Jurors trying a US citizen accused of involvement in a murder plot in the UK in 2019 have been given a majority direction by the trial judge.
The jury in the trial of Aimee Betro, who denies conspiracy to murder, possessing a self-loading pistol and a charge of fraudulently evading the prohibition on importing ammunition, first retired to consider its verdicts on Wednesday last week.
Prosecutors allege Betro, who is originally from West Allis in Wisconsin but was living in Armenia until earlier this year, flew to Britain in August 2019 to take part in a plot orchestrated by co-conspirators Mohammed Aslam, 56, and his son Mohammed Nabil Nazir, 31, to attack another family as part of a “violent” feud.
The Crown also claims the 45-year-old graduate hid her face using a niqab when she got out of a Mercedes and tried to shoot Sikander Ali at point-blank range outside his home in Measham Grove, Yardley, Birmingham.
The attempted shooting took place shortly after 8pm on September 7 2019, jurors have heard, but the handgun jammed, allowing Mr Ali to flee in his car.
Giving evidence during her trial, Betro suggested that the perpetrator was “another American woman” who sounded similar to her, used the same phone and wore the same sort of trainers.
Betro also told jurors that it was “all just a terrible coincidence” that she was around the corner from the scene of the attempted assassination six minutes later.
Jurors have so far been in retirement for more than 15 hours over four days.
After the jury confirmed on Monday that it had yet to reach unanimous verdicts on any of the counts faced by Betro, Judge Simon Drew KC gave the panel a majority direction.
Before inviting jurors to resume their discussions, the judge told them: “I ask you to continue to deliberate and to continue to try to reach verdicts on which you are all agreed.”
The judge said he could now accept verdicts or either guilty or not guilty on which at least 10 of the 12 jurors agreed.
The judge added: “But it cannot be less than that (10).”
The court has heard Aslam and Nazir, who were jailed last year for their part in the assassination plot, were involved in a feud with Mr Ali’s father, Aslat Mahumad.
Nazir and Aslam, both of Elms Avenue in Derby, had been injured during disorder at Mr Mahumad’s clothing boutique in Birmingham in July 2018, jurors have been told, leading them to conspire to have someone kill him or a member of his family.
The jury did not reach any verdicts in the two hours after being given a majority direction and will resume its deliberations on Tuesday.
