The mother of missing 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard has been charged with murder in connection with the shooting death of her daughter.
Ashlee L. Buzzard, 40, of Lompoc, California, was arrested Tuesday, Dec. 23, at her home and is being held without bail in the Santa Barbara County Jail on the charge of first-degree murder, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said during a news conference.
Investigators recovered Melodee's body on Dec. 6 in a remote area of Utah near Caineville in Wayne County. Authorities said she died from multiple gunshot wounds to the head. A couple taking photos on the scenic Utah State Route 24 had spotted the body and notified the Wayne County Sheriff's Department.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms on Dec. 17 matched cartridge cases found at the Utah crime scene to a single cartridge found at Buzzard's home, Brown said. The FBI crime lab determined the remains were a familial DNA match to Ashlee Buzzard on Dec. 22.
Before the arrest, officers had Buzzard under around-the-clock surveillance, Brown said.
