A California woman has been charged with murder after the remains of her missing 9-year-old daughter were found in Utah, authorities said Tuesday.
Ashlee Buzzard, 40, was arrested after bullet cartridges found near her daughter’s body were linked to a used cartridge case found in her home, said Santa Barbara County’s Sheriff-Coroner Bill Brown. Authorities found 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard’s body Dec. 6 in a rural area of Utah after a man and woman taking photos off of East State Route 24 reported they had discovered remains.
Officers could not immediately identify her but concluded she died from gunshot wounds to the head, Brown said. The FBI’s DNA analysis of the body found a familial DNA match to Buzzard.
Detectives also found similar ammunition in a car Buzzard had rented, authorities said.
A school administrator reported the child’s prolonged absence Oct. 14. Deputies went to the family’s residence in Lompoc, but Buzzard would not say where her daughter was.
