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

[Knox]

I am not in any way defending this evil, evil act.

But as a mental health professional specialising in psychosis, this is simply not correct, and misinformation could potentially harm other vulnerable people.

People in psychosis often appear very confident and organised. When you talk to them there are usually signs (disorganised speech, for example) but sometimes it's impossible to tell if someone is in a state of psychosis unless you ask about whatever the specific delusion is. The stereotype of psychotics being visibly chaotic and disturbed is sometimes true, but generally only at extremes. Patients who are in a state of acute psychosis can appear extremely focused and to have clarity of purpose, and can come up with and execute complex plans, because all of their focus is 100% single-mindedly set on achieving whatever task they feel compelled to by their delusion. (Talk to anyone who's ever worked in a psychiatric hospital, patients with psychosis are infamous for being "sneaky", and also for appearing to be very lucid and sane, until they say something which reveals that they are not.)

I shared a personal story before of a loved one who became psychotic, her specific delusion was that she was convinced that she was being watched at all times by some shadowy authority. She managed to come up with and carry out a very intelligent and complex plan that involved travelling quite some distance in a way that avoided all CCTV cameras. Purely out of the delusion that this shadow person was watching her in real time, hopping between different CCTV cameras to do so.

Most people who are in psychosis utterly reject the idea that they are in psychosis, because one of the problems with psychosis is that psychotic people feel extremely lucid. The whole point about psychosis is that you're convinced that your specific delusion is 100% real, and that delusion is the most important thing in your life.


But I don't think she is in a state of psychosis, simply because someone in psychosis would tell everyone, "yes I got rid of the demon possessing my little girl's body, isn't that wonderful?" or something similar. She wouldn't have awareness that what she'd done was wrong (which A clearly does, as she stonewalled and refused to cooperate with police), and she wouldn't have enough awareness of being mentally ill to plead insanity.

Thank you for the information, much appreciated.

Ashlee's Mom stated she is bipolar. Do you have an opinion as to whether that could relate to her choice to murder Melodee?

 

[Twick]

Sweet Jes


Sweet Jesus and His Mother, when did Ashlee turn into elderly woman? If I did not know her age I'd think she's in her sixties Is she addicted to something...?

I think it’s the hair, which seems both curled like they did in the 1960s and colored so it looks like badly dyed white hair. Perhaps she keeps it like that since she wears wigs?

 

[SusieQbeam]

"committing the murder by means of lying in wait"
Pure evil. Poor little angel. The very person Melodee was supposed to be able to trust to protect her from harm is the one who selfishly, deliberately and elaborately planned her death. All the evasive actions (disguises, switched plates, backing into gas stations, stonewalling the police) tell me that AB knew that what she was doing was terribly wrong. AB thought that she was shrewd, but LE has enough evidence to prove otherwise. She coldly, intentionally and consciously ended her own daughter's life.
Her behavior was despicable and inherently wicked. She certainly deserves her due!! Justice for Melodee. Sending prayers for the family and friends of this beautiful child. RIP Melodee MOO

 

[OneLove]

I am not in any way defending this evil, evil act.

But as a mental health professional specialising in psychosis, this is simply not correct, and misinformation could potentially harm other vulnerable people.

People in psychosis often appear very confident and organised. When you talk to them there are usually signs (disorganised speech, for example) but sometimes it's impossible to tell if someone is in a state of psychosis unless you ask about whatever the specific delusion is. The stereotype of psychotics being visibly chaotic and disturbed is sometimes true, but generally only at extremes. Patients who are in a state of acute psychosis can appear extremely focused and to have clarity of purpose, and can come up with and execute complex plans, because all of their focus is 100% single-mindedly set on achieving whatever task they feel compelled to by their delusion. (Talk to anyone who's ever worked in a psychiatric hospital, patients with psychosis are infamous for being "sneaky", and also for appearing to be very lucid and sane, until they say something which reveals that they are not.)

I shared a personal story before of a loved one who became psychotic, her specific delusion was that she was convinced that she was being watched at all times by some shadowy authority. She managed to come up with and carry out a very intelligent and complex plan that involved travelling quite some distance in a way that avoided all CCTV cameras. Purely out of the delusion that this shadow person was watching her in real time, hopping between different CCTV cameras to do so.

