Accused California child killer Ashlee Buzzard appeared in court Tuesday, where her defense attorney requested a permanent gag order in the case.
According to the Lompoc Record, Buzzard, accused of killing her 9-year-old daughter, Melodee Buzzard, appeared at the Santa Barbara Superior Court for a brief hearing. Judge Stephen Dunkle kept a temporary gag order in place against Santa Barbara County Sheriffs.
Public defender Erica Sutherland stated that she will file a Hobbs motion, which is related to sealed warrants. Sutherland then requested a two-week continuance to get the motion filed.
Deputy District Attorney Jordan Lockey declined to object to the continuance.
Buzzard, who sat alongside Sutherland, showed “no visible emotion” during the hearing, KSBY News reports. She spoke briefly to say, “yes” to Judge Dunkle and didn’t make eye contact with the public, who packed the courtroom.
As CrimeOnline reported, Buzzard pleaded not guilty last month, in connection with Melodee’s death.
A man and woman who had been taking pictures found Melodee’s remains in Wayne County, Utah, near East State Route 24, on December 6. The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office then notified the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities said it appeared as if Melodee had been deceased for months, and had likely been killed on October 9.
Santa Barbara Sheriff Bill Brown said during a December press conference that the body had been found with “gunshot wounds to the head.”
UPDATE: Missing Melodee Buzzard’s Body Found in Utah, Death Details Revealed
Police arrested Buzzard at her Vandenberg Village home on December 23, after prying open the front door at her home.
Investigators found an expended cartridge case inside Buzzard’s home during an October 30 search. They also found “a live round of similar ammunition” inside a vehicle she had rented.
She’s faces charges that include:
- First-degree murder
- Discharge of a firearm causing death
- Special circumstance of murder by lying in wait
Judge Dunkle said the defense’s request for a permanent gag order would be revisited during a future court hearing.
“I don’t know what’s going through her mind that she did what she did,” Melodee’s paternal grandmother, Lily Dennes, who attending the hearing, told reporters. “But she could have gave us the baby.”
Buzzard, who remains behind bars without bail at Northern Branch Jail in Santa Maria, is scheduled for her next court hearing on January 21.
A preliminary hearing will not take place until after April.
Check back for updates.
Read additional coverage on Melodee Buzzard
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[Feature Photo via Santa Barbara County police]
