A Missouri woman who confessed in court that she had abducted and murdered a pregnant Arkansas woman in an apparent attempt to take custody of her unborn child will be imprisoned for the remainder of her life.
In U.S. District Court in Springfield on Tuesday, Amber Waterman, 44, of Pineville, Missouri, entered a guilty plea to one count each of kidnapping that resulted in death and causing the death of an unborn child. According to U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore, Waterman will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release. Oct. 15 is the official sentencing date.
Waterman said in her plea that she had contacted Ashley Bush of Siloam Springs, Arkansas, on Facebook under a false identity. Bush, 33, had been pregnant for roughly 31 weeks at the time.
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According to federal authorities, Waterman and Bush made plans to meet on October 31, 2022, at a convenience shop in Arkansas, pretending that Waterman would be assisting Bush obtain employment. Rather, Waterman took Bush to his Pineville house in a car.
A infant wasn’t breathing, so first responders were called to the house a few hours later. The infant was declared deceased. Initially, Waterman stated that she had given birth. She acknowledged in her plea that the child was Bush’s. In addition, Bush had three further children.
Bush’s body turned up somewhere else. She was shot in the head, according to Arkansas officials, but neither the police nor the prosecutors would comment on the baby’s cause of death.Jamie Waterman, the spouse of Waterman, was accused of aiding in the disposal of Bush’s body and was charged with accessory after the fact. October is when his trial is set to begin.
