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

[cherrymeg]

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?

Bipolar could maybe explain AB’s paranoia and maybe her treatment or music her child. She was driving around wearing a wig changing license plates. If she had killed her daughter in the home that could be a moment of insanity. She could plan and drive and rent a car she is sane enough to be held accountable for her actions. Jmo. This seemed planned her mental health might have played a role in why this happened or why she isolated her daughter from regular school and family. I feel like her appearance in court looks calculated. She is drying to look older than she is. She killed her kid and seemed pretty cold about it.

 

[cherrymeg]

Quite possibly. Or was she waiting for the perfect quiet location and no one else around? I don't think we will ever really know truth but it's very obvious a lot of planning went into it.

She planned this but how did she see it ending. Was she planning on leaving the country or state or trying to disappear? Eventually you hope someone would ask where her daughter was.

 

[Spectrix]

If you cross state lines with your child is that a crime.

What crime would that be, exactly? There must be an awful lot of criminals who happen to live near state borders

I was wondering if this would be an FBI case. If there was planning in one state and murder in another, also she was a kid that was reported missing. I was hoping she wasn’t dead and her mom was just hiding her somewhere.

The California Sheriffs Dept seems to think that it's appropriate for California State to handle the case as they allege that the crime was premeditated there. There may be some misdemeanours in Utah, Nebraska or Colorado if Ashlee was swapping licence plates but it's next to meaningless if she is going to be put into jail for life without parole anyway.

-

 

[Eli9]

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

I think the motive is what @Izzylizzy pointed out

We don't know what Melodee could have told CPS about her mother and her home life.

Exactly. I think Melodee would have a lot to say about her mother and her home life.

And I think the motive is the shame Ashlee would experience. Simple shame and embarrassment.

Whether we like it or not judgement from others can help keep us from making stupid decisions. Ashlee didn't have those people in her life. She shielded herself from everyone. Except possibly those she may have been making money from.

I think Ashlee had secrets she didn't want exposed.

JMO. MOO

 

[sasha17]

Vinelink page for Ashlee: https://vinelink.vineapps.com/person-detail/offender/52231435

 

[Stunned]

I think the motive is what @Izzylizzy pointed out

Exactly. I think Melodee would have a lot to say about her mother and her home life.

And I think the motive is the shame Ashlee would experience. Simple shame and embarrassment.

Whether we like it or not judgement from others can help keep us from making stupid decisions. Ashlee didn't have those people in her life. She shielded herself from everyone. Except possibly those she may have been making money from.

I think Ashlee had secrets she didn't want exposed.

JMO. MOO

I don't she's capable of feeling shame or embarrassment. IMO

 

[Ontario Mom]

I don't she's capable of feeling shame or embarrassment. IMO

I have to agree that someone that can do what she did to her own child, and not just do it, but plan it out over time and then act on it, would seem to be incapable of thinking like a normal person that might feel shame. I can't get my head around what she did to that poor little girl. To me, she's the literal definition of a monster.

jmo

 

[HollyHunter9]

She planned this but how did she see it ending. Was she planning on leaving the country or state or trying to disappear? Eventually you hope someone would ask where her daughter was.

I think she kept melodee cut off from so much... family, school, friends that she probably hoped no one would come looking or asking. She also may have been planning to move and didn't get a chance to follow through with that part of the plan yet. Although there is clearly a lot of planning, some aspects are a bit slap dash...like the wigs. She's clearly trying to disguise them both but if anything it draws more attention because the wigs look really obvious, especially AB one (to me anyway).

 

[Stunned]

I think she kept melodee cut off from so much... family, school, friends that she probably hoped no one would come looking or asking. She also may have been planning to move and didn't get a chance to follow through with that part of the plan yet. Although there is clearly a lot of planning, some aspects are a bit slap dash...like the wigs. She's clearly trying to disguise them both but if anything it draws more attention because the wigs look really obvious, especially AB one (to me anyway).

I think she didn't understand that just because Melodee was so unimportant to her that didn't mean she wasn't unimportant to others.

 

[HollyHunter9]

I think she didn't understand that just because Melodee was so unimportant to her that didn't mean she wasn't unimportant to others.

Yes, you're right! You can see in the car rental video her distain towards melodee. She's not warm towards her at all.

 

[sunspun]

It looks like the kind of a place where you turn off the highway to "stretch your legs" or "let the dogs out for a bit". My first thought is that someone just turned out there for a quick stop and found her resting site accidentally.

I'm days behind after the holiday, but awful news. Sad to hear. Was she even buried at all?

 

[Knox]

In an interview with NBC affiliate KSBY outside court on Friday, Meza said he and his wife had custody of Melodee in 2020. He said he was unsure why Ashlee Buzzard, the girl’s mother, lost custody of her daughter. Eventually, she gained weekend custody of the child until she regained full custody of her, he said.

Meza and his family hadn’t seen Melodee in five years and that he didn’t know Ashlee very well.

“I didn’t have much contact with her,” Meza said. “I saw her a couple of times, just a hello here and there. I never really talked to her, so I personally can’t say I know anything about that lady other than my brother dated her and she had a child with my brother."

NBCLA has not verified details of Meza's custody claims.

