Pineville couple indicted in death of pregnant woman
Nov. 18—SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A federal grand jury has indicted a Pineville couple in the kidnapping and death of a pregnant woman from Arkansas.
A two-count indictment was handed up Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Springfield charging Amber Waterman, 41, with kidnapping resulting in the death of Ashley Bush and charging her husband, Jamie Waterman, 42, with being an accessory after the fact.
The indictment states that Amber Waterman kidnapped and killed Bush to claim her unborn child as her own.
Bush, of Maysville, Arkansas, was almost eight months pregnant when her fiance, Joshua Willis, reported her missing Oct. 31 to the Benton County (Arkansas) Sheriff's Department.
Willis told investigators that he and Bush had met a woman named "Lucy" on Oct. 28 at the library in Gravette, Arkansas, concerning a job opportunity for Bush that "Lucy" offered to arrange with a supervisor at her place of work in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Willis reported that he drove Bush to a convenience store in Maysville where "Lucy" met them and drove off with Bush in a pickup truck. He said he later received a message from Bush that she was on her way back and that he could pick her up at the same location. But, as he waited there, he saw the truck with Bush and "Lucy" drive past without stopping, headed north on Highway 43.
Willis' attempts to contact Bush by phone all went to voicemail, and the following day he found her cellphone on the side of the highway in Maysville.
A probable-cause affidavit filed with the charges contained in the indictment states that investigators located a Facebook account for "Lucy Barrows" on the phone that contained the posting: "I have a bunch of baby items if any moms to be need them."
Two witnesses also spoke with investigators about a man they had seen throw a cellphone from a pickup truck headed the opposite direction from their vehicle on Highway 43.
Information obtained from Facebook regarding the account of "Lucy Barrows" led detectives to the Watermans' home near Pineville, where they observed a pickup truck matching the description of the truck Willis had seen "Lucy" driving. Inside the truck, they spotted what appeared to be blood.
The couple told investigators that Amber Waterman had a miscarriage the evening of Oct. 31. Jamie Waterman told them that Amber Waterman had called him at work to tell him she was having a miscarriage and that he he had returned home to give her a ride to a store to meet an ambulance.
When asked about "Lucy Barrows," Amber Waterman acknowledged knowing a "Lucy" with whom she had worked at Walmart but claimed she had not seen her for a couple of weeks, and Jamie Waterman denied knowing Bush or having any knowledge of the missing woman's whereabouts.
Investigators with the Benton County and McDonald County sheriff's offices and the FBI returned to the Watermans' home Nov. 3 with a search warrant. Jamie Waterman, authorities say, acknowledged at that time that after detectives left the previous day, his wife had informed him that she killed Bush but then claimed it was actually "Lucy" who was responsible for her death.
The affidavit states that Jamie Waterman further acknowledged that Amber Waterman led him to Bush's body, which was lying face-down next to a boat near their home. He also allegedly admitted that he assisted her in attempting to cover up the crime by dousing the body with chain saw oil and setting it on fire behind their home.
Jamie Waterman purportedly told investigators that they then disposed of the remains at a site a short distance from their residence and subsequently led them to the site, where the charred body of the victim was recovered.
According to the affidavit, FBI evidence technicians also recovered a charred human hand and bone fragments from a burn pile behind the couple's home.
