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

[Spectrix]

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?

While we don't have much to go off, there was a brief glimpse into Ashlee's mental state when an old acquaintance of hers (Tyler Brewer) inserted himself into the situation offering his 'help', and Ashlee called him out on his behaviour.

There's an audio recording of part of their conversation - starting around 3 minutes into this video.
For context, it appears that Tyler had plans on reporting to the police and the press, and Ashlee saw through his charade and confronted him. IMO she doesn't sound psychotic or paranoid, she sounds sharp as a tack.

--

 

[FromGermany1]

tonight’s show;

She is so very sweet and beautiful!

 

[tlcya]

some of the evidence:

Detectives learned Buzzard switched the rental car’s license plates to New York plates and backed into gas stations to avoid security cameras.
[snip]
Detectives served follow-up search warrants Oct. 30 at the family home, a storage locker and the rental car. An expended cartridge case was recovered from the residence, and a live round of similar ammunition was found in the vehicle.
[snip]
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives matched the cartridge cases found at the Utah crime scene to the single case recovered from the Buzzard residence
[snip]
DNA from the remains was a familial match to Ashlee Buzzard.
Mother faces murder charge after Melodee Buzzard found dead

Sheriff Bill Brown said "cold-blooded and criminally sophisticated premeditation and heartlessness ... went into planning" the crime and "ruthlessness ... went into actually committing the crime."
[snip]
The sheriff said Ashlee Buzzard made deliberate efforts to prevent detectives from finding Melodee.
[snip]
Authorities claimed Ashlee Buzzard wore wigs and swapped license plates during the trip.
Ashlee Buzzard arrested in murder of daughter Melodee: 'Cold-blooded'

“Maternal filicide is rare and always difficult to comprehend,” Brown said. “But this level of criminal activity is particularly shocking.”
[snip]
Surveillance footage showed mother and daughter at the rental office — both wearing wigs in an apparent bid to conceal their identities, Brown said.
[snip]
Buzzard swapped license plates and deliberately avoided surveillance cameras during the pair’s multistate road trip,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/12/24/california-girl-melodee-buzzard-killing-utah/

 

[tlcya]

MOO the level of planning shows an awareness of guilt and extreme measures to avoid accountability. This isn't some mother who in the throes of psychosis snapped decided to kill her child to protect her from demons or some other delusional threat. This was premediated murder that involved much aforethought and planning ahead. She then followed through and executed her plan and her child.

Ashlee Buzzard may well have mental health issues but I am not ready to say those issues are responsible for her actions.

 

[ivegotcha]

MOO the level of planning shows an awareness of guilt and extreme measures to avoid accountability. This isn't some mother who in the throes of psychosis snapped decided to kill her child to protect her from demons or some other delusional threat. This was premediated murder that involved much aforethought and planning ahead. She then followed through and executed her plan and her child.

Ashlee Buzzard may well have mental health issues but I am not ready to say those issues are responsible for her actions.

wonder if she had those thoughts and actions after her husbands death and her hospital stay . could have been brewing in her mind for some time.

 

[Gigglingtoes]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2003643452328964177

View attachment 632732
Sharps container?

View attachment 632733

Bag of medicine - inhaler, pills.

A source? If it’s not the police then some Random person /Nosey person went into the house bc the door is messed up now from police and I figured that would happen….

 

[Serononin]

So tragic that this beautiful child was murdered. I had stopped reading this thread because I got so angry that Ashlee wasn't in jail. California has the death penalty, but it's not carried out when sentenced. I can't imagine a motive. I only think of evil.

I think the motive was "if I can't have her, nobody can"

 

[tlcya]

A source? If it’s not the police then some Random person /Nosey person went into the house bc the door is messed up now from police and I figured that would happen….

yeah, probably that tiktoker who's mother is a neighbor. And who knows if the state of the house is the result of the search yesterday when they arrested AB. nosy plus accessibility due to busted door and the lure of further social media notoriety was the motivator if so.

 

[Knox]

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?

The latter makes sense to me in light of what she said to Tyler (she would rather Melodee be in a group home than be placed with either side of her family). State of mind.

She was obviously paranoid on the trip - backing into gas stations so her plate wouldn’t show, changing plates, disguises, ect. But why go so far away, we need to hear more about that aspect.

Melodee was a vulnerable child that fell through the cracks. Did the escalating actions from the school push her paranoia over the edge? Did she think the school was conspiring with others to take Melodee away and as you say, she was “saving” her?

