US woman on trial for city shop owner murder plot

Aimee Betro denies conspiracy to murder

A would-be assassin wearing a niqab tried to shoot a man at point-blank range in Birmingham as part of a "violent" feud involving two families, a court has heard.

American Aimee Betro, 45, denies conspiracy to murder, the possession of a firearm with intent and the illegal importation of ammunition.

Birmingham Crown Court was shown CCTV footage of an incident in South Yardley in September 2019 in which a person wearing a face covering pulled out a firearm before the gun jammed, and the intended victim was able to escape.

The trial is expected to last four weeks.

Opening the case for the prosecution, Tom Walkling KC told jurors that Ms Betro had been involved in a conspiracy with two other men as part of their vendetta against a Birmingham businessman, Aslat Mahumad.

Mr Walkling said "revenge was the motive" after Mohammed Nazir and Mohammed Aslam were injured during disorder at Mr Mahumad's clothing boutique in July 2018.

Aimee Betro is alleged to have flown from Wisconsin as part of a plot to have someone kill Mr Mahumad or a member of his family and flew back to the US days after the failed attempt.

Mohammed Nazir, 31, and his father, Mohammed Aslam, 59, both from Derby, were convicted and jailed last year.

The court heard Mr Mahumad was believed to be the target of the attempted shooting on September 7 2019, with Ms Betro lying in wait outside the family home in a car she bought earlier that day.

The jury was shown CCTV of his son, Sikander Ali, arriving home and a person with their face covered approaching him and firing the gun at point-blank range.

After it jammed, Mr Ali managed to escape by reversing his SUV out of the road, clipping the car door and damaging it so badly it would no longer close.

It is claimed Ms Betro returned to the scene in a taxi in the early hours of 8 September and fired three shots through the windows of the empty family home.

Prior to this alleged return visit, the jury were told she had sent messages to Mr Mahumad, which included: "Where are you hiding?" "Stop playing hide and seek, you are lucky it jammed."

The trial continues.