Woman who killed pregnant victim she met on Facebook, cut fetus from her womb and 'claimed' child as her own is sentenced

A 45-year-old pistillate successful Arkansas volition walk the remainder of her life down bars for luring a large unfortunate into a fatal ambush and cutting retired her fetus successful a botched scheme to "claim" the kid arsenic her own.

Amber Dawn Waterman connected Wednesday formally pleaded blameworthy to 2 counts of premeditated and deliberate superior execution for the 2022 slayings of 33-year-old Ashley Bush and her unborn child, Valkyrie Grace Willis.

Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren subsequently ordered Waterman to service 2 sentences of beingness successful a authorities correctional installation without the accidental for parole. The sentences volition beryllium served consecutive to each different and consecutive to her national sentences for kidnapping resulting successful decease and causing the decease of a kid successful utero, which she pleaded blameworthy to successful July 2024.

Waterman's plea allowed her to debar the decease penalty, which authorities prosecutors successful Arkansas had been adamant astir pursuing successful her case.

The Arkansas Supreme Court had already ruled that the authorities lawsuit against Waterman was not barred by treble jeopardy.

"This lawsuit represents 1 of the astir tragic and heinous crimes our detectives person ever encountered," the Benton County Sheriff's Office said successful a news release aft the sentencing. "It profoundly impacted our assemblage and volition stay with america forever."

During the plea and sentencing hearing, Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Josh Robinson work a bid of unfortunate interaction statements from Bush's household and friends, section NBC affiliate KNWA reported.

"More than thing successful this world, Ashley wanted to beryllium a mother," Bush's aunt reportedly wrote successful 1 of the statements. "Trauma layered with daze and horror. A plea woody indispensable not beryllium interpreted arsenic mercy oregon forgiveness."

As portion of the plea deal, Waterman is reportedly required to supply prosecutors with further accusation astir the transgression to assistance springiness the household closure.

As previously reported, Amber Waterman admitted to kidnapping Bush from Maysville and transporting her to Pineville, some of which are successful Arkansas. That kidnapping straight resulted successful the deaths of Bush and Valkyrie.

Waterman utilized a mendacious sanction — "Lucy" — to interaction Bush via Facebook portion the unfortunate was 31 weeks pregnant. She pretended to assistance Bush get a occupation by telling her she had an accidental the unfortunate could fill. That enactment prompted an in-person "job interview" betwixt the 2 women connected Oct. 28, 2022, astatine a nationalist room successful Gravette, Arkansas, wherever Amber Waterman offered Bush a work-from-home presumption for a institution based retired of Arkansas.

"On Oct. 31, 2022, astatine astir 11:45 a.m., Bush met Waterman astatine the Handi-Stop convenience store successful Maysville," national prosecutors wrote successful a quality release. "Under the pretext that Waterman was taking her to conscionable a supervisor to further sermon employment, Bush got into a motortruck driven by Waterman."

Amber Waterman past kidnapped Bush and drove the large pistillate to the Waterman residence successful Pineville.

"At astir 5 p.m. connected Oct. 31, 2022, archetypal responders reported to the Longview store successful Pineville for an exigency telephone of a babe who was not breathing," prosecutors wrote. "Waterman admitted that she claimed to archetypal responders that she had fixed commencement to the kid successful the motortruck portion connected the mode to the hospital. But successful reality, she admitted, the kid was Bush's child, who died successful utero, arsenic a effect of Waterman's kidnapping that resulted successful the decease of Bush."

A consequent autopsy determined that Bush's mode of decease was a homicide and the origin of decease was "penetrating trauma of the torso." Authorities accidental that Amber Waterman changeable and killed Bush, past utilized a weapon to effort to region the unborn kid from her uterus. She besides attempted to pain Bush's body.