Overview
- A Benton County judge imposed two life-without-parole sentences to run consecutively and ordered them to run consecutive to Waterman’s existing federal life terms.
- State prosecutors had pursued capital punishment, but the plea deal replaced a potential death-penalty trial with life sentences.
- Courts rejected Waterman’s double jeopardy challenge after her 2024 federal conviction, allowing the Arkansas case to proceed.
- Investigators say Waterman used the alias “Lucy” to lure 33-year-old Ashley Bush from Maysville on Oct. 31, 2022, and Bush’s body was found days later in Missouri.
- Federal filings note first responders were called that day for a baby not breathing and prosecutors say Bush’s child died in utero, while Jamie Waterman received six years and three months for aiding after the fact.