A woman accused of kidnapping and murdering a 31-week pregnant woman and her unborn baby has changed her plea to guilty.
Amber Waterman, 44, did so Tuesday, after being slated to stand trial on October 21 in Springfield, Missouri. She pleaded guilty to kidnapping resulting in death and causing the death of an unborn child, according to documents filed in federal court.
Waterman had originally pleaded not guilty to those charges alongside her husband and alleged accomplice Jamie, after facing multiple delays.
The pair abducted 33-year-old Ashley Bush, who was found near Waterman’s home on November 3, 2022. The remains of the unborn child, named Valkyrie Grace Willis by the father and Bush’s fiancé, Joshua Willis, were found nearby.
Prosecutors said the pair abducted Bush ‘for the purpose and benefit of claiming [the] child as’ their own.
Amber Waterman, 44, changed her plea to guilty. Tuesday, after being slated to stand trial on October 21 in Springfield, Missouri
She pleaded guilty to kidnapping 33-year-old Ashley Bush in October 2021, causing her death, and causing the death of her unborn child. Prosecutors said she had been 31-weeks along at the time
‘This horrific crime resulted in the tragic deaths of two innocent victims,’ said U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore as Waterman is still subject to a stark sentence.
‘Today’s guilty plea holds this defendant accountable for her actions and ensures that justice will be served,’ the jurist said.
‘She is now subject to a mandatory sentence of life in federal prison without parole.’
The development came almost two years after Waterman, who met the victim on Facebook, first pleaded not guilty in federal court.
Officials in Benton County at the time said Waterman had lured Bush to her residence with a phony job interview posting, when the pregnant victim was looking for a job where she could work from home.
‘Lucy’ – the pseudonym used by Waterman – proceeded to meet Bush at an Arkansas library on October 28 of that year, under the pretense she would connect the victim with someone who could get her a job, prosecutors said.
They made plans to meet again at a convenience store on October 31, 2022, with Bush believing she would go with ‘Lucy’ to meet the supposed boss about 13 miles away – 25 miles from where the Watermans live in Missouri.
That day, Bush was dropped off at the store by her fiancé, Joshua. He later told cops how he saw her leave with the woman he had already seen meet with his betrothed days earlier.
Waterman had originally pleaded not guilty to those charges alongside her husband and alleged accomplice Jamie (pictured, after facing multiple delays.
Bush was dropped off at the store by her fiancé, Joshua. He later told cops how he saw her leave with the woman he had already seen meet with his betrothed days earlier. She, as well as her unborn child, turned up dead two days later
Bush would text Willis at around 3 pm, telling him she was on her way back to the store, prosecutors and investigators agreed.
But when the truck Willis saw Bush enter drove right by onto a local highway due north, Willis immediately grew suspicious.
He recognized the truck and that ‘Lucy’ was the one driving, leading him to continue to try and contact his fiancée.
After repeatedly being met with her voicemail, he reported her missing by 6:30 pm.
Two days later, Bush was found dead from an apparent gunshot wound, with her unborn child found out of the womb, close by.
Feds soon discerned that Bush had been kidnapped by Waterman, before being taken to the woman’s residence in Pineville, Missouri.
At around 5 pm on November 2, 2021, emergency responders went to a store in the town for a call about a baby not breathing. Upon being arrested, Waterman told officers she had given birth to the child in the vehicle on the way to the hospital.
‘But in reality, she admitted, the child was Bush’s child, who died in utero, as a result of Waterman’s kidnapping that resulted in the death of Bush,’ a press release announcing her recent change of heart said.
Autopsy results would go on to show that Bush died as a result of penetrating trauma to her torso – undoubtedly a homicide, investigators declared.
Bush died as a result of penetrating trauma to her torso – undoubtedly a homicide, investigators declared
Amber’s sentencing is set for October 15 at 11 a.m. No new hearings or plea change documents have been filed for Jamie, with his trial date is still set for October 21
‘Under federal statutes, Waterman is subject to a mandatory sentence of life in federal prison without parole on each count,’ the release said.
‘The sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.’
As for Jamie, who cops declared assisted Amber after she kidnapped Bush while knowing she had committed a crime, he is charged with one count of being an accessory after the fact to kidnapping resulting in death.
. No new hearings or plea change documents have been filed for Jamie, with his trial date is still set for October 21
Amber’s sentencing has been set for October 15 at 11 am, where a judge will decide her fate.
