It is a good distance from Milwaukee to the Midlands — and an excellent longer journey from childcare assistant to… murderer.
So it is no shock that household and mates of Aimee Betro are discovering it onerous to come back to phrases with the information that she is on the run after allegedly finishing up a botched hit on a Birmingham businessman.
Employed by a British father and son to settle a feud, she disguised herself in a hijab earlier than aiming a handgun on the head of Sikander Ali. However the weapon jammed, forcing her to flee. Hours later she returned and fired three photographs by the home windows of Mr Ali’s household house.
Miraculously, nobody was injured and days later Betro, 44, was again within the U.S. having first warned her goal: ‘Watch your again. I’ll shed blood quickly.’
Aimee Betro has been accused of making an attempt to assassinate a Birmingham businessman
Particulars of her alleged function within the botched killing solely emerged this week as Mohammed Aslam, 56, and his son Mohammed Nazir, 30, had been convicted of plotting the failed killing. Betro was named because the murderer in the course of the trial at Birmingham Crown Courtroom. She has not been charged with any crime, having disappeared quickly after the taking pictures, and is now the topic of a global hunt.
Following a Mail investigation, her extraordinary story can at this time be informed in full for the primary time. It will also be revealed that she resides in Armenia. Betro informed her household she had travelled there to work as a DJ on a radio station.
Yesterday, having been despatched a duplicate of an article revealed by the Mail, Betro broke her silence. ‘Dude I noticed, like wtf I do not even know the place to begin with all of the misinformation that is mentioned about me,’ she wrote in an trade with a buddy by way of Fb. ‘It is a f***ing sh** present.’
Mohammed Aslam, 56, has been convicted of plotting the failed killing
Aslam’s son Mohammed Nazir, aged 30, from Elms Avenue in Derby, was additionally convicted
When the buddy requested if he may assist, she replied: ‘Idk dude. I do not assume there’s something you may assist with however I actually admire you reaching out.’
Regardless of the police hunt, Betro is claimed to have been in common contact with mates and has been posting photographs from her condo in Armenia on social media.
Which begs the query why have not British authorities been in a position to find her. ‘Simply observe her telephone and have her,’ the buddy mentioned, including that in exchanges with different friends Betro admitted to fundamental information of the case.
‘Aimee would not say she had no a part of this,’ he mentioned. ‘She acknowledges she was concerned and all that. She simply says a few of the particulars aren’t proper.’
However those that know her say they can not perceive how she got here to be concerned within the plot. Within the run-up to the tried killing in 2019, Betro, who educated in childcare, had spent 5 years promoting tickets for her native baseball staff, the Milwaukee Brewers. ‘She was a great particular person,’ mentioned one buddy. ‘She had herself collectively, she went to high school, she went to school. She did not have a foul bone in her physique.’
One other added: ‘When you put everybody on this city in a gaggle and mentioned which one goes to attempt to kill any person, she’d be the final particular person I might decide. I by no means even heard her yell at anyone.’
However there was a darker aspect to Betro’s life. Struggling financially, days earlier than travelling to England she allegedly used the financial institution particulars of a buyer who purchased baseball tickets from her to pay £330 into her personal account. Two additional makes an attempt to defraud an extra £1,000 had been blocked.
When she vanished 5 years in the past, she additionally left money owed operating into 1000’s in addition to nearly all her possessions in her rented flat, suggesting a hurried departure. ‘She left her garments, suitcases, lamps, every little thing,’ mentioned her mom, Jeanne Johnson.
When informed by the Mail what her daughter had been as much as, she added: ‘I have been ready for today — both hassle or lifeless… what the hell was she considering?’
As for her father, Steven Betro, to whom she is claimed to be shut, it may be revealed that he’s serving a seven-year jail sentence for possessing and trafficking methamphetamine, a strong, extremely addictive unlawful drug.
