A Missouri woman has pleaded guilty to kidnapping and murdering a pregnant Arkansas woman she lured with a fake job opportunity.
On Tuesday, July 30, the United States District Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri… Announced that Amber Waterman, 44, pleaded guilty in federal court to the kidnapping and tragic deaths of Ashley Bush and her unborn daughter, Valkyrie Willis.
According to the press release, Waterman contacted Bush, who was 31 weeks pregnant, via Facebook pretending to offer her a job opportunity. The two first met at a public library in Gravette, Arkansas, on October 28, 2022, and again three days later at a nearby convenience store. During this second meeting, Waterman convinced Bush to get into his truck under the pretense of meeting with a supervisor.
Instead, Waterman kidnapped Bush and drove her to his residence in Pineville, Missouri. That night, emergency responders received a call about a baby who was not breathing. Waterman claimed she had delivered the baby in the truck while on the way to the hospital, but the baby was actually Bush’s son, who had died in the womb during the kidnapping, she told The Associated Press. AP News.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Waterman pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping resulting in death and one count of causing the death of a child in utero. “This horrific crime resulted in the tragic deaths of two innocent victims,” said U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore. “Today’s guilty plea holds this defendant accountable for her actions and ensures that justice will be served.”
Bush’s death has been ruled a homicide, with the woman’s autopsy indicating she “died as a result of penetrating trauma to the torso.” Waterman now faces a sentence of life in federal prison without parole, with a sentencing hearing scheduled for Oct. 15, 2024.
In November 2022, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office reported that Bush’s charred remains were found in Missouri, and that the body of her unborn child was discovered the day before at another location.
TO fountain revealed that Waterman had created a fake Facebook account under the name “Lucy Burrows” to offer free baby clothes to expectant mothers and had used this alias to communicate with Bush. Bush’s fiancé, Joshua Willis, told police that he saw Bush drive away in a brown pickup truck with Waterman and that he was unable to reach her by phone, which was later found on the shoulder of a road. Police eventually traced the fake Facebook profile to Waterman’s residence.