Child Homicide and Missing Children

Ashlee Buzzard, 40, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder after authorities recovered the body of her 9-year-old daughter Melodee in a rural area of Wayne County, Utah, and formally charged her; her trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 7, 2026. Investigators say surveillance shows Buzzard and Melodee wearing wigs while traveling in a rented 2024 white Chevrolet Malibu across multiple states, and have a familial DNA match to the remains and ballistics linking cartridges near the Utah scene to a used cartridge case from Buzzard’s California home, though the murder weapon has not been recovered and the investigation remains active.