think in most of these cases there is no more motive than an evil person who has committed an evil deed.

The "why's" can then be left to forensic psychologists, but analyses of that nature tend to be academically oriented and rarely provide a satisfactory explanation ("closure") to the family members that remain, law enforcement, or the public at large.

I actually think the opposite. LE rarely points to a motive this early, they have said it was planned and premeditated. The prosecuting DA will likely be the one to speak to motive - eventually.

 

[KBlackRabbit]

Another cold-blooded Letecia Stauch.

 

[katydid23]

Key Principles:

• Territoriality: The core rule is that a state prosecutes crimes that occur within its borders. The location where the victim died or the fatal blow was delivered determines jurisdiction, not the suspect's or victim's home state.
• Extradition: If you're arrested in your home state (domicile) for a crime in another state, your state handles extradition, sending you to the crime state for trial.
• Concurrent Jurisdiction (Rare): If elements of the crime (planning, execution, effects) span multiple states, both states might claim jurisdiction, but the actual murder trial usually stays in the territory where the killing happened.
• "Effects" Statutes: Some states have laws allowing prosecution for out-of-state conduct that has significant effects within their borders, but these are less common for murder.

Sounds like there is a legal basis for trying, but if Utah pushes for jurisdiction - they may win. Wonder why the Feds aren't interested in prosecuting the case?

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.

 

[Lucy6226]

How anyone can shoot a child in the head is beyond me, let alone a 'mother'. Truly shocked. I suspected Melodee was no longer Alice but thought more along the lines of neglect or punishment being the reason. Hoping she knew and felt absolutely nothing in those last moments and it was instant.

Also shocked she wasn't buried, would have been unlikely to ever be found, Ashlee probably too lazy to dig!

My heart breaks for Melodee, but also for the couple that found her. Stopping for a happy memory which will now be tainted in trauma.

RIP beautiful girl

 

[Knox]

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.

However, Utah's Wayne County Attorney Michael Winn told KSL Tuesday after the press conference that he hasn't ruled out the possibility of criminal charges also being filed in Utah. He anticipated prosecutors and investigators from all the involved agencies would soon be discussing the next steps in the legal process.

9-year-old who vanished during road trip found dead in Utah

The remains of missing 9-year-old California girl Melodee Buzzard have been found in Utah's Wayne County. Her mother has been arrested.

www.ksl.com

 

[Spectrix]

A gunshot to the head is not what I expected.
I'm not sure what I expected exactly, but it wasn't that.

I suppose perhaps it matches the "you're dead to me" persona from the CCTV at the rental office. But I'm struggling to understand how Ashlee went from hiding Melodee away from other family members to driving her out into the desert and executing her.

 

[dontstayin]

This is all just my opinion and speculation but I believe she must’ve been suffering some sort of psychosis and paranoia. As a mother of girls, we find it impossible to comprehend shooting your own daughter. But what if she thought the daughter was the devil or some sort of evil? Or was she ‘saving’ her from this world?