Russian woman sentenced for trying to kill lookalike Ukrainian woman with cheesecake

In a strange identity-theft case, a woman has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for attempting to kill her lookalike. The 47-year-old Viktoria Nasyrova from New York City attempted to murder her beautician with a slice of poisoned cheesecake. This incident occurred in August 2016, before which Nasyrova also stole the passport and work permit of the beautician, Olga Tsvyk.

Nasyrova, of Brooklyn, was sentenced on Wednesday for the 2016 attempted murder and other counts, the Queens district attorney’s office said. A prosecutor called her a “ruthless and calculating con artist”.

Nasyrova "is going to prison for a long time for trying to murder her way to personal profit and gain", added Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz in a statement on Wednesday.

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Bizarre cheesecake-murder plot

On the day of the attempted murder, Nasyrova went to Tsvyk’s house in Queens with a box of cheesecake, eating two pieces herself, and offering the third, which was the poisoned one to the victim. The victim, who is an eyelash stylist started to vomit and went to lie down. She suffered hallucinations and came close to having a heart attack.

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Nasyrova laced the cheesecake with a sedative that prosecutors described as a dangerously powerful toxin only found in Russia. Nasyrova belongs to Russia and her murder charges are pending in Russia too.

The chemical was determined to be phenazepam, which is a benzodiazepine developed by the Soviet Union, according to the district attorney’s office.

The victim survived this horrible incident but her Ukrainian passport and around $4000 in cash were stolen.

Charges against Viktoria Nasyrova

Nasyrova and the victim physically resembled each other, with the same complexion and dark hair, the reason why Nasyrova tried to kill her, was so she could steal her identity.

Nasyrova is wanted in Russia too for a 2014 murder case but she did not want to be forced to return to her country, the district attorney’s office has said. Though she has denied that in a CBS News interview.

Nasyrova was convicted of second-degree attempted murder, first-degree attempted assault, second-degree assault, first-degree unlawful imprisonment and petit larceny.

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Her defence attorney, Jose Nieves, said they will appeal the conviction, as well as the sentence. He said that he believes the sentence was excessive and that the appeal will focus on evidence and other legal issues.

Before announcing the sentence in the court, the victim, Tsvyk, who was also present in the court, was allowed to speak.

"It was easy for her to steal. It was easy for her to kill," she said, according to the Post.

In 2015, Interpol issued a red notice for her arrest over the murder of a woman in Russia a year earlier. She is accused of killing her neighbour and stealing her life savings. As per US media reports, she has also been accused of drugging and robbing men she met on dating websites.

(With inputs from agencies)

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