Woman 31 weeks pregnant found dead in Missouri, cops say. Her baby was found elsewhere

A pregnant woman picked up in Arkansas for what she believed was a job interview was found killed in Missouri, cops say.

Her unborn child, according to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office in Arkansas, was discovered dead in a different location within McDonald County in southwestern Missouri.

The deaths of Ashley Bush and her daughter Valkyrie Grace Willis led to the arrests of Amber Waterman and Jamie Waterman, a married couple from Jane, Missouri. Amber Waterman was charged with kidnapping resulting in death and her husband is charged with being an accessory after the fact to kidnapping resulting in death.

Amber Waterman originally kidnapped Bush “to claim her unborn child as her own,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri said.

Benton County Sheriff Shawn Holloway called it “one of the most horrific cases” he has been involved in.

Bush, a 33-year-old woman who was 31 weeks pregnant, met a woman going by the name of Lucy online when she was looking for a job, the sheriff’s office said. Lucy picked Bush up on Monday, Oct. 31, at a convenience store in Maysville to take her to a job interview in Bentonville, Arkansas, but Bush never arrived at that interview.

Bush was reported as missing on Tuesday.

Authorities said “Lucy” was a fictitious persona of Amber Waterman, and her husband is also believed to be involved in the crime, Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Nathan Smith said.

Bush’s fetus was discovered dead on Wednesday, Nov. 2, officials said. Officers found Bush dead from a suspect gunshot wound the following day.

Amber Waterman is accused of killing Bush, then showing her husband the body.

“The Watermans allegedly burned the body, moved it onto the bed of Jamie Waterman’s blue GMC pickup, and drove a short distance from their residence to hide the body,” federal officials said.

Bush was a mother of three children, ages 8, 7 and 2, according to KHBS.

Authorities did not say how the fetus was removed from Bush’s body or where within McDonald County they were found. Benton County, Arkansas, is about 35 miles south of McDonald County, Missouri.

The Watermans told authorities that Bush had a miscarriage, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Blood stains were found in the pickup truck as detectives were investigating.

Authorities said Jamie Waterman later led detectives to Bush’s body on Thursday.

“This is just a reminder that there is evil in the world, people do evil things,” Smith said. “That someone would prey upon a pregnant woman in her most vulnerable state is unimaginable, but unfortunately that is the world we live in.”

It’s unclear if the killings took place in Arkansas or Missouri. A person accused of killing a pregnant woman in Arkansas can be charged with two counts of murder, Smith said.

Josh Willis, Bush’s fiance, said in a statement to KHBS that he is “disgusted in the whole situation.”

“I wish that Ashley and Valkyrie were alive and home with us all,” Willis said. “I cant believe that there are people out there that would do something like this. She was a great mother, a wonderful wife, a very outgoing, caring, and kind person. They didn’t deserve any of this. There are three amazing kids here that just lost their mother/best friend and little sister.”

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