A woman, 44-year-old Amber Waterman, admitted to the October 31, 2022, murder of 33-year-old Ashley Bush, who was 31 weeks pregnant with Valkyrie Grace Willis. Waterman entered the plea in connection with two counts of kidnapping resulting in death.
In November 2022, Waterman was charged in Bush’s murder. Seven months later, she was indicted in Valkyrie’s death.
Waterman admitted to luring Bush from Arkansas to Missouri by Facebook with a fake name and a false promise of a job offer, the statement said.
They first met at an Arkansas library three days before Bush died. Shortly before noon on October 31, 2022, Waterman and Bush met at a convenience store in Maysville, Arkansas. Waterman — who authorities have said introduced herself as “Lucy” — said she would take Bush to meet a supervisor.
At 5 p.m. that day, first responders were sent to a store in a nearby Missouri town where Waterman said she had given birth in her truck on the way to the hospital.
Authorities previously said Waterman told investigators the baby was stillborn. In reality, the child was Bush’s.
An autopsy said Bush died of penetrating trauma to the torso.
The bodies of Bush and her baby were found in different locations. Bush’s body was believed to have been burned in a fire pit, according to Waterman’s husband, Jamie Waterman.
Jamie Waterman was charged with one count of assisting his wife in the kidnapping and preventing her apprehension. It isn’t clear whether he has entered a plea.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore said Amber Waterman’s guilty plea ensures that she will be held accountable.
She faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, Moore said.
