Amber Waterman pleaded guilty in federal court to the 2022 kidnapping and murder of a pregnant Arkansas woman, whom she tricked with a job offer but also confessed that her intention was to steal her baby, who also died in the attack, the U.S. District Attorney for the Western District of Missouri reported.
“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. She is now subject to a mandatory sentence of life in federal prison without parole.”
Amber Waterman, 44, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to one count of kidnapping resulting in death and one count of causing the death of a child in utero, the district attorney’s office said in a statement.
His intention was to keep the baby.
In pleading guilty, Waterman admitted that he had kidnapped Ashley Bush so that he could claim her unborn daughter, Valkyrie Willis, as his own. Waterman transported Ashley Bush from Maysville, Arkansas, to Pineville. The kidnapping resulted in the deaths of both Ashley and baby Valkyrie Willis.
During the hearing, Waterman admitted that, using a false name, she began making contact via Facebook with Bush, who was approximately 31 weeks pregnant. The defendant pretended to help the victim find a job, suggesting that she had a job opportunity for her.
The women held an in-person meeting on October 28, 2022, at the public library in Gravette, Arkansas, with this in mind. They agreed to meet again on October 31, 2022, they said in the statement.
She said she had given birth
On October 31, 2022, at approximately 11:45 a.m., the women met at the Handi-Stop convenience store in Maysville, Arkansas. Under the pretense that Waterman was taking her to meet with a supervisor to further discuss employment, Bush boarded a truck driven by Waterman, but Waterman kidnapped her and drove her from Maysville to her residence in Pineville.
At approximately 5:00 p.m. on October 31, 2022, emergency services responded to the Longview store in Pineville for an emergency call about a baby not breathing. Waterman told emergency services that she had delivered the baby girl in the truck while on the way to the hospital.
But, he admitted that the child was Bush’s son, and that he died in utero as a result of Waterman’s kidnapping that resulted in Bush’s death. The autopsy indicated that he died from penetrating trauma to the torso and his death was classified as a homicide.
In November 2022, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office reported that Bush’s charred remains were found in Missouri. The body of her unborn baby was found the day before at another location.
“We have found Ashley Bush, who we believe was murdered,” Sheriff Shane Holloway said at a news conference at the time. “We also found her baby, Valkyrie Grace Willis, who is also deceased and was found elsewhere. I won’t go into details on that.”
Under federal statutes, Amber Waterman is subject to a mandatory sentence of life in federal prison without parole for each count.
The defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court based on advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. She is scheduled for a sentencing hearing on October 15, 2024.
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