Mother of girl missing since October in California is arrested for her murder

Los Angeles.- The mother of a nine-year-old Hispanic girl, who disappeared in California last October, was arrested on charges of aggravated murder, after authorities found the lifeless body of the minor in a rural area of Utah with gunshot wounds to her head, police reported this Tuesday. Ashlee Buzzard, 40, was arrested this Tuesday for the death of her daughter Melodee Meza Buzzard, in a case that gained national attention and in which the FBI was involved. In a press conference, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said that on October 7th, the mother embarked on a trip with the little girl from her home in California to Nebraska. That day, the little girl was captured by the cameras of a car rental shop, which recorded the girl in disguise. Two days later, on October 9, Melodee was last seen near the border between Utah and Colorado. After returning from the trip without the girl, she did not report her disappearance.

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The authorities learned of the case after the school the minor attended reported that she had not been attending classes. The body of Melodee was found last December 6th by a couple taking photographs in a deserted area in Wayne County, Utah. Brown said that the girl apparently died from a gunshot wound to the head and that the accused "deliberately" tried to cover her tracks. However, the authorities have been able to collect evidence that "clearly indicates" that the crime was committed by her. Melodee's father, Rubiel Meza, died in 2016 when the girl was only a few months old. Her paternal family claims that the mother did not allow them to see the little girl, according to information cited by Los Angeles Times.