Amber Waterman, 44, pleaded guilty Tuesday to luring her victim, 33-year-old Ashley Bush, to her death in October 2022 with a fake promise of a job opportunity — only to rip the fetus from her body.
“This horrific crime resulted in the tragic deaths of two innocent victims,” US Attorney Teresa Moore said in a statement.
Amber Waterman pleaded guilty to killing Ashley Bush and her unborn child. McDonald County Detention Center
“Today’s guilty plea holds this defendant accountable for her actions and ensures that justice will be served.”
The twisted plan proved unsuccessful — the baby died in utero and police immediately set their sights on Waterman after she tried to pass off the dead fetus as a stillborn she had birthed in a truck while on the way to the hospital.
Waterman quickly admitted that the fetus wasn’t hers — and that she had burned and ditched the mother’s mutilated body in a fire pit.
Bush believed she was meeting with “Lucy,” who was setting her up with a job. McDonald County Sheriff's Department Bush, a mother to three other children, was 31 weeks pregnant when she was killed. KHBS
The killer had lured Bush to her death by creating a fake Facebook account under the name “Lucy Barrows” advertising a fictitious work-from-home job opportunity that she shared on a group for mothers.
Bush, of Arkansas, and her fiancé, Josh Willis, went to a public library in Gravette, Arkansas to meet “Lucy,” during which time Waterman said the two women would have to travel together to the neighboring town of Gravette to meet the supposed boss.
They set off together three days later, but Bush never returned.
Waterman’s husband, Jamie Waterman, was charged with being an accessory after the fact for allegedly helping dispose of Bush’s body. McDonald County Sheriff's Depart
Instead, Waterman kidnapped Bush to her home in Pineville, Missouri, where she carried out the cold-blooded murder.
Bush, the mother of three other children, had lovingly named the unborn baby Valkyrie Willis in preparation for her birth.
Waterman’s husband, Jamie Waterman, was charged with being an accessory after the fact for allegedly helping dispose of Bush’s body.
His trial is scheduled for October. He faces up to 15 years behind bars.
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