Most people who are in psychosis utterly reject the idea that they are in psychosis, because one of the problems with psychosis is that psychotic people feel extremely lucid. The whole point about psychosis is that you're convinced that your specific delusion is 100% real, and that delusion is the most important thing in your life.


But I don't think she is in a state of psychosis, simply because someone in psychosis would tell everyone, "yes I got rid of the demon possessing my little girl's body, isn't that wonderful?" or something similar. She wouldn't have awareness that what she'd done was wrong (which A clearly does, as she stonewalled and refused to cooperate with police), and she wouldn't have enough awareness of being mentally ill to plead insanity.

Thank you for this educational and enlightening post. The person I knew that twice nearly ended the life of her infant in my presence was bipolar with schizo-affective disorder and experiencing psychosis often in the months after giving birth.

She "learned" how to tell whether her delusions and hallucinations were real or not by judging other people's reactions to her statements. Once she screamed in horror that her freshly pumped breast milk was blood then recognized by the look on my face that it must be psychosis and quickly retreated with a feeble "just kidding" followup. She also heard voices telling her to do horrible things. It was quite disabling and took hospitalization, treatment, medications, and counseling to stabilize.

That said, I do believe Melodee's mother knew what she was doing when she did it and knew it was wrong, psychosis or not. Because she had not been amenable to treatment or oversight of any kind, she could never be trusted in society again and life in prison seems appropriate.

 

[LetsSolvIt]

A spent bullet casing was found inside the home, and a similar round of live ammunition was found in the car, the sheriff said.
…
Cartridge cases found at the scene were flagged in the NIBIN database as linked to the single cartridge that was found at Buzzard’s home, the sheriff said. Prosecutors later wrote that Buzzard allegedly killed Melodee using a 9mm gun.
…
the “ruthlessness” of the killing and the degree of alleged premeditation are difficult to understand.

“This level of criminal activity is particularly shocking given the calculated, cold-blooded and criminally sophisticated premeditation and heartlessness that went into planning it

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/12/26/us/melodee-ashlee-buzzard-investigation

Interesting/weird that a spent bullet casing was found in AB home. What? Did she bring one home from murder scene as a souvenir?

 

[Spectrix]

Is that what the motive is (CPS)?

Involvement (or fear of involvement) with CPS coupled with a desire to keep Melodee away from other family members is a possible theory on motive.
Having said that, it's important to understand that Ashlee is known to be both secretive and dishonest, so we may never truely know why she did what she did.

 

[HollyHunter9]

I am not in any way defending this evil, evil act.

But as a mental health professional specialising in psychosis, this is simply not correct, and misinformation could potentially harm other vulnerable people.

People in psychosis often appear very confident and organised. When you talk to them there are usually signs (disorganised speech, for example) but sometimes it's impossible to tell if someone is in a state of psychosis unless you ask about whatever the specific delusion is. The stereotype of psychotics being visibly chaotic and disturbed is sometimes true, but generally only at extremes. Patients who are in a state of acute psychosis can appear extremely focused and to have clarity of purpose, and can come up with and execute complex plans, because all of their focus is 100% single-mindedly set on achieving whatever task they feel compelled to by their delusion. (Talk to anyone who's ever worked in a psychiatric hospital, patients with psychosis are infamous for being "sneaky", and also for appearing to be very lucid and sane, until they say something which reveals that they are not.)

I shared a personal story before of a loved one who became psychotic, her specific delusion was that she was convinced that she was being watched at all times by some shadowy authority. She managed to come up with and carry out a very intelligent and complex plan that involved travelling quite some distance in a way that avoided all CCTV cameras. Purely out of the delusion that this shadow person was watching her in real time, hopping between different CCTV cameras to do so.

Most people who are in psychosis utterly reject the idea that they are in psychosis, because one of the problems with psychosis is that psychotic people feel extremely lucid. The whole point about psychosis is that you're convinced that your specific delusion is 100% real, and that delusion is the most important thing in your life.


