Melodee Buzzard’s Cause of Death Revealed After 9-Year-Old Girl Went Missing

UPDATE: 12/24/25 1:22 p.m. ET.

Authorities have revealed the cause of death for 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard, who went missing in October, as gunshot wounds to the head. It has not been revealed how many times Melodee was shot, People reported on Wednesday, December 24.

Melodee’s body was discovered on December 6, outside of Caineville, Utah, the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a Tuesday, December 23, press release and subsequent press conference. Her body was decomposed, which sheriffs believe points to her most likely being killed in October.

One day after DNA analysis confirmed that the remains found in Utah belonged to Melodee, her mother, Ashlee Lynn Buzzard, was arrested for her alleged murder. She was taken into custody on Tuesday “without incident” and booked the Santa Barbara County Northern Branch Jail for first-degree murder at approximately 7:51 a.m., per the sheriff’s office. Ashlee is being held without bail.

“This is an extraordinarily tragic case involving the murder of a child by the very person she relied upon and trusted the most,” Sheriff Bill Brown said in the press release. “While maternal filicide is rare and difficult to comprehend, the evidence in this case clearly indicates a calculated, deliberate, and ruthless act.”

Original story below:

The body of missing 9-year-old girl Melodee Buzzard has been found out of state two months after she went missing in Southern California, a law enforcement source confirmed to NBC News on Tuesday, December 23.

The source said that Melodee’s body was found earlier in December, though further details about the discovery have not yet been shared.

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Shortly after her body was found, Melodee’s mother, Ashlee Buzzard, was reportedly taken into custody, according to video shared with NBC News affiliate KSBY. The family’s neighbors said they saw Ashlee being taken by deputies from her home early on December 23. However, it’s not currently clear why she was taken into custody.

The Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office has not yet confirmed that Melodee’s body was found, though they shared that they had an update regarding the case in an X post. “The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office has major developments in the missing person investigation for 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard. Members of the media are invited to a press conference: Tuesday, December 23, 2025, 2:00 p.m.,” the post read.

Melodee’s disappearance in October has left many people in her community of Vandenberg Village feeling unsettled, while the case has garnered national interest.

Officials previously said that Ashlee, 40, had been “uncooperative and has not provided detectives with any information about Melodee’s current location or condition” amid the search and investigation into Melodee’s disappearance, according to NBC News.

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In October, the Lompoc Unified School District said in a statement that Ashlee brought Melodee to an independent study program in August to enroll her as a student. However, she did not attend through early October, and the district ultimately notified law enforcement about her absences.

Amid the investigation, authorities looked into a road trip the mother-daughter duo took from Southern California to Nebraska that took place between October 7 and October 10.

The sheriff’s office said that one security video captured on October 7 showed Melodee wearing a wig at a rental car business, where the duo picked up a Chevrolet Malibu. Detectives speculated she was wearing the wig to throw off attempts to track or find her, noting that Ashlee herself was known to sport wigs.

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At one point during the trip, the rental car’s license plate was temporarily switched to a New York plate in an alleged attempt to avoid detection.

Melodee was last seen on the return leg of the trip on October 9 when she and Ashlee were near the Utah-Colorado border. The young girl was not with her mother when she returned the rental car or came back home on October 10, detectives previously confirmed.

Ashlee was previously arrested on suspicion of felony false imprisonment on November 7 in a separate case not related to Melodee’s disappearance. A man testified that Ashlee held him against his will at her home and threatened him with a box cutter, according to KSBY of San Luis Obispo. The charge was ultimately dismissed on November 20, with prosecutors citing contradictory information and insufficient evidence.


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Tom Brady Hints He Feels ‘Forever Young’ After Ex Gisele Bundchen’s Wedding

Tom Brady has seemingly offered a glimpse of his mindset amid the news that his ex-wife, Gisele Bündchen, has gotten married again.

Brady, 48, uploaded a selfie in his car to his Instagram Stories on Saturday, December 20, where he sported a white “Forever Young” hoodie.

“Yuppppppp 💯,” the former NFL quarterback captioned his upload, setting the post to Logic’s song “1-800-273-8255.”

While Brady did not further explain the meaning of his post, it comes hours after Us Weekly confirmed that Bündchen, 45, married her boyfriend, Joaquim Valente, earlier in December.

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The supermodel started dating Valente, 38, nearly a year after she and Brady divorced.

“This is the first time I am seeing someone that was a friend of mine first,” Bündchen told The New York Times in March 2024, detailing the origins of her romance. “It’s very different. It is very honest, and it’s very transparent.”

Bündchen further stressed that there hadn’t been any overlap in her respective relationships with Brady and Valente.

