A Missouri woman will receive life in prison for murdering a pregnant stranger as part of a deranged plot to steal her unborn child, authorities announced this week.
Amber Waterman, 44, pleaded guilty Tuesday to luring victim Ashley Bush, 33, into murder by falsely promising her a job opportunity in October 2022 and then ripping her unborn baby from her body.
“This horrific crime resulted in the tragic deaths of two innocent victims,” said U.S. Attorney Theresa Moore. He said in a statement.
“Today’s guilty plea ensures that this defendant takes responsibility for his actions and justice will be served.”
During his guilty plea, Waterman admitted to shooting and killing Bush, who was 31 weeks pregnant, and then cutting the deceased woman’s fetus from her uterus.
This twisted plan failed: the fetus died in utero, and police quickly targeted her as Waterman attempted to disguise its death as a stillbirth, delivered in her truck on the way to the hospital.
Waterman quickly admitted that the unborn child was not his and admitted to burning the mother’s mutilated body in a fire pit and disposing of it.
The attacker created a fake Facebook account under the name “Lucy Burrows” and advertised a fictitious work-from-home job in a mothers’ group to lure Bush into killing him.
Bush, an Arkansas native, and her fiance, Josh Willis, went to the public library in Gravette, Arkansas, to meet “Lucy,” but Waterman said the two had to travel together to neighboring Gravette to meet the alleged boss.
Three days later, they left together, but Bush never returned.
Instead, Waterman kidnapped Bush to his home in Pineville, Missouri, where he carried out the cold-blooded murder.
Bush, a mother of three other children, had been in preparation for the birth and had affectionately named her unborn baby Valkyrie Willis.
Waterman’s husband, Jamie Waterman, was charged as an accessory after the fact for helping dispose of Bush’s body.
His trial is scheduled for October and he could face up to 15 years in prison.
