Texarkana Gazette

Woman convicted in poison cheesecake identity theft bid

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NEW YORK — A New York City 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, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a news release.

The two women resemble each other, with dark hair and similar skin tones, and Nasyrova hoped to impersonat­e Tsvyk after killing her, the district attorney said.

“The jury saw through the deception and schemes of the defendant,” 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. Fortunatel­y, her victim survived and the poison led right back to the culprit.”

According to prosecutor­s, Nasyrova brought the cheesecake to Tsvyk’s home in the Forest Hills section of Queens on Aug. 28, 2016.

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.

When Tsvyk was discharged from 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 March 21.

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

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

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