“That is a lie. This is something that happens to a lot of women who get blamed when they have the courage to leave an unhealthy relationship and are labeled as being unfaithful,” she said, shutting down affair speculation. “They have to deal with their communities. They have to deal with their family. Of course for me, it just happens to be a little bit amplified.”

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Courtesy of Tom Brady/ Instagram

Bündchen and Valente later welcomed their first child together, a baby boy whose name has not been publicly revealed, in February. Bündchen is already mom of son Benjamin, 16, and daughter Vivian, 13, whom she shares with Brady.

“There’s definitely some challenges and there’s a lot of blessings, and I think just us as parents, we’re just trying to help them navigate a little bit,” Brady, who also shares 18-year-old son Jack with ex Bridget Moynahan, exclusively told Us in 2024 about raising his kids. “There’s a lot of cool things, a lot of things that are maybe a little tricky, but you just got to deal with it all in the best way you can.”

He added, “I think giving them perspective all the time is really important. They’re kids, so we’re all human. We’re all going through stuff, so they’re going through their own set of unique experiences and you just try to give them the right perspective on the things that you’ve experienced and that you can correlate to their life.”

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According to Brady, he’s hopeful that his three children will eventually find “a life of purpose.”

“As parents, we just want our kids to do better than us, and I think that’s for all of us. My parents did that for me,” the football GOAT explained at the time. “I want to try to guide my kids into a life of purpose and one that they can find their joy and happiness and create a life and a family together with someone and find things they love to do when they wake up in the morning.”


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Blue Bloods’ Andrew Terraciano Breaks Silence on the Spinoff Recasting Sean

Blue Bloods star Andrew Terraciano has finally opened up about passing down the role of Sean Reagan after the character was recast in the Boston Blue spinoff.

“It’s beautiful because you’ll always remember every single line and every day that you had the opportunity to be that character,” Terraciano, 22, exclusively told Us Weekly about his time on the hit CBS series. “It doesn’t mean for even a second that somebody else can’t go and do something beautiful with it.”

Terraciano expressed gratitude for his time on Blue Bloods. “I got the joy of playing Sean, and I got to send him off into the world,” he noted. “Now somebody else gets that joy. We’re both getting to show what we do and then send Sean off into the world.”

CBS viewers have gotten very familiar with Terraciano after he got his start playing Donnie Wahlberg‘s onscreen son. The actor appeared in nearly 300 episodes from 2010 to 2024 before the show came to an end. Blue Bloods expanded into Boston Blue, but the role of Sean was recast with newcomer Mika Amonsen.

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“I had somebody call me — actually the day that I was graduating — and they had spoken to my mom and she called me [crying]. They were like, ‘They might be looking for a different Sean,’” Terraciano recalled how he learned the news initially. “Shortly after we got the news, Donnie called me. It was a really beautiful moment of getting to hear from an old friend but also somebody that you respect so much and have learned so much from.”

Terraciano appreciated hearing from Wahlberg, telling Us, “We had such an amazing experience on Blue Bloods that when we talk we’ll always be friends and family first. I’m happy that there are so many other people that now get to share in that amazing experience.”

BLUE BLOODS
CBS / Courtesy Everett Collection

While Terraciano has yet to watch Boston Blue as he focuses on his studies — he is looking forward to checking in.

“I’m going to give it the time and the respect that it deserves,” he noted. “[But in terms of returning in some capacity] I said it to Donnie on the phone. If he says the word, I’ll be there. Not just with Blue Bloods or Boston Blue but with anything in life.”

As Boston Blue has proven to Us, Sean Reagan’s legacy on Blue Bloods has made him beloved to the fans. Terraciano wasn’t expecting the outpouring of love that ensued once he wrapped up his run in the fan favorite role — but he is grateful for the support now.

“I can’t say that I expected it but I appreciate it,” he shared. “It’s so meaningful to know that people love the character that I got to share in creating. I didn’t expect it to say the least.”

When Us spoke to Amonsen in a separate interview, he shared the way he wanted to pay tribute to Terraciano, who was grateful for the thought.

“I appreciate it because not only has there been such an outcry of love from the community but there’s also a very clear love coming to the show,” he explained. “It’s hundreds if not thousands of people who depend on their livelihood for a show to be made. It really is amazing that part of that character remains. Somebody can look back and say, ‘I want to pay homage to that. I want to respect that and I want to work on making something beautiful.’”

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Terraciano made it clear that he walked away from the Blue Bloods set with years-worth of meaningful memories.

“The role provided me with such an insight into not only my own life but the lives of so many others. Because every time that you’re acting, you are learning so much about yourself and about the other person,” he explained. “So when you act with the same people for so long, you get such a deep understanding and you develop such a love for them.”

