Wis. Hitwoman Aimee Betro Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison After Traveling to U.K. to Kill Man for Lover She Met on Dating App

A Wisconsin woman who traveled overseas and attempted to assassinate a man on behalf of someone she met on a dating app has been sentenced to decades behind bars.

Aimee Betro, 45, received a 30-year prison sentence in the United Kingdom on Thursday, Aug. 21, one week after being convicted of conspiracy to murder and two firearms offenses, according to the BBC, The London Standard, and The Guardian.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Betro traveled to the U.K. in 2019, disguising herself in a niqab before arriving at the Birmingham home of Sikander Ali. Prosecutors said she intended to kill Ali at the request of her lover, Mohammed Nazir of Derbyshire, whom she had met through a dating app.

The attack was linked to an earlier confrontation at a clothing store owned by Ali’s father, where Nazir and his father, Mohammed Aslam, were injured. Prosecutors said that following the clash, Nazir enlisted Betro to carry out the murder as tensions between the families escalated, according to additional reporting by the BBC.

CCTV footage later captured Betro approaching Ali with a firearm “clearly visible in her hand,” prosecutors said. The weapon jammed when she fired at close range, allowing Ali to escape. Betro returned the next day and fired three bullets into the home, causing “extensive damage,” according to the CPS.

“You went beyond simply reaching an agreement to kill and, in reality, you did intend to kill Mr. Ali. It is only a matter of chance that Mr. Ali wasn’t killed,” Judge Simon Drew KC said in court, according to The Guardian. “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 judge added that Betro “had a leading role,” noting that while Nazir recruited her, she was the one willing to carry out the attack.

After the attempted murder, Betro fled the U.K. and evaded authorities for five years. She was eventually located by a Daily Mail reporter in Armenia last year and extradited to Britain to face trial.

Nazir and Aslam were each convicted last year on conspiracy to murder charges. Nazir received a 32-year sentence, while Aslam was sentenced to 10 years, according to the CPS.

In sentencing Betro, Judge Drew noted her “history,” “age,” and the fact that she would serve her sentence in a U.K. prison “far away from home.” He also acknowledged a letter she wrote expressing remorse.

West Midlands Police Detective Alastair Orencas praised the extensive international investigation that led to Betro’s capture. In a statement to the BBC, he said, “This is a unique case which has involved a huge amount of work tracing the movements of Betro from her arrival into the U.K., her subsequent failed attempt to shoot a man dead, and her departure from the U.K. We worked really closely with partners such as the Armenian Government, NCA, FBI, Crown Prosecution Service and Derbyshire Constabulary to bring Betro back to the U.K. to face justice.”