But I don't think she is in a state of psychosis, simply because someone in psychosis would tell everyone, "yes I got rid of the demon possessing my little girl's body, isn't that wonderful?" or something similar. She wouldn't have awareness that what she'd done was wrong (which A clearly does, as she stonewalled and refused to cooperate with police), and she wouldn't have enough awareness of being mentally ill to plead insanity.

Thankyou for your insight into MH / psychosis. Perhaps I worded it incorrectly and psychosis was not the correct terminology but rather mental health issues. (I'm thinking of what she might try to use as defence when it comes to trial) But how much she planned to not get caught...the wigs, switching license plates, not talking to police shows a level of awareness that she knew what she was doing was wrong and did not want to get caught.

 

[HollyHunter9]

Is that what the motive is (CPS)?

IMO - I think she didn't want melodee to be removed and put in care of other family members. Partly because it's likely more info might come out about how they had been living (possible abuse/neglect) and I also think she enjoyed the control she had over melodee and also by using melodee as a weapon to hurt family members who wanted to see melodee and be involved in her life.

 

[iamshadow21]

I wish they would have got a picture looking straight on, I wanted to see her eyes.

@Insightful1 - did she exhibit any emotion at all in the courtroom today? What was her demeanor? Also, what's the blue thing on her wrist?

View attachment 633136

The wristband would be an identification bracelet for the jail.

 

[Breezyflavor]

I am not in any way defending this evil, evil act.

But as a mental health professional specialising in psychosis, this is simply not correct, and misinformation could potentially harm other vulnerable people.

People in psychosis often appear very confident and organised. When you talk to them there are usually signs (disorganised speech, for example) but sometimes it's impossible to tell if someone is in a state of psychosis unless you ask about whatever the specific delusion is. The stereotype of psychotics being visibly chaotic and disturbed is sometimes true, but generally only at extremes. Patients who are in a state of acute psychosis can appear extremely focused and to have clarity of purpose, and can come up with and execute complex plans, because all of their focus is 100% single-mindedly set on achieving whatever task they feel compelled to by their delusion. (Talk to anyone who's ever worked in a psychiatric hospital, patients with psychosis are infamous for being "sneaky", and also for appearing to be very lucid and sane, until they say something which reveals that they are not.)

I shared a personal story before of a loved one who became psychotic, her specific delusion was that she was convinced that she was being watched at all times by some shadowy authority. She managed to come up with and carry out a very intelligent and complex plan that involved travelling quite some distance in a way that avoided all CCTV cameras. Purely out of the delusion that this shadow person was watching her in real time, hopping between different CCTV cameras to do so.

Most people who are in psychosis utterly reject the idea that they are in psychosis, because one of the problems with psychosis is that psychotic people feel extremely lucid. The whole point about psychosis is that you're convinced that your specific delusion is 100% real, and that delusion is the most important thing in your life.


But I don't think she is in a state of psychosis, simply because someone in psychosis would tell everyone, "yes I got rid of the demon possessing my little girl's body, isn't that wonderful?" or something similar. She wouldn't have awareness that what she'd done was wrong (which A clearly does, as she stonewalled and refused to cooperate with police), and she wouldn't have enough awareness of being mentally ill to plead insanity.

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[Izzylizzy]

Ashlee Buzzard pleads not guilty to murder of daughter; DA's office won't seek death penalty

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 on Friday.

www.ksby.com

Ashlee Buzzard has pleaded not guilty to the October murder of her daughter, Melodee Buzzard, in Utah.

*****
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.

*****
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 a temporary gag order request by the defense that prohibits Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown and his employees from speaking on the case and releasing evidence and documents related to it that are not already public.

That motion is expected to be heard in Lompoc on Jan. 7.

*****
View attachment 633096

@0:50 when hearing the judge say "felony 1st degree murder" AB the cold- hearted woman void of showing any emotions actually had an reaction, she closed her eyes.

 

[Spectrix]

Is that what the motive is (CPS)?

