A Russian woman accused of drugging and killing a woman in her native country was convicted by a New York jury of trying to poison a look-alike with tainted cheesecake and steal her identity, prosecutors said Thursday.
Viktoria Nasyrova, 47, was found guilty of attempted murder and other charges for bringing the almost deadly dessert in Aug. 2016 to a woman who had similar hair color, skin complexion and also spoke Russian, the Queens District Attorney's office said.
Nasyrova went to the home of the victim, an eyelash technician, under the pretense of needing immediate help, prosecutors said during the trial.
The 35-year-old victim ate the cheesecake and soon began to feel sick. A friend discovered her the next day unconscious in bed and saw pills strewn around her to make it appear as if she attempted to kill herself, prosecutors said.
After the victim returned home from the hospital, she noticed her passport and other personal documents were pilfered, along with a gold ring.
Federal law enforcement officials then tested the cheesecake and discovered it contained Phenazepam, a sedative. The drug was developed in the former Soviet Union and is not available in the U.S., according to the National Library of Medicine.
Nasyrova also is accused of drugging and killing a woman in her native country before fleeing to New York. She denied those charges in a CBS News interview.
Nasyrova faces up to 25 years in prison when she is sentenced next month.
