Brooklyn woman sentenced to 21 years for poisoning lookalike with cheesecake
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Residue of the poised cheesecake used to poison a Queens woman in August 2016. Photo via Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz
By Ryan Schwach
The Brooklyn woman who attempted to use a poisoned cheesecake to steal a lookalike’s identity was sentenced to 21 years in prison for her dessert-based crime on Wednesday.
Viktoria Nasyrova will now serve over two decades in prison after she poisoned a cake before giving it to her friend in an effort to steal her identity and evade the authorities investigating her for a separate crime.
“A ruthless and calculating con artist is going to prison for a long time for trying to murder her way to personal profit and gain,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “Thankfully, the victim survived the attack on her life and we were able to deliver justice to her.”
In August 2016, 47-year-old Nasyrova from Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn went to the Forest Hills home of then 35-year-old Olga Tsvyk, who worked at a salon Nasyrova had been to. Both had dark hair, the same complexion, other similar physical traits and were both Russian speakers.
Nasyrova, who had fled Russia several years prior after killing a 54-year-old woman, allegedly began to plot out Syvk’s murder after she began frequenting the salon.
Nasyrova came to Forest Hills with a cheesecake that was laced with sedatives.
After Tsvyk ate the cheesecake, she felt sick and passed out. Her last memory was of seeing Nasyrova in her room.
The following day, Tsvyk was discovered unconscious in her bed with pills scattered around her body — as if she had attempted to kill herself. She was immediatly taken to a nearby hospital.
When she returned home from the hospital, she realized that her passport and employment authorization card were missing, along with a gold ring and other valuables.
Law enforcement agents with the Department of Homeland Security discovered Phenazepam, a highly potent sedative, in cheesecake residue found on the dessert container. The Drug Enforcement Administration tested the pills found on the floor near the victim and found it to be the same drug.
Nasyrova, who was already known to police for robbing men in New York City that she met on dating websites, was arrested several months later.
Nasyrova will see 21 years in prison for her bizarre crime, which included charges of attempted murder in the second degree, attempted assault in the first degree, assault in the second degree, unlawful imprisonment in the first degree and petit larceny.