On X, Betro recommended she was additionally no stranger to medication: ‘Bartender at this resort bar: if you cannot rating in London then you may’t rating wherever. wtf… i suppose i’ve obtained that coated although so i should be good??,’ she posted in June 2019, three months earlier than her last go to right here.
Her account additionally reveals that, regardless of her monetary issues, within the 12 months previous to the tried taking pictures, she had travelled on her personal to the UK on three events. How she afforded it and what she was doing right here is unclear, though she claimed to have been attending music festivals and raves.
Born in 1979, Betro is known to be the eldest of three daughters born to Ms Johnson and her now ex-husband Steven. She spent a lot of her youth in Stevens Level, a small metropolis 150 miles from Milwaukee.
In line with her mom, a former trucking agency dispatcher who lives in a trailer park, Betro graduated within the high third of her class in highschool. She then spent a yr finding out graphic design in school earlier than doing a two-year diploma in early childhood training and instructing, graduating in 2005. ‘She’s a reasonably woman, very clever, very outgoing,’ mentioned Ms Johnson, who has solely had rare contact together with her daughter in recent times. ‘I could not get a phrase in edgeways.’
However whereas Betro held down a lot of childcare and instructing assistant roles, her CV additionally exhibits her transferring between numerous low-paid jobs, together with as a gross sales rep with the Brewers baseball staff.
Her major ardour was music — significantly digital dance. She grew to become concerned with a music tech start-up and a few years in the past bought digital gear to make use of for DJ occasions.
She all of the sudden additionally started to journey. ‘Solo birthday journey subsequent month!!,’ she wrote on X in July 2018. ‘I will #london child!! First outing of the U.S. besides Canada 15 years in the past!’
After that she wrote that she was like a ‘common London native’ having been mistaken as a Brit by a bartender when she ordered a pint of Boddingtons. ‘I completely beloved the #uk and may’t wait to return.’ In January 2019 she posted an evening time picture of an illuminated Tower Bridge, writing: ‘Comfortable new yr from #London’. In Could she was again for a 3rd time, apparently for a music pageant.
Which brings us to her last journey to the UK on August 22. What we now additionally know is that — forward of one other pricey transatlantic journey —Betro was allegedly stealing cash by her work.
Courtroom paperwork from Wisconsin element how she used the financial institution particulars of a buyer shopping for baseball tickets to divert money into her personal account. (Extremely, inside two days of getting back from her journey she could be interviewed by U.S. police in regards to the matter, denying any wrongdoing. By the point a warrant for her arrest was issued, she had disappeared.) Arriving in Britain, she tirelessly recorded particulars of her ‘vacation’ on X and Instagram. Social media posts present her flying from Chicago to Manchester by way of Atlanta.
An image posted on the airplane bears the caption: ‘To Manchester we go cannot wait to see my BFF accomplice in crime LOL’. She visited Birmingham, Brighton, Derby and Manchester. She additionally attended a ship get together, visited the London Eye and went to a music pageant at Crystal Palace.
How she got here into the orbit of Mohammed Aslam and his son Mohammed Nazir is unclear.
However they seem to have been involved forward of the journey. The court docket heard weapons had been despatched by Betro from Illinois, in accordance with a tip-off obtained by police.
In court docket, it was alleged that Aslam and Nazir had developed a grudge towards Sikander Ali and his father Aslat Mahamud following a violent dispute at Mr Ali’s boutique clothes retailer in Birmingham on July 21, 2018.
Earlier than the failed assassination Mr Mahamud mentioned he obtained a name from a lady with an American accent asking about shopping for a Volkswagen Golf he had on the market.
On September 6, 2019, Nazir and Aslam travelled from their house in Derby to Birmingham. Nazir spent greater than two hours within the metropolis centre’s Rotunda resort with Betro — who ordered a Deliveroo takeaway. The identical day Betro posted a selfie on Instagram with satan horns.
