A Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge in Lompoc on Wednesday set a new date for considering a defense motion to compel the prosecution team to turn over additional evidence in the case against Ashlee Buzzard, a Vandenberg Village mother charged with killing her daughter.

Also on Wednesday, Judge Stephen Dunkle confirmed the case will remain in Lompoc when he is reassigned to a Santa Maria courtroom amid a larger shuffling of judicial assignments.

Buzzard was arrested in December after the remains of her daughter, Melody Buzzard, were found in Utah after weeks of efforts to locate the girl while the mother remained uncooperative. 

Defense attorney Erica Sutherland filed a motion to compel discovery, confirming she had received another disk of information last week plus another one Tuesday with voluminous material. 

After forwarding the evidence she received last week to the defense forensic experts, they replied with a lengthy list of missing items. 

After getting more discovery turned over Tuesday, Sutherland said she had not had time to tally what items might be lacking for the defense experts to complete their analysis. 

Sutherland said she specifically sought details about how the law enforcement forensic experts had reached their opinions.

Arguing against a need for the motion, Senior Deputy District Attorney Jordan Lockey contended she is providing discovery to the defense, including producing items beyond the obligations. 

As of early April, she had provided 16 disks with more than 150 agency reports, photos, videos, lab reports and warrants plus external hard drives with multiple electronic downloads, the prosecuting attorney said in a reply to the defense motion.

The judge told the attorneys to provide a list of the evidence that has, and has not, been  turned over, setting a hearing for 1:30 p.m. May 7 on the motion to compel. 

That’s one of two motions from the defense, with the second seeking to quash at least one warrant used to obtain some evidence during the investigation. 

The hearing on that motion is set to be considered at 1:30 p.m. May 6 in front of Santa Maria Judge Denise Hippach, who authorized the warrant. 

A date for the preliminary hearing remains elusive. 

On Tuesday, Buzzard waived time for a speedy trial through July.

Answering a question from the defense, Dunkle confirmed the case will remain in Lompoc when he relocates to a Santa Maria courtroom in early June. Veteran criminal court Judge Gustavo Lavayen will assume the bench in Lompoc among several North County judicial assignment switches. 

Buzzard, who has missed several hearings, remains in the custody of the Santa Barbara County Jail, where she is being held without bail.