Podcast Summary:

Drop Dead Serious with Ashleigh Banfield
Episode: Glammed Up for Court… After Cutting Melodee’s Face Out of Posters?! | The Ashlee Buzzard Meltdown
Date: November 20, 2025
Host: Ashleigh Banfield
Special Guests/Contributors: Brian Enten (NewsNation), Bill Garcia (Private Investigator)

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the bizarre and unsettling developments in the case of Ashley Buzzard and her missing 9-year-old daughter, Melody Buzzard. With Melody missing for 41 days, Ashley has stonewalled investigators, faced criminal charges, and exhibited increasingly suspicious behavior—including a disturbing incident involving missing person posters. Host Ashleigh Banfield uses her signature blend of irreverence and deep investigative experience to break down the latest, with live reports from NewsNation’s Brian Enten and exclusive insights from private investigator Bill Garcia.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ashley Buzzard’s Disturbing Behavior

• Poster Incident:
  • Ashleigh opens with the detail that Ashley Buzzard was seen removing her daughter’s missing person posters from her yard.
  • New revelation: A private investigator claims a witness inside Ashley’s home saw her cutting Melody’s face out of the posters.
  • [03:38] Ashleigh (A):

    “Mom collects up all the missing person posters of her child missing now 41 days, brings them into the house and if this account is correct, starts cutting the faces of Melody out of the posters. What normal folks do to people they consider dead to them, Ashley Buzzard did to her own missing and endangered child.”

• Private Investigator’s Interpretation:
  • Bill Garcia sees this as the creation of an "altar" or shrine—potentially a sign of mourning, obsession, or disturbed thinking, but not necessarily proof Melody is deceased.
  • [04:51] Bill Garcia (B):

    “To me it represents an altar. Not saying that she’s deceased, but it’s something that she can have some memory of.”

2. Court Appearance: Glammed Up & Silent

• Visual Change:
  • Ashley appeared in court "dolled up to the nines," wearing a styled wig and heavy makeup—unlike previous appearances.
  • [06:35] Ashleigh:

    “…the long curly wig was back, but this time she’d pulled it into a ponytail… dolled up to the nines in full makeup. And when I say full, I mean brimming over the top full.”

• Silent and Emotionless:
  • Both in court and facing reporters outside, Ashley refused to speak, giving only blank stares reminiscent of high-profile murder suspect Lori Vallow.
  • [12:49] Brian Enten (C):

    “She showed no emotion. She didn’t speak once. We never heard her voice, not even once… stone cold, no emotion at all.”

• Confrontation by Press:
  • Brian Enten confronted Ashley with direct questions outside the courthouse, which she completely ignored.
  • [07:24] Brian (to Ashley):

    “Ashley, can you tell us where Melody is? Why aren’t you saying anything to law enforcement? …Everybody just wants to know where Melody is.”

  • [07:44] Ashleigh:

    “There’s Brian Enten trying like hell to ask the questions we all want asked and answered. And there’s Ashley Buzzard just staring straight ahead, Lori Vallow style.”

3. Criminal Charges & Court Proceedings

• False Imprisonment Charge:
  • Ashley is charged with falsely imprisoning an acquaintance, Tyler Brewer, who claimed she confided details about Melody’s disappearance and then threatened him with a box cutter.
  • [05:00] Ashleigh:

    “Remember… two weeks ago, a friend of hers came over to help in the search for Melody. The friend told police that Ashley told him some things about dropping little Melody off somewhere out near Nevada or Utah… then locked the doors and wouldn’t let this guy leave her house and produced a box cutter.”

• Upcoming Court Actions:
  • Preliminary hearing scheduled, with the expectation that Tyler Brewer will testify.
  • [21:13]

    “Tomorrow’s gonna be a big day. The preliminary hearing. We expect that that victim may testify. Will something come up about Melody? We don’t know, but she’s gonna have to be there again tomorrow…”

4. Private Investigator Bill Garcia’s Findings

• Shrine/Altar Theory:
  • Posters with Melody’s face cut out were arranged on a table, resembling an altar.
  • [04:53] Bill Garcia:

    “Not sure [why Ashley did it]. But what she did with them is she placed them on the table in her home. To me it represents an altar…”

• Skeptical of Utah "Drop Off" Story:
  • Garcia doubts reports that Ashley left Melody in Utah, believes she would have returned home, possibly with Melody’s body if deceased.
  • [16:55] Bill Garcia:

    “I don’t believe she left Melody. I think it’s kind of a smokescreen to throw people off… I see her bringing her all the way home if something happened to her.”

