A 44-year-old woman from Missouri has been sentenced to life in prison for the kidnapping and murder of a 33-year-old pregnant woman and her unborn child from Arkansas. This tragic case involved an attempt to steal the mother-to-be’s baby and falsely claim it as her own.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough sentenced Amber Waterman to two consecutive life sentences in a federal correctional facility for the murder of 33-year-old Ashley Bush and her unborn daughter, Valkyrie Willis, according to records.
In July, Waterman officially admitted guilt to one charge of kidnapping that led to death and another charge related to the death of a child before birth.
Jamie Waterman, the husband of Waterman, has been charged in connection with Bush’s death. He is charged with one federal count related to being an accessory after the fact to a kidnapping that led to death. Prosecutors claim he helped his wife conceal the crime, fully aware that she had kidnapped and murdered Bush.
Jaime Waterman was in court on Tuesday afternoon, where he changed his plea to guilty, according to court records, just days before his trial started.
Amber Waterman has confessed to the kidnapping of Bush from Maysville and taking her to Pineville, both located in Arkansas, which led to the tragic deaths of Bush and Valkyrie.
Amber Waterman reached out to Bush on Facebook using the alias “Lucy” while the victim was 31 weeks into her pregnancy. She feigned assistance to Bush by claiming there was a position the victim could take on.
Following that interaction, the two women met at a public library in Gravette, Arkansas for an in-person interview on October 28, 2022. During this meeting, Amber Waterman presented Bush with a work-from-home opportunity for a company located in Arkansas.
“At about 5 p.m. on Oct. 31, 2022, first responders reported to the Longview store in Pineville for an emergency call of a baby who was not breathing,” prosecutors wrote. “Waterman admitted that she claimed to first responders that she had given birth to the child in the truck while on the way to the hospital. But in reality, she admitted, the child was Bush’s child, who died in utero, as a result of Waterman’s kidnapping that resulted in the death of Bush.”
Amber Waterman subsequently abducted Bush and transported the pregnant woman to the Waterman home in Pineville.
“On October 31, 2022, around 5 p.m., first responders arrived at the Longview store in Pineville following an emergency call regarding a baby who was not breathing,” prosecutors stated. Waterman acknowledged that she told first responders she had delivered the child in the truck en route to the hospital. She acknowledged that the child was actually Bush’s, who tragically died in utero due to Waterman’s kidnapping, which led to Bush’s death.
An autopsy later revealed that Bush’s death was ruled a homicide, with the cause identified as “penetrating trauma of the torso.” Officials report that Amber Waterman fatally shot Bush and subsequently attempted to use a knife to extract the unborn child from her womb. She tried to set fire to Bush’s body.
In July, Joshua Robinson, the prosecuting attorney for Benton County, Arkansas, announced his plans to pursue prosecution against Waterman in state court and to seek the death penalty. Waterman faces serious charges in Benton County, including two counts of capital murder and one count of kidnapping.