Missouri woman admits to fatal kidnapping plot to steal pregnant woman's baby

A Missouri woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to the fatal kidnapping of a pregnant woman in a failed plot to claim the victim’s baby as her own, federal officials said.

Amber Waterman admitted to the Oct. 31, 2022, killing of Ashley Bush, who was 31 weeks pregnant with Valkyrie Grace Willis at the time, the federal prosecutor’s office for the Western District of Missouri said in a statement.

Waterman, 44, entered the plea in connection with two counts of kidnapping resulting in death, the statement said.

She was charged in Bush’s killing in November 2022. Seven months later, Waterman was indicted in Valkryie’s death.

Waterman admitted to luring Bush, 33, from Arkansas to Missouri via Facebook with a fake name and a false promise of a job offer, according to the statement.

They first met at an Arkansas library three days before her death, the statement says. On Oct. 31, shortly before noon, Waterman and Bush met at a convenience store in Maysville, Ark. Waterman — who authorities previously said introduced herself as “Lucy” — said she’d take Bush to meet a supervisor. 

At 5 p.m. that day, first responders were dispatched to a store in a nearby Missouri town where Waterman said she had given birth in her truck on the way to the hospital, according to the statement.

Authorities previously said Waterman told investigators the baby was a stillbirth. In reality, the statement said, the child was Bush’s.

An autopsy said that Bush died of “penetrating trauma to the torso,” according to the statement.

Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Nathan Smith previously told reporters that the bodies of Bush and her baby were found in different locations.

Bush’s body was believed to have burned in a fire pit, authorities have previously said, citing Waterman’s husband.

The husband, Jamie Waterman, was charged with one count of assisting his wife in the kidnapping and preventing her apprehension. It isn’t clear if he has entered a plea. 

Lawyers for Amber and Jamie Waterman have not responded to requests for comment.

In a statement, the U.S. Attorney Missouri’s Western District, 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.