December 25, 2025 • 5 mins
The body of Melody Buzzard found in rural Utah with multiple gunshots to the head. DNA testing reveals a match for her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, who is arrested and charged for the murder of her daughter,
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Lord hourly update, breaking crime news Now. Authorities discovered
the body of nine year old Melody Buzzard two months
after she disappeared and her mother, Ashley, is taken into custody.
Melody's decomposing body was discovered on the side of a
road on December sixth and Wayne County, Utah by a
man and woman taking photos. Santa Barbara County Sheriff Corner
Bill Brown.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Today, I am deeply saddened to report to you that
the body of Melody Alani Buzzard, the nine year old
child who went missing from the Lompoc area in October
of this year, has been found in a rural area
outside of Canesville in Wayne County, Utah.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Melody Buzzard had sustained gunshot wounds to her head. Was
identified only on December twenty second, when the FBI notified
Santa Barbara County Sheriff that the remains DNA matched Melody's mother,
Ashley Buzzard.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
December sixth, twenty twenty five, members of the Wayne County
Sheriff's Office in Utah responded to a call from a
man and a woman who were taking photos. This couple
had discovered the decomposed body of a deceased person off
of the side adjacent to West Caineville Road. Although immediate
(01:20):
identification of the deceased person was not possible, it was
apparent that the decedent was a female who had died
from gunshot wounds to the head.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Actually, Buzzard was then arrested on murder charges.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Members of our Sheriff's office and the FBI arrested her mother,
Ashley Lynn Buzzard, for her murder. We have recovered a
significant amount of evidence that clearly indicates that this Kenes's
crime was committed by Ashley Buzzard, Melody's mother, and the
(01:56):
very person upon whom she relied upon and trusted the
most host in this world.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Brown went on to say that investigators matched an expended
cartridge found in Ashley's home with casings found at the
crime scene in Utah. Melody was seen on video surveillance
with her mother October ninth at a rest stop near
the Utah Colorado border. Brown said that she was believed
to have been killed shortly after that. Melody was reported
(02:22):
missing on October fourteenth by a school official who flagged
her for prolonged absence. According to the Santa Barbara County
Sheriff's Office. Authorities at the time said Ashley was refusing
to co operate with investigators. She was arrested Friday, November
seventh on false imprisonment in a different case, the Sheriff's
office announced in November. The Sheriff's apartment released security camera
(02:42):
footage showing Melody with Ashley on October seventh, around the
time the girl vanished. A woman who was abducted when
she was just three years old is found alive and
well more than four decades after her disappearance, with no
(03:05):
knowledge she'd ever been a victim in the first place.
Michelle Marie Newton was first reported missing on April second,
nineteen eighty three. Her mother, Deborah Newton, allegedly moved the
pair from Louisville, Kentucky, to Georgia to quote begin a
new job and prepare a new home for the family. Unquote.
That is what she said when she left. The reality
(03:26):
is much different, as Deborah Newton changed their names forty
two years ago and created a new backstory. Michelle had
no idea she was even missing after Deborah allegedly took
off with their child, Joseph Newton tried to track them down.
Newton says he talked to his wife sometime between nineteen
eighty four and nineteen eighty five before she totally vanished.
(03:49):
The case remained open and working until two thousand, when
the case was dismissed because prosecutors said they could not
reach Joseph Newton anymore. In two thousand and five, Michelle
was removed from the National Missing Children Database. She would
have been twenty five at that time. In twenty sixteen,
the case was reopened at the request of a family member,
(04:09):
but nothing happened until police received what is called a
bullseye Crime Stoppers tip earlier this year. Four weeks ago
on November twenty fourth, The tip leads authorities to Deborah
Newton's home in the Villages, Florida. She's been living in
the retirement community as Sharon Neely. She even has a boyfriend.
After arresting Sharon Neely slash Deborah Newton, investigators then reach
(04:34):
out to the victim of the custodio kidnapping, telling the
now forty six year old woman her life has been
a lie. Deputies tell her quote, You're not who you
think you are. You're a missing person you are. Michelle
Marie Newton Deborah was arraigned on a felony charge of
custodial interference, according to the Commonwealth's Attorney Office in Jefferson County.
(04:56):
She was released on bond posted by a family member.
Now Michelle has been reunited with her father, and she
and Joseph were present at the arraignment. Michelle didn't appear
to immediately take side, saying my intention is to support
them both through this and try to navigate and help
them both. Just wrap it up so that we can
(05:17):
all heal. For the latest crime and justice breaking news,
be sure to follow the Crime Alert hourly update on
your favorite podcast app with this crime Alert, I'm Dave
Matt
Crime Lord hourly update, breaking crime news Now. Authorities discovered
the body of nine year old Melody Buzzard two months
after she disappeared and her mother, Ashley, is taken into custody.
