Woman tried to kill lookalike with poison cheesecake in bid to steal identity

10 February 2023 , 10:07

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A woman accused of feeding poisoned cheesecake to her lookalike in a bid to steal the other woman's identity has been convicted of attempted murder, prosecutors said Thursday.

Viktoria Nasyrova, 47, was found guilty by a jury on Wednesday of trying to kill 35-year-old Olga Tsvyk with cheesecake laced with a powerful sedative and then stealing her passport and other valuables in August 2016,

The two women resemble each other, with dark hair and similar skin tones, and Nasyrova hoped to impersonate Ms Tsvyk after killing her, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a news release.

“The jury saw through the deception and schemes of the defendant,” Ms 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.

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Viktoria Nasyrova was found guilty by a jury on Wednesday (WCBS)

“Fortunately, her victim survived and the poison led right back to the culprit.”

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According to prosecutors, New York City woman Nasyrova brought the cheesecake to Ms Tsvyk's home in the Forest Hills section of Queens on August 28, 2016.

Ms Tsvyk ate the cheesecake, felt sick and lost consciousness, prosecutors said. A friend later found her nearly comatose in bed, and she was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Nasyrova has also been accused of fatally drugging a neighbour in Russia in 2014 (Facebook/)

When Ms Tsvyk was discharged and returned home, she realized that her passport and work authorization card were missing, along with a gold ring and other valuables, prosecutors said.

Residue from the cheesecake container was tested and found to contain phenazepam, a potent sedative, and Nasyrova was arrested.

Nasyrova was convicted of charges including attempted murder, assault and unlawful imprisonment. She faces up to 25 years in prison when she is sentenced on March 21.

Nasyrova previously denied killing another woman in 2014 (Tamara Beckwith/NY Post/MEGA)

“While we are disappointed with the jury’s verdict, we respect it and are exploring our options going forward,” defence attorney Christopher Hoyt said.

“This is a bizarre and twisted crime that could have resulted in the death of a Queens woman, whose only fault was that she shared similar features with the defendant,” said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown previously.

“The woman ate the cheesecake, fell ill and laid down,” Mr Brown said. “Before passing out, the woman’s last memory is of seeing the defendant sitting beside her inside her home.”

She was convicted of charges including attempted murder and assault (Tamara Beckwith/NY Post/MEGA)

The following day, a friend found the victim unconscious in her bed, “dressed in lingerie with pills scattered around her body as if the woman had attempted to kill herself,” Mr Brown said.

Nasyrova has also been accused of fatally drugging a neighbour in her native Russia in 2014. She denied killing the woman, Alla Alekseenko, in a 2017 interview with CBS News.