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On Thursday, November 3, 2022, the body of a missing Arkansas woman, identified as Ashley Bush, and her dead fetus were found in two separate locations. According to Benton County Prosecutor Nathan Smith, Bush was reportedly shot dead.
A married couple from Missouri has been arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and murdering Ashley Bush, who was 31 weeks pregnant. Amber Watterman and Jamie Watterman were taken into custody and are being held in the McDonald County Jail.
In a statement posted on Facebook, the McDonald County Sheriff's Office said:
"November 3, 2022, McDonald County Sheriff's Office, assisting the Benton County AR Sheriff's Office and the FBI, served a search warrant on Laughlin Ridge Road in connection with a missing person/kidnapping investigation that began earlier in the week. During the service of the warrant, human remains were found that are believed to be connected to this investigation."
Prosecutor Smith refused to go into detail or outline the motive behind such a gruesome death but said:
"Clearly, the baby was not found with the mother."
He believes that the Missouri couple will face additional charges as the investigation proceeds.
Who killed Ashley Bush? Pregnant Arkansas woman was allegedly lured in by a job offer
Ashley Bush went missing on October 31. She was reported missing by her boyfriend and the father of her unborn child, Joshua Willis, after he located her abandoned phone in northern Maysville, Arkansas.
Joshua Willis also told officers that his girlfriend had supposedly gone to meet a "Lucy" for a job interview in Bentonville, Arkansas. The soon-to-be mother was apparently looking for a work-from-home job, and "Lucy," whom the couple had met recently in a public library, offered her one.
According to investigators working on this case, "Lucy" never existed, it was just an alias being used by Amber Waterman. She was allegedly looking for either a pregnant woman or a new mom. Investigators believe that Ashley Bush was targeted and killed for her fetus.
The Watermans partially burned Bush's body and tried to dispose it off. As for the unborn child, Amber Waterman allegedly claimed that she had a miscarriage and gave birth to an unresponsive baby.
In a press release, the U.S. Department of Justice, Western District of Missouri, said:
"Amber Waterman is charged with one count of kidnapping resulting in death... Amber Waterman kidnapped Ashley Bush... in order to claim her unborn child as her own."
Her husband, Jamie Waterman, is charged with one count of being an accessory after the fact to kidnapping resulting in death. According to court documents, he helped his wife in disposing off the dead body of Bush.
