American ‘hitwoman’ convicted of Birmingham assassination plot

An American citizen who attempted to murder a Birmingham clothing shop owner as part of an international assassination plot, before leaving the country and going on the run, has been convicted. 

‘Hitwoman’ Aimee Betro, 44, from Wisconsin, USA dressed in a niqab to hide her identity when she tried to shoot dead her victim outside his South Yardley home in an east Birmingham cul-de-sac in September 2019.

Today (12 August 2025) at Birmingham Crown Court she was convicted of conspiracy to murder, possession of a firearm with intent and being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of ammunition. 

Specialist Prosecutor Hannah Sidaway OBE, from the Crown Prosecution Service in the West Midlands, said: “This prosecution is a culmination of years of hard work doggedly pursuing Aimee Betro across countries and borders while she remained relentless in her bid to escape justice. 

“Betro tried to kill a man in a Birmingham street at point-blank range. It is sheer luck that he managed to get away unscathed. 

“The prosecution case included incriminating CCTV footage from the scene of the crime, digital forensics, mobile phone data and evidence collated from cooperation and collaboration across multiple countries and criminal justice agencies – from West Midlands Police, Derbyshire Constabulary to the Federal Bureau of Investigation – all of which pointed to one culprit. 

“Only Betro knows what truly motivated her or what she sought to gain from becoming embroiled in a crime that meant she travelled hundreds of miles from Wisconsin to Birmingham to execute an attack on a man she did not know. The jury clearly agreed this was a planned hit which failed. 

“Dangerous firearms have no place in our communities, and the use of them has all too often led to devastating consequences. Aimee Betro will now have to face the consequences of her actions.” 

The plan for which Betro flew into the UK was part of a revenge plot arranged by father and son, Mohammed Aslam and Mohammed Nazir from Derbyshire. It stemmed from a dispute the pair had previously had with a Birmingham clothing shop owner.

In November 2024 Nazir was sentenced to 32 years for offences including conspiracy to murder, while his father Aslam was sentenced to 10 years. They had denied any wrongdoing but were convicted in relation to the same incident after a trial. 

In the second trial the court heard that gunwoman Betro was recruited by her long-distance lover Nazir, and she travelled to the UK in August 2019 to carry out the planned assassination in Birmingham the next month. She disguised herself in a niqab covering her face and tried to shoot the victim at point-blank range as he arrived home, however, the gun jammed or malfunctioned. This meant the intended target was able to get away. 

She returned hours later and fired three bullets through the windows of the victim’s family home – luckily no one was hurt. 

Betro left the country soon after the failed attempt, returning to America before choosing to hide out in Armenia where she was extradited from. 

An international arrest request for Betro was issued by the UK in June 2024, and this was executed by Armenian authorities weeks later in July 2024. She then appeared in an Armenian court two days later before arriving in the UK to face proceedings. 

John Sheehan, Head of the CPS Extradition unit, said: “This was a complex investigation and extradition process which required bringing together multiple agencies including the National Crime Agency and Armenian Courts. We worked together to make sure we had a watertight prima facie case in order to lawfully arrest Aimee Betro in a foreign country without her becoming aware and potentially fleeing again. 

“I hope these convictions send a clear message that we will actively work with our criminal justice partners domestically and internationally to pursue criminals who attempt to evade justice, and make sure that they are brought to a courtroom to be held accountable for their actions.” 

Betro will be sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on 21 August 2025. 

Building the case

The prosecution case relied on CCTV evidence, mobile phone data, witness testimony, digital forensics and cooperation with international agencies. Both linked trials were carried out without the victims giving live evidence. 

Telephone evidence revealed Betro had visited Nazir in Derby on 4 September 2019, where crucial video footage from his mobile phone showed a gun being test-fired on wasteland near the A38. The weapon jammed during filming, exactly matching what happened during the assassination attempt three days later.

Attack day

On the day of the attack, CCTV showed Betro leaving her hotel on 7 September 2019 wearing a distinctly cut summer dress, hoodie, and flip-flops. She later purchased a getaway vehicle from a car dealer who confirmed that he sold a Mercedes E240 to an American woman wearing exactly the same outfit. This Mercedes became the vehicle from which Betro attempted to murder the victim and her means of escape. She had purchased the Mercedes using the false name ‘Becky Booth’, the same fake identity she used when calling taxis throughout the endeavour. 

CCTV footage captured her Mercedes driving in convoy with Nazir and Aslam's red Volvo, repeatedly scoping out the victim’s address before the attack. After driving past the target address repeatedly in convoy with her co-conspirators, Betro lay in wait in her Mercedes for over 45 minutes as it got dark.

At 8:10pm, when the victim arrived home in his black SUV, Betro was captured on CCTV cameras immediately exiting her vehicle and approaching the victim with a firearm clearly visible in her hand. The weapon jammed or malfunctioned, allowing the victim to quickly get back into his car and reverse at speed, clipping the Mercedes' open door as he escaped. Crucially, further CCTV then showed Betro driving the same Mercedes with its damaged door after the attack, providing further proof of her presence at the crime scene.

After the botched assassination attempt Betro changed into distinctive trousers and toe-capped shoes before returning hours later to the victim’s address having abandoned her vehicle nearby. At 12:18am on 8 September 2019, she called a taxi company using her false identity ‘Becky’, requesting transport to the victim’s address with a distinctly American pronunciation of the address. The taxi dropped her near the family home, where CCTV captured her distinctive trousers and toe-capped shoes as she approached the property. She fired three shots through the windows - two bullets penetrating the bay window and one going through the bedroom window, causing extensive damage to the family home. 

Betro then returned to the taxi for her return journey during which her unregistered phone sent final taunting messages to the victim's father before being discarded permanently. One read: ‘Where are you hiding’ and another said: ‘Stop playing hide ‘n’ seek you’re lucky it jammed’.

Plotting again

Betro fled the UK within hours of the shooting, and her co-conspirator Nazir joined her in the USA three days later, during which they orchestrated another revenge plot targeting another man from Derby. 

As part of this scheme Betro sent three packages containing illegal ammunition and firearm components from a post office in Palatine, Illinois, using the false name 'M. Chandler’ – the name of someone she had previous contact with, to set up the Derby man. The venture involved Nazir tipping police off about the packages in order to frame the man, who was initially arrested before Nazir's role was exposed. 

Forensics 

DNA evidence played a crucial part in proving Betro's guilt, with forensic analysis providing irrefutable proof of her involvement in both the Birmingham attacks and separate ammunition offences. 

When the abandoned Mercedes she had driven was recovered, police found a black glove inside containing Betro's DNA, providing forensic proof that definitively linked her to the getaway vehicle. Her DNA was also found on items inside all three packages sent to frame the innocent Derby man. The DNA from both crime scenes were compared, and shown to be from the same person – although initially there was no match on UK databases, leading to an international investigation.