Details released in deaths of woman, baby
BENTONVILLE — A Missouri woman claimed she delivered a stillborn child on the day she’s accused of kidnapping a pregnant woman, according to court documents.
Amber and Jamie Waterman, both 42, were arrested Thursday in connection with the kidnapping of Ashley Bush, 33, of Maysville.
Bush, who was 31 weeks pregnant, was last seen in the passenger seat of an older tan pickup Oct. 31 at the intersection of Arkansas 72 and Arkansas 43 in Maysville, according to a post on the Benton County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.
Bush’s body was found Thursday in Missouri, and the body of her baby — Valkyrie Grace Willis — was found the day before elsewhere in Missouri, according to police.
The Watermans have been arrested on a federal charge of kidnapping resulting in death.
Amber Waterman told a Benton County sheriff’s detective she spent the day Monday, Oct. 31, with her son and her husband’s cousin’s daughter, according to the affidavit related to the case.
She claimed she went into labor on the afternoon of Oct. 31 and drove to meet an ambulance at a store in McDonald County, Mo., according to the affidavit. She told the detective she had a stillborn child, according to the affidavit.
Jamie Waterman said his wife called him at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 31 and told him she was having a
miscarriage. He returned home and drove her to meet the ambulance, according to the affidavit.
Amber Waterman posted on Facebook on Sept. 6 photographs of two sonogram images with the message, “I need some encouragement, guys. The closer time gets, the more doubt I can do this alone.”
Amber Waterman is accused of kidnapping and abducting Bush for the purpose and benefit of claiming Bush’s child as her own, according to court documents. Jamie Waterman is accused of being an accomplice in the kidnapping resulting in death.
Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Nathan Smith said Thursday that Bush and Amber Waterman met online.
The driver of the pickup was a white woman in her 40s with shoulder-length brown hair who said her name was “Lucy,” according to the Sheriff’s Office Facebook post on Nov. 1.
Bush met Lucy online when she was looking for a job working from home, according to the post. Lucy picked her up Monday morning (Oct. 31) at the Handi-Mart in Maysville to take her to a job interview in Bentonville, according to the post.
At 3 p.m., Bush texted her ride to say she was in Gravette, on her way back to the Handi-Mart, so he could pick her up. Lucy and Bush arrived at the intersection near HandiMart, turned north onto Arkansas 43 and continued north.
Authorities said they suspect Amber Waterman was “Lucy.”
Amber Waterman told the detective she knew “Lucy” and had previously worked with her at Walmart, according to the affidavit. She said the two were not close and she last saw “Lucy” a few weeks ago at the store, according to the affidavit.
Authorities seized a tan Chevrolet pickup from the couple after seeing what was possibly blood in the vehicle, according to the affidavit. Jamie Waterman said he assumed the blood came from his wife as a result of her pregnancy complications, according to the affidavit.
He reported his wife told him after detectives left the residence at 5 a.m. on Wednesday (Nov. 2) that she had killed Bush but changed her story to say that “Lucy” had killed Bush, according to the affidavit.
Jamie Waterman said his wife led him to Bush’s body, which was facedown next to a boat near their house. The body was covered with a blue tarp, the affidavit states.
He said his wife removed a ring from Bush’s finger, then rolled her body onto the tarp, according to the affidavit. Jamie Waterman said he dragged the body to a fire pit behind their residence and his wife asked him to get the gasoline, the affidavit states.
Jamie Waterman said he brought oil and his wife set the tarp on fire and poured the oil over Bush’s body. He said his wife collected wood to throw on the fire and Jamie Waterman said he dragged a small sofa next to the fire and believes his wife put the sofa into the fire, according to the affidavit.
Jamie Waterman said he got another tarp and his wife rolled the burned body into the tarp; they then put the body in Jamie Waterman’s blue GMC pickup and drove a short distance away and hid the body, according to the affidavit.
Jamie Waterman later led authorities to Bush’s charred body and FBI agents found a charred human hand and bone fragments in a burn pit behind the residence, according to the affidavit.
Smith and Benton County Sheriff Shawn Holloway would not comment Thursday on whether the baby had been removed from Bush’s body. Smith would only say the baby was not found with her mother.
Authorities believe Bush had been shot, Smith said.
Smith said he has to discuss jurisdictional issues with federal prosecutors because the couple could be charged federally in Missouri and Arkansas but also face state charges in Arkansas and Missouri.
Holloway said he expects the couple to face additional charges.
Don Ledford, public affairs officer for the U.S. Attorney’s Office Western District of Missouri, said the Watermans had a brief court appearance Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush. They are scheduled for detention hearings Wednesday before Rush in Springfield, Mo.