A US woman who was hired as a killer and tried to shoot a man in the UK at point-blank range has been found guilty of conspiracy to murder.
Would-be assassin Aimee Betro, from West Allis in Wisconsin, flew into the country as part of a plot to attack a British family in Birmingham in 2019, before going on the run for nearly five years.
Her co-conspirators had been involved in a feud with the family, her trial heard.
During the case at Birmingham Crown Court, jurors were told Betro hid her identity using a niqab when she tried to fire shots on Measham Grove, Yardley, but her gun jammed and the individual at whom she had aimed fled the scene unharmed.
Jurors deliberated for almost 21 hours before convicting Betro of conspiracy to murder, possessing a self-loading pistol with intent to cause fear of violence, and illegally importing ammunition.
During the trial, they heard the defendant had been involved in a conspiracy with two men – Mohammed Nazir and Mohammed Aslam – as part of their vendetta against Birmingham businessman Aslat Mahumad.
Prosecutors said revenge was the men’s motive after Nazir and Aslam were injured during disorder at Mr Mahumad’s clothing boutique in July 2018.
A plot was hatched, the court heard, to have someone kill Mr Mahumad or a member of his family. That person was Betro.
But despite the events in which she was a key player, detectives have suggested records point to Betro having virtually no criminal past prior to the murder plot.
She nevertheless produced a gun one September night six years ago, with Mr Mahumad’s son, Sikander Ali, the one to face the barrel after she lay in wait outside their family home.
Her convictions came after Nazir, 31, and his father Aslam, 59, both from Derby, were jailed last year having been convicted of conspiracy to murder.
As the jury returned its verdicts following Betro’s trial, the defendant, wearing a purple T-shirt and with her hair in space buns, showed no obvious reaction and stared towards the jury.
She was found guilty by a majority 11-1 verdict, on the conspiracy to murder and firearm charges, and by a unanimous verdict on the ammunition charge. She is due to be sentenced on 21 August.