Aimee Betro’s father Steven is serving a seven-year jail sentence for possessing and trafficking methamphetamine
Round 7.30pm the subsequent night she drove to Acocks Inexperienced in Birmingham in her rented Mercedes. Whereas she waited there, CCTV captured Nazir and Aslam travelling up and down a close-by street of their automobile. Earlier than lengthy, Mr Ali pulled up at his father’s house within the suburb. He recalled noticing the Mercedes as a result of it was parked in a ‘silly’ place and described somebody in a hijab getting out and aiming a gun at him.
In an announcement learn to the court docket, Mr Ali mentioned: ‘As I turned and regarded I noticed the motive force’s door was already open and the particular person — I couldn’t inform if it was a person or girl, they had been nonetheless dressed within the hijab — was transferring in the direction of me. I may see this particular person had a gun of their hand. I felt scared. The particular person moved their arm in the direction of me and pointed instantly at me. I panicked at this level. I instantly obtained again into the automobile and slammed the door shut.’
Unknown to him, the gun had jammed. Betro deserted her Mercedes, calling a taxi simply earlier than 9pm. She then texted Mr Mahamud saying ‘the place are you hiding?’ and ‘cease taking part in conceal and search, you might be fortunate it jammed’.
She demanded Mr Mahamud meet her, writing: ‘Who’s it your loved ones otherwise you, decide one’. Within the early hours she took a taxi again to the deal with, firing three photographs within the course of the home. It was empty and nobody was harm. She then went to a McDonald’s.
Mr Mahamud mentioned he obtained a last message that learn: ‘You need to rip me off, you need to be a medicine kingpin go have a look at your own home. I’ll present you. Watch your again. I’ll shed blood quickly.’
He replied: ‘What are you speaking about? I am a household man. I’ve by no means bought medication in my life.’
Betro fled to the U.S. the subsequent day. The jury heard Nazir flew to America a couple of days after Betro, whom he put down as his level of contact on journey documentation.
A publish by Betro on X suggests he might have stayed together with her. Nazir returned to the UK the next month and was later arrested, as was Aslam. The latter was discovered responsible of conspiracy to homicide however cleared of a firearms offence.
Nazir was discovered responsible of conspiracy to homicide and possession of a firearm with intent to trigger worry of violence, perverting the course of justice, and illegally importing firearms over a plot to deliver weapons into Britain after which blame it on one other particular person to border them. Detectives pieced collectively their involvement by their telephones, CCTV and monetary investigations.
By April 2020 Betro’s posts recommend she was now not within the U.S.
A feminine buddy of her father informed the Mail they understood she had been residing in Armenia. ‘Final he mentioned she was loving residing in Armenia and he or she was DJ-ing,’ she mentioned.
Aimee Betro disappeared after the taking pictures and is now the topic of a global hunt
As for her mom, Ms Johnson mentioned that whereas she had not seen Betro shortly, a number of years in the past FBI brokers had come to her trailer, quizzing her about her daughter.
The officers accused Betro of sending an unlawful bundle and obtained a DNA swab from Ms Johnson. She messaged her daughter to ask in regards to the bundle, to which Betro replied: ‘That is none of your small business.’
One assumption is police had been trying to match Betro’s DNA with the bundle of weapons mentioned to have been despatched by her to the UK.
Ms Johnson’s most up-to-date contact was on Could 12 when Betro despatched a textual content wishing her a cheerful Mom’s Day.
She additionally known as on her daughter at hand herself in, saying: ‘I ‘d love her to do this as a result of she goes to expire of locations to cover. She has nowhere else to go and now that it is a global hunt, she’s not going to have the ability to fly wherever. If she comes right here, I am not letting her in. I’ll name the police. She’s obtained to cease operating. She’s obtained to pay the value now.’
A spokesperson for West Midlands police mentioned: ‘A warrant for the arrest of a lady has been issued and enquiries to find her proceed. Lively strains of enquiry are being pursued and applicable authorities engaged with.’
Extra reporting: Barbara McMahon