‘Despicable.' Melodee Buzzard's relatives share thoughts on mother's not guilty plea

Relatives of the Lompoc girl whose mother was arrested on suspicion of her shooting death say they’re in disbelief after the woman pleaded not guilty to murder.

www.nbclosangeles.com

So MM tells the story a little differently than I heard preiously. He says the State gave custody of Melodee back to Ashlee. I can't remember if it was LD, the half sister, or the Aunt, who said Ashlee picked Melodee up from school one day and left the area?

I was also thinking about why the DA came out so quickly with the announcement they wouldn't be seeking the death penalty.
LWOP, is a less complex/costly legal path, we know that. But are there other reasons? Wish I could be a fly on the wall in the meeting to determine jurisdiction. Wonder when that announcement will be made?

 

[katydid23]

All very good questions.
Like how did she afford the rentals, plus insurance, plus fuel to drive 3600 miles in the first place?
It had to be a credit card, possibly several.


There are so many things that don't make sense to me. I mean I'm looking at a map of Santa Barbara County and just about all of it looks like wilderness - the main difference is its densely forested (arguably better to hide a body undetected) and she wouldn't have to drive 3600 miles to get there

I think in her measly withered brain, she thought that if the remains were left a couple states away, no one could ever connect the dots. Thus all the crazy subterfuge with disguises and fake license plates and back roads in remote areas.

Meanwhile LE knew everywhere she went and had videos and timelines, etc.

 

[katydid23]

We don't know what Melodee could have told CPS about her mother and her home life.

Also, IIRC, some of Melodee's family said she was very anxious and angry about the possibility of the paternal family or even her family, ever having custody or visitation with Melodee.

I think it was maybe petty jealousy?

 

[Ruminations]

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.

It seems to me that both Utah and California are able to file murder charges based on the locations where intent was allegedly formed and based on where the body was found. The jurisdictions probably discussed this and made a plan. I speculate that the fact that California authorities had already done the bulk of the investigating made them to seem the better charging jurisdiction because the investigators themselves would become likely witnesses at any future trial. Utah wouldn't want to have to help witnesses travel to Utah, and California would not want to be without their valued investigators.

It sounds like Utah insisted on some part of this crime to go uncharged in California, because I recall some statement along 5he lines of charges being possible in Utah. This way, if Utah is not satisfied that California sought justice, they still could.

I don't have reason to oppose either jurisdiction handling this. I'm not a proponent at all of the death penalty.


(but if I were, I frankly think odds of execution are higher in California than in Utah. Utah doesn't really walk the walk on capital punishment (fine with me, but distressing to others).)


MOO

Correction/Edit
The italicized text was my incorrect perception


Correcting myself: Utah has executed .228 per 100k of its population, as compared to CA, which has executed .033.

State Execution Rates (through 2024) | Death Penalty Information Center

*Per Capita* State Execution Rates----------------------------------\*Death penalty abolished.Population based on 2024 US Census Estimate...

deathpenaltyinfo.org

 

[Ruminations]

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

Maybe she planned to pick them both/all up but missed one/some.

MOO

 

[Gigglingtoes]

In an interview with NBC affiliate KSBY outside court on Friday, Meza said he and his wife had custody of Melodee in 2020. He said he was unsure why Ashlee Buzzard, the girl’s mother, lost custody of her daughter. Eventually, she gained weekend custody of the child until she regained full custody of her, he said.

Meza and his family hadn’t seen Melodee in five years and that he didn’t know Ashlee very well.

“I didn’t have much contact with her,” Meza said. “I saw her a couple of times, just a hello here and there. I never really talked to her, so I personally can’t say I know anything about that lady other than my brother dated her and she had a child with my brother."

NBCLA has not verified details of Meza's custody claims.

‘Despicable.' Melodee Buzzard's relatives share thoughts on mother's not guilty plea

Relatives of the Lompoc girl whose mother was arrested on suspicion of her shooting death say they’re in disbelief after the woman pleaded not guilty to murder.

www.nbclosangeles.com

So MM tells the story a little differently than I heard preiously. He says the State gave custody of Melodee back to Ashlee. I can't remember if it was LD, the half sister, or the Aunt, who said Ashlee picked Melodee up from school one day and left the area?

I was also thinking about why the DA came out so quickly with the announcement they wouldn't be seeking the death penalty.
LWOP, is a less complex/costly legal path, we know that. But are there other reasons? Wish I could be a fly on the wall in the meeting to determine jurisdiction. Wonder when that announcement will be made?

She should get the death penalty but in reality, we know California wouldn’t actually do it. She’d sit on death row forever.

 

[Gigglingtoes]

Maybe she planned to pick them both/all up but missed one/some.

MOO

I believe she lost one in the seats or something in the car. A lot of adrenaline probably and not a professional.

 

[Gigglingtoes]

And the one in her storage or house is just creepy.

 

[Gigglingtoes]

I also think it sounds weird as heck that they didn’t see Melodee for a long time for Ashlee would ask Lily /Melodees grandma for money. I would like to know more about that situation. Did she ask to see Melodee in return for the money? Did she say no? Did she say why she needed money? Why did she feel comfortable to ask her deceased ex boyfriends/father of her kids mom she doesn’t have contact with for money?