A US woman who travelled to the UK to carry out a contract killing has been found guilty of conspiracy to murder. Aimee Betro, 45, from Wisconsin, flew to Britain in August 2019 as part of a violent feud between two families in Birmingham.
Birmingham Crown Court heard that Betro disguised herself in a niqab before pointing a handgun at Sikander Ali in a cul-de-sac on 7 September 2019. However, the gun jammed, allowing Mr Ali to escape in his car. Hours later, Betro returned to the scene and fired three shots into his house, which was empty at the time.
Betro had become involved in the plot after meeting Mohammed Nazir on a dating app and sleeping with him. Nazir and his father, Mohammed Aslam, were jailed in 2024 for their part in the bungled assassination. Betro was found guilty by majority verdicts of conspiracy to murder and possessing a self-loading pistol with intent to cause fear of violence, and unanimously of fraudulently evading the prohibition on importing ammunition.
During the trial, Betro claimed the real perpetrator was 'another American woman' who sounded similar, used the same phone and wore the same trainers. She described her presence near the scene as 'all just a terrible coincidence'. The jury deliberated for almost 21 hours before reaching their verdicts.
Betro showed no emotion as the verdicts were read and was remanded in custody. She will be sentenced on 21 August. Judge Simon Drew KC told the court: 'I suspect Miss Betro would like to know the outcome of this case and there is nothing worse than sitting waiting.'
