Russian woman convicted of poisoning her American look-alike with cheesecake
Steph Deschamps / February 10, 2023
A Russian woman was convicted Thursday in a U.S. court of trying to kill her American look-alike with a poisoned cheesecake before stealing his identity.
Viktoria Nasyrova, 47, was convicted of attempted murder by a New York jury, the Queens district attorney said in a statement.
In August 2016, Ms. Nasyrova had gone to her 35-year-old victim's home and offered her a cheesecake.
At that time, the two women looked very similar, they spoke Russian, had the same skin tone, brown hair and many other common physical characteristics.
After eating the cake, the thirty-year-old felt ill before she lost consciousness.
The next day, one of her friends discovered her unconscious. Pills were scattered around her to make it look like a suicide attempt, according to the prosecutor.
When the victim returned home from the hospital, she discovered that her passport and work permit were missing, along with jewelry and valuables.
Tests of the cheesecake revealed that it contained Phenazepam, a very powerful sedative, according to the district attorney's office.
Nasyrova, who lives in Brooklyn, was also convicted of assault, false imprisonment and robbery.
The length of her sentence is to be pronounced on March 21. She faces up to 25 years in prison.