A California lady has been charged with homicide after the stays of her lacking 9-year-old daughter had been present in Utah, authorities stated Tuesday.Ashlee Buzzard, 40, was arrested Tuesday after bullet cartridges discovered close to her daughter’s physique had been linked to a used cartridge case present in her dwelling, stated Santa Barbara County’s Sheriff-Coroner Invoice Brown. Authorities discovered 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard’s physique Dec. 6 in a rural space of Utah after a person and lady taking pictures off of State Route 24 reported they’d found stays.Officers couldn’t instantly establish her however concluded she died from gunshot wounds to the pinnacle, Brown stated. The FBI’s DNA evaluation of the physique discovered a familial DNA match to Buzzard.Detectives additionally discovered related ammunition in a automotive Buzzard had rented, authorities stated.Buzzard is being held with out bail on the Northern Department Jail in Santa Barbara, Brown stated.On-line jail data didn’t record a court docket date or lawyer who might converse on Buzzard’s behalf. The general public defender’s workplace represented her in one other case in November however didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.A college administrator reported Melodee Buzzard’s extended absence Oct. 14. Deputies went to the household’s residence in Lompoc, however Buzzard wouldn’t say the place her daughter was.Buzzard left California together with her daughter on Oct. 7, driving a rented white 2024 Chevrolet Malibu, in keeping with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Workplace. They traveled so far as Nebraska with stops in Nevada, Arizona and Utah, and a return route included Kansas. Melodee Buzzard was final seen Oct. 9 on video surveillance close to the Colorado-Utah line.Detectives discovered the mom and daughter modified their look throughout journey. Video from the rental automotive workplace in Lompoc exhibits the kid sporting a hooded sweatshirt and a wig that was darker and straighter than her pure hair, police stated. The video exhibits her mom sporting a protracted, curly-haired wig.Buzzard swapped wigs all through the journey and altered the license plate of the rental automotive to keep away from detection, police stated. Buzzard returned dwelling on Oct. 10 however her daughter was not together with her, the sheriff’s workplace stated.Brown stated the crime was “calculated, cold-blooded” and premeditated, although a motive has not been decided.“In the present day, we stand collectively in grief, but in addition with resolve,” Brown stated. “Melodee deserved a much better life than she had.”Officers stated the weapon has not been discovered, and the case stays beneath investigation.Lilly Denes informed the Los Angeles Instances that her granddaughter was lovable, at all times smiling and well-behaved. Denes’ son, the kid’s father, died when she was 6 months previous. A detective informed Denes on the telephone Tuesday that authorities had “discovered the infant and the infant is together with her dad,” Denes stated.“I knew he was telling me that the infant is useless,” Denes stated.