A Brooklyn woman was indicted for attempted murder after allegedly trying to poison her doppelganger via cheesecake and then steal her identity, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said Wednesday.
Viktoria Nasyrova, 42, of Sheepshead Bay, allegedly gave a cheesecake laced with phenazepam to a 35-year-old Queens woman in August 2016. Phenazepam is a Russian-produced psychoactive drug.
The victim passed out after eating the dessert and was then found by a friend the next morning. She was unconscious, dressed in lingerie and had pills scattered around her, “as if the woman had attempted to kill herself,” officials said.
The pills were proven to be phenazepam as well, according to FBI testing.
After staging this attempted suicide, Nasyrova allegedly stole the woman’s passport and employment authorization card, as well as a gold ring and cash.
Nasyrova and the victim look alike, according to the indictment: Both women have dark hair, the same skin complexion and speak Russian.
“This is a bizarre and twisted crime that could have resulted in the death of a Queens woman, whose only fault was that she shared similar features with the defendant,” Brown said in a statement. “Luckily, the Queens woman survived the poisoning. The defendant has been apprehended and now faces a long term of incarceration.”
When Nasyrova was arrested in Brooklyn on March 20, 2017, Brown said, the police recovered the victim’s ring, passport and employment card.
Nasyrova faces 10 charges, including second-degree attempted murder, burglary and assault. If convicted, she could spend up to 25 years in prison, officials said. Nasyrova will next appear in court May 25, 2018.
Russian authorities also charged Nasyrova with the murder of a 54-year-old Russian woman in 2014, the New York Post previously reported, after which she fled the country to come to Brooklyn, prompting an Interpol Red Notice.
