Arkansas womb raider learns her fate for killing pregnant mom and unborn baby she tried to pass off as her own
The woman who kidnapped and killed a pregnant mother from Arkansas in an attempt to claim the baby as her own learned her fate on Tuesday.
The woman who kidnapped and killed a pregnant mother from Arkansas in an attempt to claim the baby as her own learned her fate on Tuesday.
Amber Waterman, 44, from Missouri, will spend the rest of her days behind bars for the brutal slaying of 33-year-old Ashley Bush and her unborn child.
She is ordered to serve two consecutive sentences of life in a federal correctional facility with no chance of parole, according to Law and Crime.
Less than a week before the scheduled October 21 trial date, her husband, Jaime Waterman, changed his plea to guilty for his hand in the senseless slaying.
Despite knowing that his wife had kidnapped and killed Bush, prosecutors claim that he took part in covering up the crime.
Missouri woman, 44-year-old Amber Waterman, was sentenced to life behind bars on Tuesday for the senseless murder of a pregnant mother in an attempt to claim the unborn baby as her own
Watermans husband, Jaime Waterman, also appeared in court on Tuesday where he changed his plea to guilty for accessory to the death that occurred after the kidnapping scheme
He is facing one count of being an accessory to the death that occurred after the kidnapping scheme.
The selfish ploy was executed by the pair for the purpose and benefit of claiming the child as their own.
On Halloween of 2022, police responded to the Longview store in Pineville in the early hours of the evening after an emergency call came in about a baby not breathing.
Waterman claimed to the first responders on the scene that she had just given birth to the child in the truck while on the way to the hospital.
But in her plea, she admitted, the child was Bushs child, who died in utero, as a result of Watermans kidnapping that resulted in the death of Bush, Law and Crime reported.
But the horrific murders were premeditated and calculated.
While Bush was 31 weeks pregnant, she was contacted by Waterman through Facebook who went under the alias as Lucy.
Ashley Bush, 33, was lured in by Waterman under a fake Facebook alias Lucy who offered her a work-from-home job for a company based in Arkansas while she was 31 weeks pregnant
Bush was a mother-of-three and pregnant with her fourth, who her fiancé, Joshua Willis, named Valkyrie Grace Willis
The social media account under the fake name pretended to help Bush get a job - informing her that there was an opportunity for a work-from-home position for a company based out of Arkansas that she could fill.
The set-up led to a fake in-person interview where the two women met on October 28, 2022 at a public library in Gravette, Arkansas - just three days before the killings.
Bush was then lured by Waterman to the Handi-Stop convenience store in Maysville on the late morning of October 31, 2022, under the assumption that she was being taken to meet a supervisor to further discuss her employment.
She was dropped off to the location 13 miles away from home by her fiancé, Joshua, who later told cops that he saw her leave with the woman he had already seen meet with his partner days earlier.
That was the last time Bush would be seen alive.
Bush would text Willis at around 3 pm, telling him she was on her way back to the store, prosecutors and investigators said.
But he grew suspicious after watching the truck drive right by onto a local highway due north.
Bushs cause of death was penetrating trauma to the torso after she was shot and killed by Waterman who then used a knife to remove the unborn baby from her stomach before attempting to burn her body
Willis dropped his fiancée off at the convenience store where Bush was then kidnapped and taken to Pineville where the Watermans resided
He realized that he recognized the truck and concluded the driver to be Lucy, leading him to attempt to contact his fiancée.
Willis was repeatedly met with her voicemail box, which prompted him to report Bush missing to authorities by 6.30pm that same day.
But her calls would remain unanswered. Bush was kidnapped and driven in Watermans truck to Pineville, where the pair resided. The convenience store was 25 miles away from the Watermans home.
Waterman then shot and killed the pregnant mother, using a knife to remove the unborn baby and Bushs placenta from her uterus after her death.
She then informed her husband of the murder, who then attempted to burn the body in a fire pit and dispose of her remains, Inside Edition reported.
She placed both the fetus and placenta in her pants and dialed 911 at around 5pm that same day.
Paramedics intercepted Waterman and her husband as they drove to the hospital, but were unable to revive the baby.
Waterman proceeded to plan funeral arrangements along with her husband set for November 2. The coroner arrived to the memorial to take the baby for an autopsy, 5 News Online reported.
But the couple had a complete demeanor switch after they found out an autopsy would be preformed, asking multiple times if they would DNA test the baby as well.
The babys deceased body was then found on November 2.
Police officials obtained a search warrant for the Waterman household on November 3, the next day, where they discovered blood in her truck.
Jaime told investigators that he believed the blood to be from his wifes pregnancy complications. Amber initially didnt acknowledge where the blood originated from, and instead cleaned the vehicle and allegedly burned the rags in the fire pit, People reported.
But during this same interview, Jaime told authorities that he was aware Bush had been reported missing due to news circulating around social media. But when police left, Amber changed her story.
She said that Bush had been murdered in the car by Lucy, the fake alias she used to lure the pregnant woman to her home.
The mother-of-three was burned near the home and then transported to a nearby location where the remains were buried before the pair headed to the funeral service.
When authorities asked Jaime to lead them to Bushs body, he agreed, and during a search of the residence, FBI discovered charred human remains on their property, People reported.
The Waterman couple were both placed under arrest on November 3.
An autopsy determined that Bushs manner of death was a homicide - the cause being penetrating trauma of the torso.
In court this past summer, Waterman admitted that the baby died in utero, as a result of the kidnapping that resulted in the death of Bush, Inside Edition reported.
In July of this year, Waterman changed her plea to guilty after initially pleading not guilty to her charges alongside her husband after facing multiple delays.
Since Amber Waterman was tried in federal court, there is absolutely no chance of parole within the system and will ultimately spend the rest of her life locked up
Despite prosecutors saying that her husband, Jaime Waterman, knew his wife kidnapped and killed Bush, he helped cover up the crime and now awaits his trial date set for October 21
She admitted to kidnapping Bush from Maysville and taking her to Pineville - both of which are in Arkansas - resulting in the death of both Bush and her unborn child.
This past July, Joshua Robinson, the prosecuting attorney for Benton County, noted that he intends to prosecute Waterman in state court in an attempt to seek the death penalty, Law and Crime reported.
At the state level, Waterman is charged with two counts of capital murder, along with one count of kidnapping in Benton County.
On Tuesday, Stephen R. Bough, a US District Judge, ordered Amber Waterman to serve two consecutive life sentences.
Because she was sentenced in federal court, there is absolutely no chance for parole within the system.
Her husband, Jaime Waterman, also appeared in court on Tuesday, changing his original plea of non guilty to guilty as he awaits his trial date which is set for October 21.
