Aimee Betro: US woman behind failed assassination jailed for 30 years

A US woman at the centre of a failed assignation attempt in the UK has been jailed for 30 years.

Aimee Betro, from West Allis in Wisconsin, was hired as a killer as part of a plot to attack a British family in Birmingham in 2019, before going on the run for nearly five years.

She approached her victim during the attempt, in September 2019, only for her gun to jam when she pulled the trigger.

She was found guilty of conspiracy to murder, possessing a self-loading pistol with intent to cause fear of violence and illegally importing ammunition after a trial at Birmingham Crown Court.

During the sentencing hearing on Thursday at the same court, Judge Simon Drew KC said that Betro played a “leading role” in the attempt, which was carried out alongside Mohammed Aslam and his son Mohammed Nazir.

The two men, from Derby, were jailed for their role in the plot last year.

The judge said the trio had planned the attempted killing after Nazir and Aslam were injured during a fight at Aslat Mahumad’s clothing boutique in July 2018.

On 7 September 2019, Betro had parked up outside the house of Birmingham businessman Mr Mahumad and tried to shoot his son Sikander Ali, but the gun jammed.

“You went beyond simply reaching an agreement to kill and, in reality, you did intend to kill Mr Ali,” he said.

“It is only a matter of chance that Mr Ali wasn’t killed.

“You were engaged in a complex, well-planned conspiracy to murder.

“You were prepared to pull the trigger and did so on two separate occasions.”

The court heard, following the first failed attempt, Betro returned hours later, firing three shots into the upstairs window of the South Yardley home.