Amid groans and gasps in the Santa Maria courtroom, Ashlee Buzzard entered a not-guilty plea on Friday to a murder charge stemming from the death of her 9-year-old daughter, Melodee.
Buzzard, 40, appeared before Superior Court Judge John McGregor for the arraignment hearing after being arrested Tuesday at her Vandenberg Village home.
Authorities announced earlier this week that DNA tests had confirmed the body of a female with gunshot wounds to the head found in Utah on Dec. 6 had been identified as Melodee.
The girl’s whereabouts had been the focus of intense concern by law enforcement officers and the broader community since mid-October.
Throughout the investigation, officials described Buzzard as uncooperative.
She has been charged with first-degree murder plus a special circumstance for lying in wait, and a special allegation for use of a firearm.
Along with the not-guilty plea, she denied the sentencing enhancements.
A not-guilty plea is standard in virtually every criminal court case under the judicial system, in which defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty through trial or a plea agreement.
During the hearing, Senior Deputy District Attorney Jordan Lockey announced that prosecutors had elected not to pursue the death penalty against Buzzard.
That means Buzzard, if convicted, would be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Buzzard remained mostly expressionless during the hearing, answering, “Yes, your honor” when the judge asked if she waived her right to a speedy trial.
The judge also granted a motion from Buzzard’s attorney, Adrian Galvan, for a temporary gag order on Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown and other employees of the Sheriff’s Office.
In the first and only press conference since the girl went missing and was found dead, Brown used what the defense attorney dubbed “conclusory assertions of guilt, inflammatory moral judgements and commentary” on evidence, mental state and demeanor.”
Galvan filed a motion Wednesday asking the judge to limit and prohibit any extrajudicial statements by the sheriff and SBSO personnel about Buzzard’s “guilt, character, alleged motives, mental state or the strength of the evidence in this pending case.”
“This motion is brought pursuant to the due process clauses of the United States and California constitutions, the constitutional right to a fair trial by an impartial jury, and this court’s inherent authority to supervisor criminal proceedings and protect the integrity of the judicial process,” Galvan’s motion said.
Gag orders are often issued in cases that attract a significant amount of media coverage. Reports about the mystery about Melodee’s whereabouts and her killing have appeared in news outlets across country and even internationally.
Violations of the court order could lead to a contempt of court allegation, the judge said.
The case will return to Superior Court in Lompoc before Judge Stephen Dunkle on Jan. 7, when he and the attorneys may set a date for the preliminary hearing.
However, complex homicide cases like this one can faces multiple delays, with the preliminary hearing often not taking place for months, and a trial occurring years after the initial arrest.
The judge also ordered Buzzard to continue to be held without bail in the Santa Barbara County Jail.
Outside of court, Melodee’s paternal grandmother, Lilly Denes, became emotional, and said the motive for the killing remains unknown to her and others.
“I’m a mother. I’m a grandma,” she said. “How can you do this to a baby?”
Her son — Melodee’s father, Rolando Rubiell Meza, 40 — died in a motorcycle crash in Santa Maria in 2016, six months after the girl’s birth.
Denes also said the family has not launched any GoFundMe campaigns, saying any that exist are “fake” and do not involve the family.
Funeral services for Melodee are pending while the family awaits the release of her body, Denes said.