The Vandenberg Village woman charged with the planned killing of her daughter last fall appeared before a judge and a packed courtroom in Lompoc on Wednesday.
It was Ashlee Buzzard’s second court appearance since her Dec. 23 arrest.
Buzzard wore a maroon shirt with white polka dots and was not in handcuffs. She did not make eye contact with members of the public, showed no visible emotion, and only spoke once, responding “yes” to the judge.
The 40-year-old is being held without bail in the Northern Branch Jail in Santa Maria on a charge of first-degree murder, a special allegation of discharge of a firearm causing death and a special circumstance of murder by lying in wait in connection with the Oct. 9 shooting death of her 9-year-old daughter, Melodee, in Utah.
Buzzard has pleaded not guilty.
In court on Wednesday, it was revealed that Buzzard’s preliminary hearing will not take place before April after she waived her 60-day right to a preliminary hearing.
Melodee’s paternal grandmother, Lily Dennes, was among those in the courtroom.
“I don’t know what’s going through her mind that she did what she did,” Dennes said. “But she could have gave us the baby.”
The courtroom was filled with family and community members, many wearing shirts with Melodee’s face as the case moved into its next legal phase.
Community members said their presence was meant to keep Melodee at the center of the proceedings.
“We’re hoping that [in Ashlee Buzzard's] peripheral that she’s seeing her daughter, that she’s seeing this, you know, beautiful little face,” said Elizabeth Alvarez.
Dennes also shared that she has been in conversation with Lori Miranda, Ashlee's mother, and says they've talked about the mutual pain they share.
"She sent me a message [saying] 'God help us,' she put in my message, and I said 'yes.' So I'm sure she's hurting the same as I am, but she's hurting for her daughter. I'm hurting for my grandbaby."
The defense is requesting that a permanent gag order be issued in the case, prohibiting law enforcement from discussing or disclosing details of the investigation publicly.
That, along with a motion regarding details from the warrants the defense would like to obtain, is expected to be heard during a hearing on Jan. 21.
Buzzard had a new public defender on Wednesday, which Santa Maria–based attorney Michael B. Clayton said is common in complex cases and noted the defense’s decision to waive Buzzard’s 60-day right to a speedy preliminary hearing allows more time to review evidence.
“The defense is probably doing everything they can to get evidence together to show that she didn’t do it and that’s why they’re needing the extra time,” said Clayton, who is not involved in the case.
He added that the request for a permanent gag order is aimed at protecting the jury pool.
“You’re tainting the jury pool by continuing to talk about the case to the press,” Clayton said.
He also explained the defense’s pursuit of a Hobbs motion, which seeks access to sealed search warrant materials.
“We want to unseal the search warrant because we want to find out who the confidential informant is,” Clayton said. “Who’s the one they’re relying on for the probable cause?That’s the Hobbs motion.”
Buzzard was the focus of a multi-state investigation after school administrators in Lompoc notified the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office of Melodee’s prolonged absence back in mid-October.
Authorities said Buzzard was uncooperative, providing no information as to her daughter’s whereabouts.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said it’s believed Buzzard shot Melodee in the head during a multi-state road trip and left her daughter’s body in a remote area of Wayne County, Utah.
Melodee’s remains were discovered in early December.
Clayton shared what he expects next in this case.
“Cases like this, the judge will want to see a preliminary hearing within six to eight months, no more than a year, and it takes a while to pull all the evidence together to be able to put on that preliminary hearing,” he said.