• Ashley’s History of Road Trips:
  • Garcia believes Ashley had made similar cross-country trips before, regularly using rental cars.
  • [17:44] Bill Garcia:

    “She’s made these trips before, and I understand that she regularly would get a rental car.”

• Current Search Efforts:
  • Garcia intends to search the local Lompoc area, including woods and lakes, as heavy rains may have obscured evidence. He notes some hope remains because of reported sightings, but admits possibility Melody is no longer alive.
  • [18:43] Brian Enten:

    “…he wants to be hopeful. But he also has plans to search in wooded areas, and, you know, there’s lakes around here, those kinds of things. So he’s not entirely hopeful…”

5. Community and National Attention

• Neighborhood Tensions:
  • Community members and the father’s side of Melody’s family are putting up missing posters and memorial items, not Ashley.
  • [20:40] Ashleigh:

    “…these don’t seem to be posters that the mother is putting out in front asking for help finding the child. It is the neighborhood putting those posters up…”

• Comparisons to Other High-Profile Cases:
  • Multiple times, Ashleigh and Brian draw parallels to the Lori Vallow/Chad Daybell and Brian Laundrie/Gabby Petito cases—silent suspects, darkened houses, and public frustration.
  • [07:44] Ashleigh:

    “This was like the same vibe completely, right? …There’s Ashley Buzzard just staring straight ahead, Lori Valo style.”

  • [11:10] Ashleigh:

    “I remember when you were out in front of the laundries home in Florida when Gabby Petito was missing and it was the same thing. Dark windows, no activity signs outside, and a lot of protestors.”

6. Tips and Potential Sightings

• Truckers’ Sightings:
  • Garcia has been receiving tips, with one trucker claiming to have seen a girl resembling Melody at a distribution center in Lansing, Michigan, in recent days.
  • [19:33] Bill Garcia:

    “I keep seeing her in the early morning of Friday, just four days ago, at this distribution facility with a truck driver… she had that same gray looking hoodie. And he said, I saw her face, and her face looked like Melody.”

• Tips Referred to FBI:
  • All relevant tips are turned over to the FBI, who are actively investigating.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Ashleigh (A):

  “This whole thing is absolute nonsense. And it gets more infuriating every time we peel back another layer of the story.” [21:34]

• Brian Enten (C), on Ashley’s transformation:

  “…really heavy on the blush. Ashley, you could see just her cheeks were really, really red. She had a lot of makeup on, which we haven’t seen before. And I it was the same wig. She just sort of had it styled differently and pulled back.” [12:49]

• Ashleigh, on meaning of actions:

  “What normal folks do to people they consider dead to them, Ashley Buzzard did to her own missing and endangered child. So does Ashley Buzzard consider Melody dead to her?” [03:38]

• Bill Garcia, on Utah drop-off theory:

  “I don’t believe she left Melody. I think it’s kind of a smokescreen to throw people off.” [16:55]

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:05 | Ashleigh’s introduction and background on the case | | 03:38 | Revelation: Ashley cutting Melody’s face out of posters | | 04:28 | Private investigator Bill Garcia’s initial statements | | 05:00 | Details of the false imprisonment charge | | 06:35 | Description of Ashley’s court appearance and demeanor | | 07:24 | Brian Enten confronts Ashley outside the courthouse | | 10:20 | Ashleigh & Brian discuss “Brian Laundrie vibes” at house | | 12:49 | Inside the brief court appearance; Ashley’s visual change | | 15:32 | Details about PI Bill Garcia and the “altar/shrine” | | 16:55 | Bill Garcia doubts Utah "drop-off" and details road trips | | 18:43 | Discussion of local searches and hopes for finding Melody | | 19:33 | PI describes truckers’ tips; Lansing, MI sighting | | 20:40 | Neighborhood and community involvement | | 21:13 | Preview of preliminary court hearing, expected testimony | | 21:34 | Ashleigh’s closing reflections and commitment to updates |

Final Thoughts

Ashleigh Banfield’s report on the Ashley Buzzard and Melody Buzzard case exposes layers of disturbing behavior, unanswered questions, and growing national unease. With Ashley refusing to cooperate, the community mobilizing, and new evidence (along with hope) trickling in via tips, the story is far from over. The episode connects chilling dots between this and other notorious missing persons cases—echoing themes of silence, evasion, and escalating public scrutiny.

Subscribe for further updates as this case rapidly develops.