Blue Bloods
Instagram

In addition to Wahlberg, Terraciano got to share the screen with costars such as Tom Selleck, Bridget Moynahan, Len Cariou, Will Estes, Marisa Ramirez and Vanessa Ray.

“If they had asked us, I’m sure every single person in the cast would have happily stayed [on Blue Bloods] for the rest of our lives. When we found out that it was the end, I don’t think any of us really let ourselves accept for even a moment that it was a real thing that was ending,” he told Us. “When we had our last dinner scene, we just sat there. For half an hour we just went around the table telling the same old jokes that we had a thousand times before and asking the same questions that we had a thousand times before. None of us were willing to be the first to get up.”

For Terraciano, Blue Bloods provided him with a TV family. He recalled to Us how “emotionally devastating” it felt to film the finale — and how the cast has remained in each other’s lives since then.

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“It was coming to terms with the thought that this opportunity is changing very, very significantly. But because of having had that opportunity, you are all getting propelled into the future in such a beautiful way,” he recalled. “I’m still in touch with a lot of people from the cast and crew. I speak to them fairly often. I’ve made a lot of friends through Blue Bloods that I will never lose.”

The hit CBS series also gave him the role of a lifetime.

Blue Bloods
Instagram

“After knowing these people for 15 years, you go out into the world with everything that they’ve given you and you hope that you’ve given them something,” he gushed. “You hold them in your heart and that they’re never gone. It was a weird kind of grief — but Sean had grown into his own thing.”

He continued: “Sean had become who he needed to be by the end of the show. So I was happy to send a character off into the world and I was happy to send my loving friends off into the world.”

Terraciano is currently getting his Masters — but he is also looking forward to other opportunities that may come his way.

“At the end of last spring, I got the fantastic opportunity to work in a dear friend director Sabrina Carlier’s rendition of Annie Baker’s The Antipodes. Not only did I have that amazing opportunity that was my first play that I’ve ever been in but it really pulled me into the theater world,” he explained. “It showed me how much love I have for all forms of acting. I helped produce a friend’s short film recently, and I look forward to every opportunity that I get to act.”

He continued: “You get a passion and you can’t get rid of it to continue to act and continue to participate in creating in any way, shape or form. I would love more than anything to be an actor for the rest of my life. But I’m a huge Star Wars fanatic so I would really do anything [in that universe]. And I would love to try out a sitcom.”

Blue Bloods is streaming on Paramount+.


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All The HSBC SVNS Cape Town Road Closures

Heading to the HSBC SVNS Cape Town this weekend? You may want to take note of the road closures in the city to plan your trip accordingly. 

The HSBC SVNS, also known as the Cape Town 7s, is back from 6–7 December! Don’t miss the world champion Blitzboks in action on their home turf, as two days of fast-paced rugby sevens light up DHL Stadium. 

Between matches, soak up the gees with live entertainment, delicious food, and drinks all weekend long. 

Road Closures  

If you are travelling, here are the road closures:

Matches

The HSBC SVNS in Cape Town delivers fast-paced, action-packed rugby sevens matches over two days. Top men’s and women’s teams from around the world compete in pool matches in hopes of making it into the finals on Sunday.

View matches and times here.

There are still some tickets left. Get yours here.

The post All The HSBC SVNS Cape Town Road Closures appeared first on Cape Town Tourism.


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Ray J’s Family Guide: From Sister Brandy to Estranged Wife Princess Love

Singer Ray J comes from a family filled with musicians and performers, including his father and his sister, Brandy.

Ray J released his debut single “Let It Go” in 1997, but his family’s history in the music industry dates back to at least the 1970s, when his father Willie Norwood joined The Composers. His mother, Sonja, has worked as the manager for both Ray J and Brandy since they began their own music careers.

Ray J has created his own family with estranged wife Princess Love, who he married in 2016. The pair welcomed daughter Melody in 2018 and son Epik in 2020. In May 2020, the pair announced they were separating, and have since rescinded and then re-filed for divorce three more times. They are currently still married.

In November 2025, the “One Wish” singer was arrested after he allegedly pulled a gun on his estranged wife during an argument on Thanksgiving Day.

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Video footage from the livestream allegedly showed Ray J saying, “Y’all wanna drive drunk? Y’all wanna drive drunk? Drive drunk. Drive drunk, Princess,” before Love interjects, “Ray, you just pointed a gun–.”

“Drive drunk, princess. Go ahead,” Ray J also appeared to say. “You wanna take my kids? You and your drunk cousin? Cuz y’all drunk at the alcoholics? Take my kids then, go ahead. Who’s gonna drive? Tony, he’s been drinking too.”