IMO - I think she didn't want melodee to be removed and put in care of other family members. Partly because it's likely more info might come out about how they had been living (possible abuse/neglect) and I also think she enjoyed the control she had over melodee and also by using melodee as a weapon to hurt family members who wanted to see melodee and be involved in her life.

The more I think about possible motive, the more questions I have.
It has been reported that Ashlee was in significant debt, and that she was living off welfare income for herself and for Melodee. So it stands to reason that she'd want to keep hold of Melodee even if only for extra financial support.

Melodee was likely killed on the 9th October, and just 5 days later (14th October), Melodee's school district contacted police to report truancy and request a welfare check.
But the timing of that was really just by chance, because by that time, Melodee had not been seen in at least 12 months. The school district only contact police as a last resort, and in the lead up to this, there would have been a string of emails, phone calls and posted letters which Ashlee ignored.

"Parents are not required to report to their school district. However, public school districts are required to verify a child’s exemption from compulsory education by verifying that the private school affidavit filing requirements have been met." (source: - California Education)

Although the sheriff's office said Melodee is homeschooled, 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.
"Per state law, the CDE does not assess or physically inspect private or homeschools," the spokesperson said. "Filing an annual affidavit is the only thing that is required." (source: ABC News)

So sure, perhaps Ashlee did fear the eventual involvement of CPS, but all she had to do to avoid that was sign a single form.
Instead of that, she decided to take Melodee on this elaborate road trip to the desert in the middle of nowhere, and murder her

 

[minazoe]

okay so , the "lying in wait" charges point to the entire period of time that was spent driving around looking for the right location, all the while knowing the inevitable outcome? or do you think it is something else? maybe I need to reread everything..I have holiday burn out to the maximum.

 

[Jo in Calif]

What Is "Lying in Wait"?​

In legal terms, "lying in wait" refers to a situation where an individual intentionally hides or waits for an opportunity to ambush their victim with the intention of causing death.


This premeditated action demonstrates a high level of malice and intent, which can significantly impact the severity of the charges and potential penalties in a murder case.


The term “concealment of purpose” is frequently used in lying in wait cases. As noted, prosecutors must prove different elements to convict someone of lying in wait murder.


One is that the defendant concealed their purpose, which can be proven by showing the perpetrator concealed their purpose of committing the murder and did so from the victim. Notably, a perpetrator can conceal their purpose even if the person killed was aware of their presence.

Lying in Wait Murder in California | Eisner Gorin LLP

Review a lying in wait murder in California, which is a PC 189 first-degree murder when someone waits for their victim and kills them in an ambush-style attack.

www.egattorneys.com

 

[Spectrix]

okay so , the "lying in wait" charges point to the entire period of time that was spent driving around looking for the right location, all the while knowing the inevitable outcome? or do you think it is something else? maybe I need to reread everything..I have holiday burn out to the maximum.

Yes. It's particularly damning in this case because it was a multi day road trip, long hours spent together with her daughter, but also long hours alone with one's thoughts (so plenty of opportunity to reconsider and do the right thing).

Planning and executing this murder involved a significant betrayal of trust by the mother.
This poster summed it up really well:

One thing that stands out for me is during one of the gas station stops AB went inside and seemed concerned about some kittens outside...erm where is the concern for melodee?? ...she rented a car, changed plates, backed into gas stations to avoid cameras, wore wigs, made melodee wear wigs and her demeanor in the car rental video was very calm and determined. It breaks my heart to think poor melodee is there, going along with her mums wishes, compliant, obedient, wearing a wig that her mum has asked her wear and going on a trip her mum wants her to go on...no idea the reason for all of it is that her own mother wants to end her life. To excute her.

 

[bajaflash]

Interesting/weird that a spent bullet casing was found in AB home. What? Did she bring one home from murder scene as a souvenir?

Honestly spent casings can end up everywhere. Clinging to clothes and later dropped.

 

[TMich6811]

I’m curious a to what evidence will come out that supports lying in wait vs an in the moment decision

Eta - I know about the plates and parking etc but that still doesn’t necessarily say she was waiting to kill her child to me and had it planned.

I do think she did. I’m just curious as to what they have to further support it