Woman, who used a knife to remove the unborn baby from a woman’s uterus after killing the soon-to-be mother and then claiming to have given birth to the baby, was sentenced

Missouri – In one of the most harrowing criminal cases to shake Arkansas and Missouri in recent memory, a 45-year-old woman, identified as A. Waterman, has now been sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole in Arkansas state court, in addition to her previously imposed federal life sentences for the 2022 murders of a 33-year-old woman, identified as A. Bush and her unborn daughter.

On Wednesday, Waterman formally pleaded guilty to two counts of premeditated and deliberate capital murder, avoiding the death penalty that state prosecutors had been determined to pursue. The ruling by Judge B. Karren ensured that Waterman will spend the rest of her life behind bars, serving her state sentences consecutively to her federal terms stemming from her July 2024 guilty plea to kidnapping resulting in death and causing the death of a child in utero.

According to court records and prosecutor statements, Waterman meticulously planned the attack by posing as a woman named “Lucy” on social media. Using the false identity, she contacted Bush, who was 31 weeks pregnant, under the guise of offering her a work-from-home job opportunity. The two met for a supposed interview on October 28, 2022, at a public library in Arkansas. Three days later, on October 31, Waterman convinced Bush to meet again, allegedly to meet a job supervisor. Bush entered Waterman’s vehicle, unaware it was a deadly trap. Waterman then kidnapped and transported Bush to her home in Missouri, where the attack escalated into a double homicide.

According to federal prosecutors, Waterman fatally shot Bush, then attempted to cut her unborn child from her womb with a knife in a desperate attempt to claim the baby as her own. When emergency responders were called later that day to a store, Waterman falsely claimed she had delivered the child herself inside her truck en route to the hospital. However, the truth quickly unraveled. The baby, who had died in utero due to the trauma Bush endured, was identified as Bush’s child. A medical examination later revealed that Bush had died from “penetrating trauma of the torso”, and that Waterman had also tried to burn the victim’s body in an effort to destroy evidence.

At the sentencing hearing, Prosecuting Attorney J. Robinson read emotional victim impact statements from Bush’s family. One statement, written by Bush’s aunt, captured the emotional weight of the crime:
“More than anything in this world, she wanted to be a mother… Trauma layered with shock and horror. A plea deal must not be interpreted as mercy or forgiveness.” Waterman’s plea deal required her to provide additional information to prosecutors about the crime to help bring closure to the grieving family. The sheriff’s office described the crime as one of the “most tragic and heinous” their detectives have ever encountered.

Waterman had already pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of kidnapping resulting in death and causing the death of a child in utero in July 2024. Her federal life sentences without parole were imposed shortly after. The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that the state’s case was not barred by double jeopardy, clearing the path for Wednesday’s sentencing on state capital murder charges. Waterman’s husband has also been criminally implicated. He previously pleaded guilty in federal court to being an accessory after the fact in the kidnapping and death of Bush. His trial had been scheduled to begin in October.

The brutal slayings of Bush and her unborn daughter left a deep scar across communities in Arkansas and Missouri. Waterman’s sentencing closes a legal chapter but leaves behind grieving relatives and a chilling reminder of how predatory deception can escalate into deadly violence. With four life sentences across two jurisdictions, Waterman will never walk free again. The lives of Bush and her unborn daughter, stolen in a calculated act of cruelty, will not be forgotten.