Woman Admits Kidnapping Mother-to-Be, Trying to Cut Fetus Out to ‘Claim’ as Her Own

Amber Waterman (above center), 44, formally pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping resulting in death and one count of causing the death of a child in utero during an appearance at the Western District of Missouri federal court in Springfield.

She had previously pleaded not guilty to these charges.

“This horrific crime resulted in the tragic deaths of two innocent victims,” said U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore in a statement received by Law & Crime. “Today’s guilty plea holds this defendant accountable for her actions and ensures that justice will be served. She is now subject to a mandatory sentence of life in federal prison without parole.”

Jaime Waterman (above right), husband to the defendant, has also been charged in the 2022 death of 33-year-old Ashley Bush (above left) and her unborn child. According to prosecutors, Jaime assisted Amber in attempting to cover up the crime, knowing full well what had happened to Ashley.

He told authorities his wife showed him the victim’s body, which was near their home, per the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, and they burned the body and took the charred remains to another location. His trial is scheduled to begin on October 21.

Per a press release from federal prosecutors, Amber first made contact with Bush when she was 31 weeks pregnant. Amber, using the name “Lucy” online, pretended to have a job offer for Ashley, luring her to an in-person meeting under pretense of a “job interview.

The two first met on October 28, 2022 at the Gravette Public Library in Gravette, AR and later agreed to meet again on October 31.

“On Oct. 31, 2022, at roughly 11:45 a.m., Bush met Waterman at the Handi-Stop convenience store in Maysville, [Arkansas]” wrote prosecutors in their press release. “Under the pretext that Waterman was taking her to meet a supervisor to further discuss employment, Bush got into a truck driven by Waterman.”

Amber then drove Ashley to her own residence in Pineville, Missouri. At 5 p.m. on that same day, “first responders reported to the Longview store in Pineville for an emergency call of a baby who was not breathing.”

Waterman admitted to authorities later that she initially claimed to first responders “she had given birth to the child in the truck while on the way to the hospital,” per the press release, but later confessed, “the child was Bush’s child, who died in utero, as a result of Waterman’s kidnapping that resulted in the death of Bush.”

Per an autopsy, Ashley and her baby perished as a result of “penetrating trauma of the torso,” referring to Amber allegedly attempting to cut the fetus from its mother, expecting she could keep it alive and claim it was hers. Ashley’s death was classified as a homicide.

“By pleading guilty, Waterman admitted that she kidnapped Ashley Bush in order to claim her unborn child, Valkyrie Willis, as her own,” added the release.

Per federal law, with a guilty plea Amber’s mandated sentence is live without the possibility of parole in a federal prison. Her sentencing is scheduled for October 15.

The prosecuting attorney for Benton County in Arkansas, Joshua Robinson, has stated he intends to prosecute her at the state level and will be seeking the death penalty. He attended Tuesday’s hearing where Amber pleaded guilty to federal charges, but he’s not done.

She is charged with two counts of capital murder and one count of kidnapping in Benton County. The problem, per the Democrat-Gazette, is that federal authorities have purportedly refused to give them access to Amber.