A hijab wearing hitwoman has been found guilty of conspiracy to murder after a bungled assassination plot.
Aimee Betro, 45, who is a US citizen, flew from America to try to shoot dead a Birmingham shopkeeper in 2019, the court heard.
Betro was convicted at Birmingham Crown Court of conspiracy to murder, possessing a self-loading pistol with intent to cause fear of violence, and a charge of illegally importing ammunition.
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Her co-conspirators had been involved in a feud with the family of intended target Sikander Ali, her trial heard.
Birmingham Crown Court was told how the American disguised herself after being hired to shoot a shopkeeper | WEST MIDLANDS POLICEBetro hid her identity using a hijab when she tried to fire shots on Measham Grove, Yardley, but her gun jammed, jurors were told.
The tagret, Sikander Ali escaped unharmed.
She was wearing a purple T-shirt and had her hair in space buns.
The woman, originally from West Allis in Wisconsin, showed no obvious reaction and stared towards the jury bench as the verdicts were returned.
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Betro was pictured wearing a hijab
|West Midlands Police
She was found guilty by a majority 11-one verdicts on the conspiracy to murder and firearm charges, and by a unanimous verdict on the ammunition charge.
The jury of six men and six women deliberated for almost 21 hours before returning the verdict.
The woman - who had spent several years in Armenia before her arrest in January this year - will be sentenced on August 21.
Defence barrister Paul Lewis KC said he was not asking for pre-sentence reports as they would not assist the court.
The American hitwoman, who disguised herself in a hijab as to kill a boutique store owner by Mohammed Aslam, 56, and his son Mohammed Nazir, 30 | Facebook/West Midlands PoliceJudge Simon Drew KC told the court: "I suspect Miss Betro would like to know the outcome of this case and there is nothing worse than sitting waiting."
Two days after the failed murder, Betro returned to the US.
The two men who hired her, Mohammed Aslam, 56, and his son Mohammed Nazir, 30, were convicted of conspiracy to murder.
Specialist Prosecutor Hannah Sidaway, from the Crown Prosecution Service in the West Midlands, said: "This prosecution is a culmination of years of hard work doggedly pursuing Aimee Betro across countries and borders while she remained relentless in her bid to escape justice.
"Betro tried to kill a man in a Birmingham street at point-blank range. It is sheer luck that he managed to get away unscathed."
Betro returned to the United States two days after the failed murder
| FacebookShe added: "The prosecution case included incriminating CCTV footage from the scene of the crime, digital forensics, mobile phone data and evidence collated from cooperation and collaboration across multiple countries and criminal justice agencies.
"Only Betro knows what truly motivated her or what she sought to gain from becoming embroiled in a crime that meant she travelled hundreds of miles from Wisconsin to Birmingham to execute an attack on a man she did not know.”
John Sheehan, head of the CPS Extradition unit, said: "This was a complex investigation and extradition process which required bringing together multiple agencies including the National Crime Agency and Armenian Courts.
"We worked together to make sure we had a watertight prima facie case in order to lawfully arrest Aimee Betro in a foreign country without her becoming aware and potentially fleeing again.
"I hope these convictions send a clear message that we will actively work with our criminal justice partners domestically and internationally to pursue criminals who attempt to evade justice, and make sure that they are brought to a courtroom to be held accountable for their actions."
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