Courtroom gasps as Ashlee Buzzard pleads not guilty to murder of 9-year-old Melodee

This image made from surveillance footage captured at a rental car company Oct. 7 shows Melodee Buzzard, left, and Ashlee Buzzard in Lompoc. (Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

Ashlee Buzzard, the California mother accused of killing her 9-year-old daughter, Melodee Buzzard, pleaded not guilty Friday morning during a brief but emotional arraignment in Santa Barbara County Superior Court.

Buzzard, 40, appeared in custody for the hearing, where a judge formally arraigned her on charges of first-degree murder, “lying in wait” and related firearm charges in the death of her daughter, whose remains were discovered Dec. 6 in a remote area of Utah.

The courtroom erupted as Buzzard entered the not guilty plea on all counts, as people seated in the gallery cried “oh my god,” video of the hearing shows. A court officer briefly called for order before the proceeding continued.

Buzzard will remain held without bail pending further proceedings, according to the Santa Barbara County district attorney’s office. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 7.

Authorities allege that Buzzard fatally shot Melodee during a multistate road trip in October before returning alone to Santa Barbara County.

Investigators believe the killing occurred on or around Oct. 9, shortly after the pair were last seen together on surveillance video near the Utah-Colorado border.

Melodee had been reported missing weeks earlier after failing to return home from what investigators described as an “unusual” cross-country trip with her mother. According to sheriff’s officials, Buzzard rented a vehicle for the trip and took deliberate steps to avoid detection, including wearing wigs and clumsy disguises. Buzzard was also captured on surveillance swapping license plates and backing into gas stations so cameras would not capture identifying information, investigators allege.

On Dec. 6, a couple discovered Melodee’s decomposed body along a remote stretch of State Route 24 near Caineville, Utah.

Prosecutors alleged Buzzard carried out the murder with a high degree of “planning, sophistication, or professionalism.” A criminal complaint described the murder as thoroughly planned and “professional,” alleging Buzzard carried out the killing with a “high degree of cruelty, viciousness, or callousness.”

“This level of criminal activity is particularly shocking given the calculated, cold-blooded and criminally sophisticated premeditation and heartlessness that went into planning it,” Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said at a Tuesday news conference.

Ballistics evidence played a key role in the case, investigators said. Cartridge casings recovered near the Utah crime scene were matched through a federal database to an expended casing previously found during a search of Buzzard’s home in Vandenberg Village.

A live round of similar ammunition was also recovered from the rental car Buzzard used during the trip, according to law enforcement officials. DNA testing later confirmed a familial match between Buzzard and the remains found in Utah.

Buzzard was arrested at her Santa Barbara County residence Dec. 23.

Investigators relied on physical, digital and forensic evidence when cooperation from the suspect was not forthcoming. Authorities have not identified a motive and do not believe anyone else was involved.

Authorities were made aware of Melodee’s disappearance when her prolonged absence was first reported by a school administrator, triggering the initial welfare check that launched the investigation.

Investigators said Buzzard was “uncooperative” throughout the investigation and declined to provide a verifiable explanation for her daughter’s whereabouts when deputies first contacted her in October. Detectives later obtained search warrants for Buzzard’s home, a storage unit and the rental vehicle tied to the road trip.

Melodee’s disappearance drew widespread attention, with family members and community members organizing searches as authorities tracked the mother’s movements through California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska and Kansas.

“We were all hoping to find Melodee alive, as you undoubtedly were as well,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Patrick Grandy said at the Tuesday news conference. “Our collective hearts are broken as a result of this senseless outcome.”

Court records show Buzzard has faced financial instability in recent years, including a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing and multiple civil collections cases.

Prosecutors allege Buzzard’s intent to kill was formed in Santa Barbara County, which is why the case will be tried locally despite the killing occurring out of state, sheriff’s officials said.

Buzzard’s next court appearance is set for Jan. 7, when a judge will determine whether there is sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial.