A Russian nationwide residing in New York who tried to present a Ukrainian lookalike buddy poisoned cheesecake with a view to steal her identification was sentenced to 21 years in jail Wednesday.
Viktoria Nasyrova, 47, was convicted of the tried homicide of Olga Tsvyk in February, together with assault, illegal imprisonment, and theft.
The two are each of a pale complexion, with darkish hair and the flexibility to talk Russian, similarities that, prosecutors argued, fueled Nasyrova’s identity-theft plot.
On Aug. 28, 2016, Nasyrova visited Ms. Tsvyk at her residence, bringing a present of cheesecake. What Ms. Tsvyk didn’t know was that the cake had been dosed with the potent sedative phenazepam, a Soviet-era equal to benzodiazepine.
As Ms. Tsvyk handed out, the very last thing she noticed was seeing Nasyrova strolling round her room.
Contrary to Nasyrova’s plan, nonetheless, Ms. Tsvyk survived, waking to seek out her employment authorization card and Ukrainian passport lacking, together with $4,000 in money and different valuables.
Pills have been additionally scattered round Ms. Tsvyk’s mattress, to make it appear as if she had died of a self-administered overdose.
“She laced a slice of cheesecake with a deadly drug so she could steal her unsuspecting victim’s most valuable possession, her identity,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz mentioned.
As for Nasyrova’s motive in stealing Ms. Tsvyk’s identification? Nasyrova feared a return to Russia, the place she has been accused of homicide in a 2014 killing.
As a Russian citizen, Nasyrova doubtless might be deported there after the conclusion of her 21-year jail time period.
Foreign nationals accused of main crimes of their native international locations typically are deported shortly to face justice there or even when not, deported to serve their U.S. sentences in that nation’s prisons, as a humanitarian gesture towards their households.
Current political disputes between the U.S. and Russia over the Ukraine struggle and the Kremlin’s detention of such American residents as Marine Paul Whelan, basketball participant Britney Griner and reporter Evan Gershkovich would make such an lodging unlikely.
While exiting the courtroom Wednesday, Nasyrova remained defiant, yelling out expletives to the decide, in keeping with the New York Post.
Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com