Melody's decomposing body was discovered on the side of a
road on December sixth and Wayne County, Utah by a
man and woman taking photos. Santa Barbara County Sheriff Corner
Bill Brown.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Today, I am deeply saddened to report to you that
the body of Melody Alani Buzzard, the nine year old
child who went missing from the Lompoc area in October
of this year, has been found in a rural area
outside of Canesville in Wayne County, Utah.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Melody Buzzard had sustained gunshot wounds to her head. Was
identified only on December twenty second, when the FBI notified
Santa Barbara County Sheriff that the remains DNA matched Melody's mother,
Ashley Buzzard.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
December sixth, twenty twenty five, members of the Wayne County
Sheriff's Office in Utah responded to a call from a
man and a woman who were taking photos. This couple
had discovered the decomposed body of a deceased person off
of the side adjacent to West Caineville Road. Although immediate
(01:20):
identification of the deceased person was not possible, it was
apparent that the decedent was a female who had died
from gunshot wounds to the head.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Actually, Buzzard was then arrested on murder charges.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Members of our Sheriff's office and the FBI arrested her mother,
Ashley Lynn Buzzard, for her murder. We have recovered a
significant amount of evidence that clearly indicates that this Kenes's
crime was committed by Ashley Buzzard, Melody's mother, and the
(01:56):
very person upon whom she relied upon and trusted the
most host in this world.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Brown went on to say that investigators matched an expended
cartridge found in Ashley's home with casings found at the
crime scene in Utah. Melody was seen on video surveillance
with her mother October ninth at a rest stop near
the Utah Colorado border. Brown said that she was believed
to have been killed shortly after that. Melody was reported
(02:22):
missing on October fourteenth by a school official who flagged
her for prolonged absence. According to the Santa Barbara County
Sheriff's Office. Authorities at the time said Ashley was refusing
to co operate with investigators. She was arrested Friday, November
seventh on false imprisonment in a different case, the Sheriff's
office announced in November. The Sheriff's apartment released security camera
(02:42):
footage showing Melody with Ashley on October seventh, around the
time the girl vanished. A woman who was abducted when
she was just three years old is found alive and
well more than four decades after her disappearance, with no
(03:05):
knowledge she'd ever been a victim in the first place.
Michelle Marie Newton was first reported missing on April second,
nineteen eighty three. Her mother, Deborah Newton, allegedly moved the
pair from Louisville, Kentucky, to Georgia to quote begin a
new job and prepare a new home for the family. Unquote.
That is what she said when she left. The reality
(03:26):
is much different, as Deborah Newton changed their names forty
two years ago and created a new backstory. Michelle had
no idea she was even missing after Deborah allegedly took
off with their child, Joseph Newton tried to track them down.
Newton says he talked to his wife sometime between nineteen
eighty four and nineteen eighty five before she totally vanished.
(03:49):
The case remained open and working until two thousand, when
the case was dismissed because prosecutors said they could not
reach Joseph Newton anymore. In two thousand and five, Michelle
was removed from the National Missing Children Database. She would
have been twenty five at that time. In twenty sixteen,
the case was reopened at the request of a family member,
(04:09):
but nothing happened until police received what is called a
bullseye Crime Stoppers tip earlier this year. Four weeks ago
on November twenty fourth, The tip leads authorities to Deborah
Newton's home in the Villages, Florida. She's been living in
the retirement community as Sharon Neely. She even has a boyfriend.
After arresting Sharon Neely slash Deborah Newton, investigators then reach
(04:34):
out to the victim of the custodio kidnapping, telling the
now forty six year old woman her life has been
a lie. Deputies tell her quote, You're not who you
think you are. You're a missing person you are. Michelle
Marie Newton Deborah was arraigned on a felony charge of
custodial interference, according to the Commonwealth's Attorney Office in Jefferson County.
(04:56):
She was released on bond posted by a family member.
Now Michelle has been reunited with her father, and she
and Joseph were present at the arraignment. Michelle didn't appear
to immediately take side, saying my intention is to support
them both through this and try to navigate and help
them both. Just wrap it up so that we can
(05:17):
all heal. For the latest crime and justice breaking news,
be sure to follow the Crime Alert hourly update on
your favorite podcast app with this crime Alert, I'm Dave
Matt
Host
Nancy Grace
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