Melodee Buzzard’s adult half-sisters appeared in a Santa Maria courtroom Monday amid a dispute about who should make decisions regarding the 9-year-old’s remains before getting an agreement and a ruling that finally will bring the girl back home to the Central Coast.

On Monday morning, Corinna Meza, who shares the same father as Melodee, and Destynee Contreras, who shares the same mother as Melodee, sought a Santa Maria Superior Court judge’s ruling for the right to control disposition of the girl’s remains. 

Melodee’s and Contreras’ mom, Ashlee Buzzard, 40, of Vandenberg Village, has been charged with fatally shooting the Vandenberg Village girl and leaving her body in Utah in October.  

After months of mystery about Melodee’s whereabouts as investigators looked for the girl without Buzzard’s cooperation, the 9-year-old’s remains were located and detectives arrested the mother in late December.  Lompoc Valley educators first raised concerns about the girl’s well-being.

The case, especially because of the mother’s lack of cooperation, attracted national and international attention for weeks. The newest family dispute about her remains added another layer of tragedy surrounding Melodee’s short life.

Earlier this month, Meza filed for the legal right to handle the remains, with the matter’s first hearing held last week before Judge Jed Beebe. 

However, Melodee’s other half-sister objected, leading to a one-week delay and last-minute negotiations Monday morning to settle the issue. 

Ultimately, Beebe ruled on one of the final undecided matters, saying that Contreras should take the lead in getting Melodee’s remains from Utah to the Central Coast and communicating with funeral homes.

When Meza’s attorney asked why he chose Contreras, Beebe responded, “Well, it’s a little bit arbitrary,” adding that Melodee seemed to have a closer and longer-term relationship with the relatives on her mother’s side. 

Contreras, represented by Noelle Gaston from the Law Office of Christopher S. Biely, submitted 36 photos reportedly showing what her attorney called the “close bond” with Melodee.

“Ms. Contreras feels very strongly that she can honor decedent’s wishes, respectfully include both sides of the family and minimize media involvement to preserve decedent’s right to privacy this sensitive time,” Gaston wrote in the filing on behalf of Contreras.

Meza and Melodee have the same father, Rolando Rubiell Meza, who died at age 40 after a 2016 motorcycle crash in Santa Maria. 

Melodee was 6 months old when her father died. He reportedly was not listed on the birth certificate.

The Contreras filing noted that Melodee’s father never legally sought to establish paternity and that his family, including the half-sister, never petitioned for relative placement or visitation. 

Meza initially filed pro se (acting as her own attorney) with the paperwork served by legal documents assistant Tyler Brewer, who was part of the prior criminal case against Melodee’s mom.

Brewer was in court Monday morning sitting near Meza, who had attorney Blanca Mejia from Twitchell and Rice LLP by her side for the latest hearing.

Meza’s declaration said she tried to work with Contreras once their half-sister went missing.

“I respectably ask this court to award me the right to take custody of Melodee so that I can finally ensure she receives the dignity, love, care and respect in death that Destynee Contreras and Ashlee Buzzard failed to provide her in life,” Meza said in a declaration filed in support of her effort. 

Meza said she didn’t intend to exclude anyone who had been concerned about the girl’s well-being.

“I am seeking to ensure that Melodee is no longer abandoned, silenced or controlled, even in death. Melodee deserved safety in life. She deserves peace, dignity and love in death,” she said. “I am asking the court to allow me to give her that.”

Melodee’s sisters agreed to hold two services — a private church funeral followed by a private beach memorial, with the pact including no media, fundraising or publicity. 

The agreement also spells out that Contreras will get some ashes to create keepsakes, but the vast majority will be scattered in the ocean. The cremated remains will be available for the church funeral. 

The cremation reportedly will occur by a Central Coast funeral home although the judge pointed out that it would be more expensive for the remains to be sent to California, instead of ashes. However, the attorneys said costs were not a concern.

Last week, an attorney from the county Public Defender’s Office said Ashlee Buzzard did not oppose the disposition of remains. 

Buzzard next is scheduled to appear in court for the criminal case on Feb. 11, the day after what should have been her daughter’s 10th birthday.