Keep scrolling to learn more about Ray J’s relationships with his family, including Love and their two children.

Willie Norwood

Willie Norwood
Willie Norwood Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BMI

Ray J’s father Willie is a singer, coach and teacher. As shared via Kovocals, Willie joined the singing group The Composers in the 1970s. The band made the decision to move to Hollywood after opening for Chaka Khan & Rufus, and Willie lived there with his family until he and wife Sonja decided to move back to Mississippi.

Willie took the family back to California to serve as a minister of music and become a music coach. He put together Brandy’s first tour and released his own album, Bout It, in 2001.

Willie also appeared on Brandy and Ray J’s reality series, Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business. The series aired on VH1 for two seasons, from April 2010 to February 2011.

Sonja B. Norwood

Sonja Norwood
Sonja Norwood Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images for WE tv

Sonja has worked as Brandy and Ray J’s manager throughout their music careers, and is also the CEO of the family’s management company, Norwood & Norwood. As shared on her website, Sonja cut her career at H&R block short to focus on her children’s musical pursuits. This allowed her to help Brandy and Ray J navigate music contracts, Brandy’s foray into music and beauty deals and running the Norwood Kids Foundation.

“Being Black, a woman, a mom, and coming into this industry in the `90s was not easy,” she says on her site. “When I’m teaching, it’s important for people to understand the practices of the entertainment industry. I appreciate all of the good and bad attitudes, the no’s and yes challenges and deceptions that came my way. They have made me the business person I am today. I have earned my way – fearless, confident, and passionate about who I am and how I can change things. I want up-and-coming mom managers and females especially to know that if they are willing to put in the work to not only master their craft but also to wholly understand who they are as a person, establish boundaries and keep God first – they can accomplish anything.”

Brandy Norwood

Brandy Norwood
Brandy Norwood Derek White/Getty Images

Brandy is Ray J’s older sister, known to audiences around the world as a singer and actress. She rose to fame after securing a role on the ABC series Thea, which aired from September 1983 to February 1984, but her breakthrough moment came with the release of her first self-titled album in September 1984.

Brandy led the cast of Moesha in 1996, and the series became a hit soon after its debut. Her acting career spawned several more roles, including in the 1997 movie Cinderella.

The release of her follow-up album Never Say Never in 1998 introduced Brandy to wider audiences after the single “The Boy is Mine” hit number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Brandy has continued to act and sing in the years that followed.

Sy’Rai Smith

Sy'Rai Smith
Sy’Rai Smith Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Lifetime

Sy’Rai is the daughter of Brandy and producer Robert Smith. She made her debut as a singer on her mom’s 2020 record B7 and released her own song, “On My Own” in 2023. She is also the host of the “I Shouldn’t Have Said That” podcast.

Princess Love

Princess Love
Princess Love Unique Nicole/Getty Images

Ray J and Princess Love married in August 2016, and have since welcomed two children together. The pair’s relationship has been tumultuous, and they have filed for divorce several times (in May 2020, September 2020, October 2021 and most recently in February 2024).

“After much reflection, discussion, and counseling, we have come to the difficult realization that our paths have diverged, and it is in the best interest of both of us to part ways,” Love wrote in a since-deleted post shared via Instagram in February 2024. “We want to reassure you that this decision was made thoughtfully and with mutual respect and consideration for each other’s well-being. While our relationship as spouses may be coming to an end, we remain committed to co-parenting our children and maintaining a positive and supportive family dynamic.”

Princess was a cast member on seasons 3 through 6 of Love & Hip Hop: Miami (the series aired from 2014 to 2019) and frequently documents her cooking on Instagram.

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Melody Love Norwood

Ray J Family
Ray J Family esse Grant/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures

Ray J and Love welcomed their first child together on May 23, 2018. Soon after her birth, Ray J shared a video of himself with Melody with OK! Magazine, telling the outlet that he and Love were considering a move to London with their daughter.

“I’m here with the love of my life,” he said in the video. “I love you. I’ll always be there for you. You’ll never have to want for nothing, baby.”

He added of the potential move, “I like the people, the opportunities, and the values are a little different. I’ve been in Hollywood so long, I know what it comes with, I want my daughter to have a peaceful, happy life. I want to be consistent in being there for the baby. We’d love to move in the next year and a half.”

Epik Ray Norwood

Love and Ray J’s son Epik joined the family on December 30, 2019.


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Amazon Black Friday Deals on Travel Necessities

TMZ may collect a share of sales or other compensation from links on this page. We all know your luggage has been thrown around one too many times at the airport … so it’s about time that you treat yourself to an upgrade. With the holidays…


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