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‘Ruthless’ Brooklyn Dominatrix Gets 21 Years For Feeding Doppelgänger Poisoned Cheesecake, Then Curses Out Judge
“A ruthless and calculating con artist is going to prison for a long time for trying to murder her way to personal profit and gain,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said of Viktoria Nasyrova, who tried to kill her supposed friend, Olga Tsvyk.
A Russian-born dominatrix who poisoned her friend with cheesecake as part of a “diabolical” identity theft plot nearly seven years ago will spend more than two decades behind bars.
Viktoria Nasyrova, 47, was handed a 21-year sentence on Wednesday for attempting to kill a woman she physically resembled using cheesecake laced with sedatives in 2016, the Queens District Attorney’s Office announced in a press release.
A jury found Nasyrova guilty in February of attempted murder in the second degree, attempted assault in the first degree, assault in the second degree, unlawful imprisonment in the first degree and petit larceny.
Prosecutors said Nasyrova carried out the attempted killing of her one-time friend — and doppelgänger — Olga Tsvyk, in order to steal her identity. The two women, each Russian speakers, both had dark hair, similar complexion and shared other physical traits, prosecutors said.
On Aug. 28, 2016, Nasyrova brought a piece of cheesecake to Tsvyk’s Forest Hills home in Queens. After eating the tainted cheesecake, Tsvyk became ill and later fell unconscious. She told investigators that her final memory before passing out was seeing Nasyrova wandering around her home. Prosecutors said Nasyrova then attempted to stage her friend’s death as a suicide by scattering pills around an unresponsive Tsvyk.
Nasyrova also swiped Tsvyk’s passport and employment authorization card, as well as a gold ring and other personal belongings. Federal agents ultimately found Phenazepam, a potent sedative, in the cheesecake. The pills found on the floor and around Tsvyk’s body were found to also be Phenazepam.
DNA found on the desert container, as well as jailhouse phone calls, in which Nasyrova referred to her friend’s poisoning, further implicated the Brooklyn woman in the failed identity theft scheme.
“A ruthless and calculating con artist is going to prison for a long time for trying to murder her way to personal profit and gain,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “Thankfully, the victim survived the attack on her life and we were able to deliver justice to her.”
At Nasyrova’s sentencing, Tsvyk addressed the court, detailing the lingering trauma her former friend inflicted on her. She said that for months, she was unable to sleep out of fear Nasyrova “would come back and finish what she started.”
“I would spend hours crying myself to sleep, thinking about what happened to me,” Tsyvk told jurors.
Although she survived the ordeal, doctors said, Tsvyk nearly died of a heart attack following the incident
“It was easy thing to gain the trust of another person and then take everything from that person,” Tsvyk stated. “It was easy for her to steal. It was easy for her to kill.”
Prosecutors also requested the harshest sentence for Nasyrova, who they accused at trial of of poisoning other people.
“The circumstances that were shown at trial demonstrate that the defendant had an unthinkable type of premeditation with this,” Queens Assistant District Attorney Konstantinos Litourgis said. “She never cared for her victim and she also never have any remorse for what she did.”
On Wednesday, Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder condemned Nasyrova’s actions before handing down the 21-year sentence. As Nasyrova exited the courtroom following the ruling, she could be heard murmuring “f--k you” to Holder, per the New York Post.
Nasyrova’s defense attorney, Jose Nieves, meanwhile, described his client’s sentence as “excessive” and said he intended to appeal.
