A Wisconsin woman, Aimee Betro, 44, was convicted this week for traveling overseas to try to kill a man for her lover. She also sent threatening messages to the man’s father, who police believe was also a target.
In August 2019, Betro tried to shoot Sikander Ali outside his home in Birmingham, England, but her gun jammed. She returned later and fired at the house multiple times, causing heavy damage before fleeing in a taxi. While in the taxi, she sent scary texts to Ali’s father, saying things like, “Stop playing hide n seek. You’re lucky it jammed. Who is it? Your family or you? Pick one.”
Betro, from Allis, Wisconsin, had no major criminal history. She went to the U.K. pretending to be a tourist to meet her lover, Mohammed Nazir, who she had met on a dating app. Nazir had asked Betro to kill Ali’s father or another family member as revenge after a fight at Ali’s father’s clothing store the previous year, which left both men injured and started a family feud.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(795x484:797x486):format(webp)/Mohammed-Nazir-Mohammed-Aslam-westmidlands-police-081325-1deefc8b5c744aba8121e6f480d792c6.jpg)
After meeting Nazir, Betro bought a burner phone and a Mercedes to use as a getaway car, using the fake name Becky Booth. On September 7, she waited in the Mercedes for about 45 minutes. When Ali arrived, she got out with a gun and tried to shoot him at close range, but the gun jammed. Ali escaped in his car and hit the Mercedes, leaving a dent that helped police link the car to Betro.
After a second attack on Ali’s home, Betro fled the country, but her DNA was found on a glove in the car. Nazir and Ali’s father, Mohammed Aslam, were convicted of conspiracy to murder last year and sentenced to 32 and 10 years in prison, respectively.
Betro hid in Armenia for five years until a reporter found her and alerted police. She was brought back to the U.K. and is set to be sentenced on August 21.
