The British press is reporting that a former Wisconsin woman has been tied to a botched contract killing in 2019.
The woman was named in the court files for a case that saw a father and son convicted of conspiracy to murder a business rival, Birmingham Crown Court said.
According to reports from British media, a prosecutor said the former Milwaukee woman was hired to assassinate the rival, but her gun jammed and prevented the killing.
It could not be determined if she is facing charges in the case, or being sought as a person of interest, so the Journal Sentinel is not naming her.
Here’s what we know and don’t know about the situation:
What the British media has reported about the woman’s connection to the case
British media extensively detailed the trial and the Wisconsin woman’s alleged role in the case.
The Journal Sentinel hasn’t been able to confirm with British or American officials whether the woman is a suspect.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation declined to comment.
In an email to the Journal Sentinel, the West Midlands Police, the British department investigating the crime, said “efforts to locate a woman we believe to have been involved in the conspiracy continue.”
The spokesperson declined to confirm the name of the woman. They also declined an interview with a police detective working the case, citing it as an ongoing investigation.
A Birmingham Crown Court official said the woman was not sent to trial, and they “cannot confirm if she was or is connected to the crime.”
Does the woman live in Wisconsin?
It appears unlikely she still lives in Wisconsin.
The woman’s last known address in Wisconsin was in West Allis, but no one in the sparsely populated neighborhood remembered her Wednesday when reporters from the Journal Sentinel knocked on doors. A British reporter who had flown in from New York was also canvassing the neighborhood.
The woman was charged with identity theft in Grant County five years ago
In Grant County, a southwest Wisconsin county on the Iowa and Illinois border, an arrest warrant was issued for the woman in early 2020. The Journal Sentinel could not confirm the woman in the case is the same as the woman named in U.K. court and media, though they share the same name and age.
That warrant came in connection to one count of identity theft and two counts of attempted identity theft in 2019, according to Wisconsin court records.
The complaint says the woman spoke with a detective in the case Sept. 12, 2019.
The criminal complaint in the case detailed how the woman allegedly used someone’s banking information to make credit card payments. A victim said three attempted transactions were made, with only the first, for $422 to Discover Financial Services, successful.
The victim told the detective an employee of a credit card company told him who made the fraudulent transaction. The victim googled the name and found she worked for the Brewers. He had recently bought tickets for a Brewers game.
A Grant County detective, who could not be reached Wednesday, later confirmed the suspect had worked for the Brewers.
She told a police detective she worked in telephone sales for the Brewers but that she did not handle checks in her role, the complaint said. The woman confirmed to the detective she had a Discover credit card.
Did the woman work for the Brewers?
Yes. A source Wednesday confirmed she worked as a part-time seasonal worker in the ticket office. From social media posts, it appears she last worked with the team about five years ago.
British press report on connection to conspiracy to murder
BriminghamLive, a U.K.-based media outlet, said court evidence showed the woman spent 19 days in the country as part of the attempted assassination. She was hired by Mohammed Aslam and his son Mohammed Nazir to kill Sikander Ali, a business rival they had fought with in 2018, the Daily Mail reported.
According to U.K. media, citing court proceedings:
On Sept. 7, the woman was said to have attempted to shoot and kill Sikander Ali in Birmingham, while disguised in a hijab, according to BirminghamLive. Her gun jammed and she later texted Ali’s father, Aslat Mahumad, “Where are you hiding?” and “Stop playing hide and seek you are lucky it jammed,” both outlets reported.
She later returned and fired three more shots at the property and texted the father “Go look at your house. I will be shedding blood soon.”
The woman is reported to have flown back to the States on Sept. 9. She spoke with a detective in the Grant County case three days later.
Aslam and Nazir face a sentencing hearing on Aug. 9.
The Daily Mail reported that there was “no suggestion” the woman was connected to other contract killings.
JR Radcliffe and Hannah Kirby of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.