Man sentenced for role in pregnant woman’s kidnapping and death

By CNN Newsource

Published June 18, 2025 12:29 PM

By KHBS Staff

Arkansas (KHBS) — The Missouri man charged in the kidnapping of a pregnant Benton County woman was sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison

Jamie Waterman pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to a kidnapping resulting in death in October 2024.

Prosecutors say Jamie’s wife, Amber Waterman, kidnapped Ashley Bush in order to claim her unborn child as her own. The indictment states that the kidnapping resulted in Bush’s death.

Amber Waterman took a plea deal in federal court last year. She was given two consecutive life sentences without parole on charges of kidnapping resulting in death.

Arkansas law enforcement is also putting Amber Waterman on trial. However, a judge put Amber Waterman’s murder trial on pause so professionals can decide if she has the mental capacity for the hearings to continue.

Her attorneys say she has an abnormal growth in her brain.

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