 

[Prof]

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?

That rings a Daybell

 

[Prof]

 

[Amy0077]

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

Best perp walk ever! Kudos to LE

 

[Knox]

[

MOO the level of planning shows an awareness of guilt and extreme measures to avoid accountability. This isn't some mother who in the throes of psychosis snapped decided to kill her child to protect her from demons or some other delusional threat. This was premediated murder that involved much aforethought and planning ahead. She then followed through and executed her plan and her child.

Ashlee Buzzard may well have mental health issues but I am not ready to say those issues are responsible for her actions.

I’m not very knowledgeable on this subject. Are you saying someone who is in psychosis or is delusional, doesn’t plan, attempt to avoid detection, or show consciousness of guilt?

Very curious to see what kind of defense will be presented in light of her mental state at the time.

 

[JoeFromLB]

"cold-blooded", "premeditated", "sophisticated" etc...

It's too bad it takes forty years or more to execute anyone here in California. If anyone deserves the death penalty it's this cold, heartless woman.
This is incomprehensible evil.

 

[truecrimel]

I wonder what the purpose of the long drive was, or if there is one. We know Melodee was murdered and dumped in Utah on the return trip, but driving all the way to Kansas and Nebraska to begin with is still unusual to me. Was it supposed to be an added attempt at keeping people from locating Melodee’s remains, and if so, why not bury the body? It all just seems so unnecessary and bizarre. I think about all the business and people they passed on that multi state trip that would’ve gladly ensured Melodee was safe, and all the opportunities Ashlee had to turn around or make a different choice. So unbelievably sad.

JMO

 

[iamshadow21]

I wonder what the purpose of the long drive was, or if there is one. We know Melodee was murdered and dumped in Utah on the return trip, but driving all the way to Kansas and Nebraska to begin with is still unusual to me. Was it supposed to be an added attempt at keeping people from locating Melodee’s remains, and if so, why not bury the body? It all just seems so unnecessary and bizarre. I think about all the business and people they passed on that multi state trip that would’ve gladly ensured Melodee was safe, and all the opportunities Ashlee had to turn around or make a different choice. So unbelievably sad.

JMO

She was relying on jurisdictional blindness forty years late. Back in the day you could drive a victim over state or county lines and there would be a very good chance they wouldn't be identified or linked back to you.

With cameras, data tracking, and DNA, she had no chance. Just the pings in her rental car would have given a route she drove there and back. We saw that in Gannon's case. Combined with her mobile phone data, and the cameras from everywhere she stopped, she might as well have made a vlog about her murder trip. And she is inextricably linked to Melodee's body through DNA.

MOO

 

[Gigglingtoes]

The latter makes sense to me in light of what she said to Tyler (she would rather Melodee be in a group home than be placed with either side of her family). State of mind.

She was obviously paranoid on the trip - backing into gas stations so her plate wouldn’t show, changing plates, disguises, ect. But why go so far away, we need to hear more about that aspect.

Melodee was a vulnerable child that fell through the cracks. Did the escalating actions from the school push her paranoia over the edge? Did she think the school was conspiring with others to take Melodee away and as you say, she was “saving” her?

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?…

 

[Gigglingtoes]

[

I’m not very knowledgeable on this subject. Are you saying someone who is in psychosis or is delusional, doesn’t plan, attempt to avoid detection, or show consciousness of guilt?

Very curious to see what kind of defense will be presented in light of her mental state at the time.

I just feel like she will say it wasn’t her that did it.

 

[Gigglingtoes]

I wonder what the purpose of the long drive was, or if there is one. We know Melodee was murdered and dumped in Utah on the return trip, but driving all the way to Kansas and Nebraska to begin with is still unusual to me. Was it supposed to be an added attempt at keeping people from locating Melodee’s remains, and if so, why not bury the body? It all just seems so unnecessary and bizarre. I think about all the business and people they passed on that multi state trip that would’ve gladly ensured Melodee was safe, and all the opportunities Ashlee had to turn around or make a different choice. So unbelievably sad.

JMO

Think she was making money doing things on those drives…

 

[AnyNameIWish]

Best perp walk ever! Kudos to LE

Glad LE didn't give her the luxury of hiding from the cameras... is this "mom" now walking with or without her wig? It's so odd she was allowed to wear one during her court appearances last month for the whole issue with her friend who accused her of false imprisonment. So so odd.