ET]Ashlee Buzzard, the California mother charged with the shooting death of her 9-year-old daughter, Melodee Buzzard, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in a Santa Barbara County court Friday. Melodee’s mother, Ashlee Buzzard, was arrested Tuesday and charged with first-degree murder in her daughter’s killing, which a criminal complaint said was carried out with exceptional “cruelty” and “viciousness.” She is scheduled to appear in court Friday morning. Here’s how investigators say they finally pieced together DNA, ballistics and a multi-state web of leads to connect Melodee’s mother to her killing. Officers arrived at the Buzzard family home on October 14 but only found Ashlee Buzzard, who had “no verifiable explanation for Melodee’s whereabouts,” the sheriff’s office said. “We have recovered a significant amount of evidence that clearly indicates that this heinous crime was committed by Ashlee Buzzard,” Brown announced after Buzzard’s Tuesday arrest.

Source: CNN December 27, 2025 10:42 UTC