A Missouri woman will spend life in prison for killing a pregnant stranger as part of a demented ploy to steal her unborn baby, officials announced this week.
Amber Waterman, 44, pleaded guilty Tuesday to luring her victim, 33-year-old Ashley Bush, to her death in October 2022 with a fake promise of a job opportunity — only to rip the fetus from her body.
“This horrific crime resulted in the tragic deaths of two innocent victims,” US Attorney Teresa Moore said in a statement.
“Today’s guilty plea holds this defendant accountable for her actions and ensures that justice will be served.”
As part of the plea, Waterman admitted that she gunned down Bush, who was 31 weeks pregnant, before cutting the dead mom-to-be’s fetus out of her womb.
The twisted plan proved unsuccessful — the baby died in utero and police immediately set their sights on Waterman after she tried to pass off the dead fetus as a stillborn she had birthed in a truck while on the way to the hospital.
Waterman quickly admitted that the fetus wasn’t hers — and that she had burned and ditched the mother’s mutilated body in a fire pit.
The killer had lured Bush to her death by creating a fake Facebook account under the name “Lucy Barrows” advertising a fictitious work-from-home job opportunity that she shared on a group for mothers.
Bush, of Arkansas, and her fiancé, Josh Willis, went to a public library in Gravette, Arkansas to meet “Lucy,” during which time Waterman said the two women would have to travel together to the neighboring town of Gravette to meet the supposed boss.
They set off together three days later, but Bush never returned.
Instead, Waterman kidnapped Bush to her home in Pineville, Missouri, where she carried out the cold-blooded murder.
Bush, the mother of three other children, had lovingly named the unborn baby Valkyrie Willis in preparation for her birth.
Waterman’s husband, Jamie Waterman, was charged with being an accessory after the fact for allegedly helping dispose of Bush’s body.
His trial is scheduled for October. He faces up to 15 years behind bars.
