Missing Arkansas Pregnant Woman Found Dead, Separated from Unborn Child in Missouri

A pregnant woman from Benton County, Arkansas, who was last seen on Monday, along with the unborn child she was carrying, were found dead near McDonald, Missouri, and a couple is now being investigated in connection with the incident.

Amber and Jamie Waterman, who are married, are being held in McDonald, Missouri on first-degree kidnapping charges with additional charges to follow in relation to the death of Ashley Bush and the child she was carrying, according to Benton County Sheriff Shawn Holloway, who made the announcement during a news conference on Thursday.

31 Weeks Arkansas Pregnant Woman Found Dead

At the news conference, Nathan Smith, the prosecuting attorney for Benton County, said that it is still unknown if Bush was slain in Arkansas or Missouri. He further mentioned that the case involves several places.

Jail documents and a statement issued by the McDonald County Sheriff's Office in Missouri both indicate that the FBI was engaged in the Watermans' Thursday arrest. Smith predicted that the accused will likely face federal prosecution.

Bush, who was 31 weeks pregnant, was last seen in the passenger seat of an older model tan pickup vehicle near Maysville, Arkansas, according to a statement released by Benton County police on Tuesday. Investigators think Amber Waterman was "Lucy."

Police said that Bush's body was discovered on Monday in a different place than the baby she was expecting. In an email to CNN, McDonald County Sheriff Rob Evenson stated that the infant had been deceased since late Monday afternoon.

Although the remains were both discovered in Missouri, Smith stated that detectives were still attempting to determine how the killings happened. How the mother and baby were seperated was not further discussed by him. He said that it was too early in the inquiry to talk about a potential motive. He did note that the evidence indicated that when she was kidnapped and slain, Bush believed she was her route to a job interview.

Couple Left Dead Pregnant Woman in Missouri

On Halloween, near the crossroads of Highways 72 and 43 in Maysville, Bush was last seen riding in the backseat of a stranger's car, Fox News reported. Bush met the driver, who went by the fake identity "Lucy," online while looking for a job that would allow her to work from home, according to the investigators. Smith said the investigation indicates that Amber Waterman used the alias "Lucy" as a "fabricated identity."

"That someone would prey upon a pregnant woman at her most vulnerable position is incomprehensible, but regrettably that's the world we live in. This is simply a reminder that there is evil in the world, people do awful things," Smith said. According to the documents, Amber Waterman first informed the authorities that she had not left Missouri on the day Bush went missing, stating instead that she had "had a stillborn child that evening."

Her husband, Jamie Waterman, told detectives that his wife had contacted him that afternoon to tell him she was miscarrying. It was only afterwards, he claimed, that his wife told him she had murdered Bush and escorted him to the body, and he thought the blood found inside the tan pickup vehicle was from his wife's "pregnancy difficulties."

According to court records, the two then burned the body before moving it. He subsequently directed detectives to the location, where they discovered a "charred human body," according to the records. Jamie Waterman and Amber Waterman were both being kept in federal prison for yet-to-be-scheduled detention hearings. They'll be sent to Arkansas and might be charged with more crimes there, as per WHNT.