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US Woman Convicted in 2019 Birmingham Assassination Plot

Sentencing is set for August 21 after jurors relied on a familial DNA match from her mother to tie Betro to the murder attempt

Overview

  • On August 12, a jury at Birmingham Crown Court found Aimee Betro guilty of conspiracy to murder, possession of a self-loading pistol and unlawful importation of ammunition
  • Investigators secured a familial DNA match by obtaining a voluntary swab from Betro’s mother in Wisconsin and linking it to a glove left at the scene and to firearm components shipped to the UK
  • CCTV footage and phone records showed Betro arriving at Yardley, Birmingham, in disguise on September 7, 2019, firing at Sikander Ali’s home after her gun jammed at point-blank range
  • UK and US agencies including the FBI, National Crime Agency and West Midlands Police coordinated with Armenian authorities to locate, arrest and extradite Betro from Armenia earlier this year
  • Prosecutors say the plot was organised by co-conspirator Mohammed Nabil Nazir and his father, motivated by a 2018 feud at a Birmingham boutique, and both men have already been jailed