A US woman has been found guilty of conspiracy to murder after attempting a point‑blank shooting in the UK, the BBC reported on Tuesday. According to the report, Aimee Betro who hails from West Allis in Wisconsin, entered Britain back in 2019 with the express purpose of assassinating a member of the Ali family in Birmingham, targetting Sikander Ali. The trial revealed she fled the scene when her gun jammed and the intended victim escaped unharmed.
Betro went on the run for nearly five years before being apprehended in Armenia and extradited back to Britain, the report said. Amid the dramatic police chase, investigators said that Betro “had virtually no criminal past prior to the murder plot.”
Courtroom Drama in Birmingham
At Birmingham Crown Court, the jury deliberated for nearly 21 hours before issuing their verdicts.
Betro, the report said, was convicted of:
- Conspiracy to murder
- Possession of a self‑loading pistol with intent to cause fear
- Illegally importing ammunition
The verdict was 11–1 on the conspiracy and firearm charges and unanimous on the ammunition count, as reported by the British broadcaster. Notably, Betro sat expressionless in court, wearing a purple T-shirt and sporting “space buns” in her hair as the verdict was being read.
A Vengeful Conspiracy
According to the BBC, Betro had conspired with two men — Mohammed Nazir and Mohammed Aslam — in vengeance over an incident in 2018 at a clothing boutique. Nazir and Aslam, both jailed last year for the same plot, had reportedly orchestrated the scheme in retaliation for injuries they sustained.
Detective Chief Inspector Alastair Orencas told the UK-based media organisation that “the niqab didn’t work very well”.
“The footwear didn’t change, phones didn’t change… CCTV cameras caught her.” He attributed the failed assassination to either the malfunctioning weapon or possibly even a “rogue” bullet, while adding that if Betro had expected British police to be ineffective, she was “fatally flawed.”
Betro is scheduled to be sentenced on August 21.
