Ashlee Buzzard pleads not guilty to murder

December 27, 2025

Melodee and Ashlee Buzzard

By KAREN VELIE

Ashlee Buzzard pleaded not guilty on Friday to the murder of her 9-year-old daughter Melodee Buzzard. She is charged with first degree murder with special enhancements of lying in wait and discharge of a firearm causing death.

For more than a month, Melodee was missing while her mother was unwilling to discuss what happened to her child. Investigators now believe Ashlee Buzzard shot her daughter in the head multiple times before leaving the child’s body in a remote area in Utah.

In the past, Child Protective Services removed Melodee from her mother and placed her with other relatives, family members said. However, the child was later reunified with the mother who then cut contact with the child’s deceased family members.

During Fridays hearing, prosecutors announced they would not pursue the death penalty.

In addition, the judge approved a request by Ashlee Buzzard’s defense attorney Adrian Galvan for a temporary gag. The order bars Santa Barbara County Sheriff”s Office employees from discussing or releasing evidence that is not yet public.