'Hitwoman' disguised in burka accused of attempting to gun down shop owner

Daily Mail​

22-07-2025

An American hitwoman dressed in a niqab and a burka tried to shoot dead a shopkeeper outside his home in Birmingham, UK, as part of a 'deadly' feud involving two families, a court heard.
Video footage shown to jurors allegedly shows Aimee Betro, 45, pointing a firearm at her intended victim as he arrives home in a car but her gun jams and he manages to speed away.
Hours later Betro returned to the victim's home and fired three shots through the window, Birmingham Crown Court was told.
Betro, originally from Wisconsin appeared in the dock Monday.
She denies three charges of conspiracy to murder, possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, and a charge related to the alleged importation of ammunition into the UK.
Opening the case, Tom Walkling KC, prosecuting told jurors that Betro had been involved in a conspiracy with two other men as part of their vendetta against businessman Aslat Mahumad.
Walkling said 'revenge was the motive' after Mohammed Nazir, 30, and Mohammed Aslam, 56, were injured during a clash at Muhamad's clothing store in July 2018.
'On the seventh of September 2019 in a suburban cul-de-sac in South Yardley a would-be assassin tried to shoot a man called Sikander Ali at close range outside his house.
'The assassin was a woman who tried to disguise her appearance by wearing a niqab - a face covering - and what looked like a burka.'
He told jurors the gun jammed but she was 'not deterred' and 'returned to the same address on the same street a few hours later and used the now-working gun to shoot three bullets through the bedroom windows of the victim's home.'
The court was told her two co-onspirators Nazir and his father Aslam, from Derby, had already been tried and convicted over the plot.
Both have been convicted of conspiracy to murder while Nazir was also convicted of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
Walkling said Betro was in contact with Nazir before she flew to Manchester Airport in August 2019.
He said Betro had two phones - a normal 'day to day' cell which she used regularly - and a 'dirty phone' - bought before the shooting.
Walkling said the motive for the murder was 'revenge'.
He said Nazir and Aslam were involved in a 'vendetta' with a family in Birmingham, specifically clothes shop owner called Mahumad, whose son was Sikander Ali.
Both men lived at an address in Measham Grove, South Yardley where Betro allegedly tried to murder Ali and where she fired bullets through the window.
The court heard that in July 2018 there was a disorder at Mahumad's shop which resulted in damage to the premises and Nazir, Aslam, and Aslat Mahumad all getting injured.
Jurors were told that in August Betro went to Birmingham and hired a Mercedes C Class car from Enterprise at Birmingham Airport.
She then stayed at a hotel in Derby for two nights before traveling to London and Brighton before returning to Birmingham and then back to Derby.
The court was played a video clip - from Nazir's phone - showing a gun being fired into the ground three days before the attempted shooting in Birmingham which prosecutors said was a bid to 'test' the weapon.
Walkling said: 'It's a firearm that fires the same caliber of ammunition that police recovered from outside the victim's home a few days after this video was made.'
The 'metadata' for the clip shows it was created on September 4, 2019, the day Betro was in Derby and three minutes before Nazir added Betro's snapchat details into his phone.
Walkling said to jurors: 'You have to ask yourself was Betro there with Nazir testing this gun?
Other surveillance footage from Rotunda hotel in Birmingham shows Betro in a summer dress, hoodie, rucksack and flip flops.
While at the hotel on September 6 she phoned Mahumad, claiming she wanted to buy the car he was selling online.
Walkling said: 'Mr Mahumad recalls being called by a woman with an American accent... He was confused, as he hadn't listed his number online.
'The woman said she wanted to buy the car today, but Mr Mahumad said she could see it tomorrow.
'As I'm sure you have guessed, ladies and gentlemen, we say the woman with the American accent was this defendant, Aimee Betro, and that she was calling Mr Mahumad as a pretext to set up a chance to kill him. And who else could it be? she had the phone she bought it only hours before.'
Later that night she met up with Nazir, who went with her to her hotel room where they ordered food before he traveled back to Derby with his father in their transit van.
The following day she tried to kill Aslat Mahumad's son, jurors were told.
The court heard she left the hotel and bought another cheap mobile phone and SIM card - all caught on CCTV.
After buying a Mercedes using a false name, she called Mahumad once again on the pretext of looking at a car. Mahumad said he couldn't meet, and that she could meet someone else with the car the next day.
Later that day she met with Nazir and Aslam with phone data showing her dirty phone connected to Nazir's wireless network.
The Mercedes was later seen at the entrance to Measham Grove. Mr Walking said the driver 'appears to be wearing a face-covering, a niqab'.
He said at 7.22pm hours, Betro drove onto Measham Grove and waited for her target.
At 9.10pm Sikander Ali pulled onto Measham Grove in his black SUV which was all caught on camera.
In video footage played to the court, a woman which the prosecution said was Betro, can be seen approaching the SUV and firing but the gun jams.
She later dumped the Mercedes. Police found a black glove with Betro's DNA inside.
'Further proof if any was needed ... that she was the gunwoman in the burka',' Mr Walkling said.
Six minutes later she was again caught on CCTV shown to the jury from close to where the car was dumped wearing a summer dress, hoodie and flip flops and carrying two bags.
Betro then sent text messages to her intended target, the court was told. Screenshots of the texts were shown to the jury.
She said to him: 'Where are you hiding? followed by 'Stop playing hide and seek you are lucky it jammed'.
Betro then called another taxi to take her back to Measham Grove.
Jurors were show CCTV of a figure matching Betro's description firing three shots in to the family home.
'Ladies and gentlemen the gun didn't jam that time did it?' Mr Walkling said.
'Did you note, the hoodie, and the handbag worn across her body, just as Betro was dressed earlier.
'Three shots were fired. Three bullets went through the windows of Aslat Muhamad's family home. Three bullet casings were found in the street outside.'
Walkling said Betro then got back into the taxi and during the journey she sent a text message to Mahumad which said: 'You wanna rip me off you wanna be a drug king go look at your house watch your back i'll be shedding blood'.
She flew back to the U.S. the following day from Manchester Airport.
Nazir flew out to join her three days later. The trial continues.