Viktoria Nasyrova: Russian woman tried to poison lookalike with cheesecake in New York to steal her identity

A Russian woman has been found guilty of attempted murder in New York City after she tried to poison her friend. Viktoria Nasyrova was found guilty of the crime after she gave her beautician Olga Tsvyk a piece of cheesecake which had been laced with a strong sedative in 2016.

Nasyrova, who bore a resemblance to Ms Tsyvk at the time, had been attempting to steal her friend’s identity. The 47-year-old is allegedly wanted for murder in Russia, as well as being accused of drugging and robbing men she met on dating websites.

Ms Tsvyk survived the attempt on her life. Prosecutors at the New York trial said that her recollection of the incident was instrumental in the conviction of Nasyrova.

Nasyrova, 47, is said to have staged the situation to look like Ms Tsvyk had attempted to commit suicide.

Nasyrova is facing up to 25 years in prison for the poisoning after being found guilty of attempted murder, assault and unlawful imprisonment. Her sentencing is due to take place next month.

What happened to Olga Tsvyk?

The New York jury heard that in August 2016, Nasyrova had arrived at Ms Tsvyk’s apartment in Queens, New York with a cheesecake under the guise of thanking her for helping with an “eyelash emergency”. Nasyrova began to eat two pieces of cake before she handed Ms Tsvyk a piece to eat.

It was after ingesting this piece of cheesecake that Ms Tsvyk started to feel ill. The jury heard that she had began to vomit and went into her bedroom to lie down where she passed out.

Her unconscious body was found the next day by her friend, with Ms Tsvyk being found dressed in lingerie and pills scattered around her bedroom floor. The court heard that the scene was staged by Nasyrova to suggest that Ms Tsvyk has attempted to take her own life.

Once Ms Tsvyk was discharged from the hopsital and returned home, she found that her Ukrainian passport and work permit were missing. There was also precious jewellery and around $4,000 in cash taken from her Queens apartment.

The piece of cheesecake Ms Tsvyk ate from was later tested and was found to contain traces of a strong Russian-made sedative called Phenazepam, which is not available for purchase in the US. This was the same drug found scattered around Ms Tsvyk’s body when she was found by her friend.

In a statement in court, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said: “Fortunately, her victim survived and the poison led right back to the culprit. Before passing out, the woman’s last memory was of seeing the defendant walking around her room.”

Why did Viktoria Nasyrova try to steal Olga Tsvyk’s identity?

Nasyrova is said to allegedly be wanted back in her home country of Russia for the murder of her former neighbour Alla Alekseenko and stealing her life savings. Interpol issused a red notice for the capture of Nasyrova in 2015 after she fled Russia.

Additionally, Nasyrova, who is described by local US media as a former dominatrix, is alleged to have drugged and robbed men in Brooklyn she met on a dating website. She was the subject of a 2017 episode of CBS’s 48 Hours, a documentary series recounting true crime cases.