(NewsNation) — A legal battle is beginning to take shape in California after the body of nine-year-old Melodee Buzzard was discovered in Utah more than two months after she went missing.
Her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, is pleading not guilty to first-degree murder. Prosecutors said in court they do not intend to seek the death penalty but will seek life without parole. Criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos tells “NewsNation Live” that “somebody was very astute in the DA’s office,” in making that decision.
“They understand who their jury pool is. They understand that going for the death penalty might kind of backfire,” Geragos said. “And seeking the death penalty, I think, probably was a bridge too far in terms of asking the jury to convict and sentence her to life without parole.”
During a press conference this week, Sheriff Bill Brown with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office announced that a “significant amount of evidence” had been recovered that “indicates that this heinous crime was committed by Ashlee Buzzard.” A judge overseeing the case has since imposed a gag order on the sheriff’s office. According to Geragos, the sheriff’s commentary “just went too far.”
“You can’t get up there and start doing what he was doing. And I think this was a bench slap, for lack of a better term, of the sheriff’s office, which is part of the prosecution team,” Geragos said. “I don’t know if she’s good for this, so to speak, we’ll have to wait to see how it unfolds. Certainly, something happened.”
Geragos said he initially believed the case “had all the earmarks” of a custody dispute gone awry, adding that cases such as this are never what they first appear to be.
“If you’re the defense lawyer and you’re picking up this file, the first thing you want to understand is, if they thought that she was the person. Why did it take so long to arrest her? What were they doing in the interim?” Geragos said. “I imagine they were doing a fulsome investigation as to tracking her phones, getting cell phone records, trying to delve into her background, as to what was going on with her.”
A pre-liminary hearing has been set for Buzzard on Jan. 7.