Overview
- Buzzard entered the plea Friday in a Santa Barbara County courtroom as the gallery erupted in tears and angry outbursts.
- Authorities say Melodee Buzzard’s decomposed body was discovered Dec. 6 off a rural road near Caineville, Utah, with gunshot wounds to the head.
- DNA testing on Dec. 22 identified the remains as the 9-year-old, and investigators took Buzzard into custody on Tuesday.
- Prosecutors charged one count of murder with special allegations that she personally discharged a firearm causing death and committed the killing by lying in wait.
- Investigators point to an ATF match linking cartridge cases from the Utah scene to a casing found at the Buzzard home, along with surveillance showing wigs, a rented Chevy Malibu, and swapped plates during an October road trip.