Viktoria Nasyrova(48 Hours screenshot) and Olga Tsvyk (YouTube screenshot)
A 47-year-old New York woman and Russian native who infamously tried to kill her doppelgänger friend with a piece of poisoned cheesecake lashed out at a state judge on Wednesday, yelling “F— you!” at the bench after being sentenced to more than two decades in prison, authorities announced.
Viktoria Nasyrova was being led out of the courtroom when she directed the vulgarity at Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder, who referred to her as “diabolical” just moments before sentencing her to 21 years in a state correctional facility for the 2016 poisoning of eyelash stylist Olga Tsvyk, courtroom video from the New York Post shows.
In addition to her incarceration, Nasyrova will also be required to serve five years of post-release supervision.
A jury in February found the reported dominatrix guilty of second-degree attempted murder, first-degree attempted assault, second-degree assault, unlawful imprisonment, and petit larceny for trying to kill her onetime friend in a hare-brained identity theft scheme that went terribly wrong.
According to a press release from the office of Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, Nasyrova on August 28, 2016, went to Tsvyk’s home under the guise of bringing her friend some cheesecake from a famous bakery. At that time, the victim and Nasyrova resembled one another—both had dark hair, the same complexion and other similar physical traits. Both women also spoke fluent Russian.
Prosecutors said Nasyrova, who had drugged the pastry, then watched as her friend lost consciousness, believing that Tsvyk would never wake up.
Tsvyk testified during the trial that her last memory was of seeing Nasyrova walking around her room. The following day, Tsvyk was discovered unconscious in her bed with pills scattered around her body — as if she had attempted to kill herself — and was immediately transported to the hospital for treatment.
Prosecutors argued that Nasyrova staged the crime scene to make it look like Tsvyk had attempted to commit suicide by scattering pills all around her unconscious body.
When Tsvyk returned home from the hospital, she discovered that her Ukrainian passport and U.S.-issued employment authorization card were missing, along with a gold ring, $4,000, an expensive purse, and other valuables.
Cheesecake container and pills found in Tsvyk’s home (Queens DA)
Law enforcement agents with the Department of Homeland Security investigating the scene discovered Phenazepam, a highly potent sedative predominantly made in Russia, in cheesecake residue found on the dessert container, prosecutors said. The Drug Enforcement Administration tested the pills found on the floor near the victim and identified the same drug.
Prior to the sentencing, Tsvyk read a victim impact statement, saying she lived in fear prior to Nasyrova’s arrest, afraid she would “come back to finish what she started.”
“I would spend hours crying myself to sleep, thinking about what happened to me,” she told the court.
Nasyrova was arrested and charged with attempted murder in 2018. She faced a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
“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,” District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement following the sentencing hearing. “Thankfully, the victim survived the attack on her life and we were able to deliver justice to her.”
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