Viktoria Nasyrova (left) tried to kill Olga Tsvyk (right) with a poisoned cake. Photo / Facebook
A Russian dominatrix has been convicted of attempted murder after feeding poisoned cheesecake to her lookalike in order to steal her identity.
Viktoria Nasyrova, 47, was found guilty by a jury in New York of trying to kill 35-year-old Olga Tsvyk with cheesecake laced with a powerful sedative and then stealing her passport and other valuables.
The two women resemble each other, with dark hair and similar skin tones, and Nasyrova hoped to impersonate the beautician after killing her, the district attorney said.
The remarkable case has captured public attention in the US and Russia because of allegations that it was not her first hit.
Nasyrova is wanted in Russia, where she is accused of fatally drugging a neighbour and stealing her jewellery and life savings in 2014.
She is also accused of poisoning a man she met on a dating app in New York and making off with cash and his credit card.
Her crimes - both alleged and convicted - were the subject of a documentary by CBS’s investigative programme 48 Hours in 2017.
According to prosecutors, Nasyrova brought the cheesecake to Tsvyk’s home in the Forest Hills section of Queens on August 28, 2016.
There for an eyelash appointment, she ate two slices and offered Tsvyk a poisoned one. Soon, the Ukrainian beautician felt sick and lost consciousness.
“Before passing out, the woman’s last memory was of seeing the defendant walking around her room,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Tsvyk’s friend found her unconscious the next day. Her clothes had been changed to lacy lingerie, and there were pills scattered around the floor as if she had tried to take her own life.
She was taken to the hospital, but when she returned home, noticed that her Ukrainian passport and US work permit were missing, along with jewellery and about $4,000 ($6,306) in cash.
Residue from the cheesecake container was tested and found to contain phenazepam, a potent sedative, and Nasyrova was arrested.
“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.”
During the trial, the jury heard from the daughter of Alla Alekseenko, the Russian woman whom Nasyrova is accused of murdering in 2014.
Nadezda Ford testified that someone had rifled through her mother’s house in Krasnodar after she died and stolen everything from the toothbrush to the family gold.
Nasyrova was quickly identified, and CCTV footage appears to show that she put Alekseenko’s body in the front seat of her car, drove for three hours, dumped it and then burned it.
The police investigation was allegedly stymied because one of the officers involved was having sexual relations with Nasyrova. She fled to the US and an Interpol red notice was put out.
In America, it appears that she lived the high life - living in Brooklyn, wearing expensive clothes, holidaying in Mexico and posting pictures on social media. It is alleged that she was using a fake passport.
Herman Weisberg, a former New York police officer turned private investigator, told CBS that she eventually fell into the world of being an escort, and specifically, a dominatrix.
“She would knock out with knockout drugs - Rufenal, whatever she was using - and take money, watches, jewellery, whatever she could get.”
Weisberg is convinced that Viktoria has dozens of victims who are reluctant to report her to the police.
“A lot of these victims just go away ‘cause nobody wants to go into a precinct and say, ‘My dominatrix just stole my Rolex and $4,800 ($7,608) from me and I think was drugged’, because, at the end of the day, every single cop listening to that story and every single wife of these guys is gonna say, ‘What was that first part again? It was a dominatrix’?”
Also appearing at the trial was Ruben Borukhov, 54, who testified that Nasryova drugged him during a date.
Borukhov told jurors that he passed out after eating some drug-laden fish Nasyrova prepared for him and that he had to go to the hospital.
When he came around, he realised that his watch was missing along with nearly $1,000 ($1,585) in cash and that he had $2,400 ($3,804) of unfamiliar charges on his American Express credit card.
Nasyrova denies the murder in Russia and the allegations of drugging other people.
However, in the case involving Tsvyk and the poisoned cheesecake, she was convicted of charges including attempted murder, assault and unlawful imprisonment. She faces up to 25 years in prison when she is sentenced on March 21.