Woman tries to kill younger look-alike to steal identity, uses Russian poison

Viktoria Nasyrova, a Russian-born woman suspected of poisoning her lookalike friend with a piece of poisoned cheesecake, was convicted of attempted murder in an identity-theft scheme. The Queens jury reached its verdict after a trial that lasted a week and a half. Prosecutors claimed that the 47-year-old woman had sloppily put her DNA all over the cheesecake box and afterwards bragged about the crime in many jailhouse interviews.

Back in August 2016, the incident took place when Nasyrova visited the victim, who was 35 at the time. She brought a cheesecake that was laced with a highly effective sedative called phenazepam, a Russian narcotic. 

Authorities at the time claimed that the women shared physical similarities, including black hair, a similar skin tone and other physical characteristics. Both of them speak Russian as well.

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After eating the dessert, the victim started to feel nauseous and collapsed. The victim's final memory before passing out was of the other woman sitting next to her inside her house. The victim's friend found her the next day unconscious in bed, clad in lingerie, with pills all over her body, as if she had tried to commit suicide. According to officials, the person was transferred to a hospital for treatment.

Later, the victim discovered that her passport, employment certificates, a gold ring, and other valuables were all gone.

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Nasyrova has previously been accused of committing a crime of a similar sort. After being accused of attempting to poison another victim, named Olga Tsvyk, in her Forest Hills home during an urgent eyelash touch-up two years prior, Nasyrova was charged by a grand jury in 2018. According to the victim's testimony, Nasyrova claimed she intended to deliver cheesecake from a famous bakery as a gift.

Prior to that, following an alleged murder and torching of a Russian neighbour called Alla Alekseenko in 2014, Nasyrova fled to New York City. Later, the victim's daughter testified that someone broke into her mother's home after she had passed away and taken everything, including the family's gold.

Nasyrova was convicted of assault, attempted assault, unlawful imprisonment and petit larceny. When she is sentenced on March 21, she might spend up to 25 years in prison.