A woman in New York City has been convicted of attempted murder after feeding a ‘lookalike’ poisoned cheesecake and trying to steal her passport.
Viktoria Nasyrova, 47, of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, was found guilty by a jury on Thursday for the attempted poisoning that took place in 2016. She was convicted on charges of first and second-degree murder, assault, false imprisonment, and petit larceny.
Prosecutors argued Nasyrova arrived at Olga Tsvyk’s home in Forest Hills, Queens with a slice of cheesecake she had laced with a powerful sedative.
‘At that time, the victim and Nasyrova resembled one another—both had dark hair, the same skin complexion and other similar physical traits,’ the Queens District Attorney’s Office said. ‘Additionally, they were both Russian speakers.’
Tsvyk ate the slice of cheesecake, then began to feel sick and lied down. She told investigators that the last memory she had was of Nasyrova snooping around her bedroom.
A day later, a friend found Tsvyk unconscious in her room. Pills had been scattered around her body, as if to give the impression that she had tried to intentionally overdose.
Tsvyk was hospitalized and treated. When she returned home, she found her passport, her employment authorization card, and several valuables were missing from her home.
‘The jury saw through the deception and schemes of the defendant,’ Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. ‘She laced a slice of cheesecake with a deadly drug so she could steal her unsuspecting victim’s most valuable possession, her identity. Fortunately, her victim survived and the poison led right back to the culprit.’
Investigators with the Department of Homeland Security tested residue from the cheesecake Nasyrova served and found it contained traces of the sedative Phenazepam.
The New York Daily News later reported that Nasyrova moved to the United States in 2014 to escape murder charges in Russia. Her US visa was due to expire just days after the cheesecake incident.
Nasyrova faces up to 25 years in prison for her conviction. District Attorney Katz said she deserves a ‘long term of incarceration’ for her crimes.
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