A woman has been sentenced to two decades in prison after poisoning a cheesecake to try and kill her doppelgänger.
On Wednesday 19 April, Viktoria Nasyrova, 47, was sentenced to 21 years in jail by the Queens Supreme Court judge.
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She was found guilty of attempted murder, attempted assault and unlawful imprisonment back in February after she attempted to murder Olga Tsvyk and frame it as suicide in August 2016.
Addressing the court on Wednesday, Nasyrova apparently shouted ‘f*** you’ at the judge as she was sentenced by the New York jury.
Back in February, Tsyvk revealed that she and Nasyrova had only known each other for six months before the incident.
After becoming friends, Tsyvk told Nasyrova that she was attempting to get her employment authorisation card in New York City. The latter is also known as a Green Card or a Permanent Resident Card.
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Upon hearing that the eyelash technician was applying for a Green Card, Nasyrova apparently hatched a plan to steal her friend’s identity and snatch the document of authorisation for herself.
The pair share similarities in appearance — both have dark hair, similar skin complexion and also speak Russian.
It’s said on 28 August 2016, Nasyrova visited Tsyvk at her home in Queens and gifted the then-35-year-old victim a cheesecake laced with phenazepam.
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The latter is a powerful sedative that is often used as a premedication before undergoing surgery.
In February, the court heard that after eating the cheesecake, Tsyvk became ill and passed out.
The jury heard that after eating the drugged dessert, she suffered hallucinations and came close to having a heart attack.
When the sedative wore off, she woke up surrounded by pills and discovered that her passport, cash and her newly-acquired employment authorisation card had disappeared.
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Following the sentencing that Brooklyn-dweller Nasyrova, Tsyvk thanked God for her second chance at life.
“God gave me life when Viktoria Nasyrova tried to end my life,” she told the jury. “For her, it was an easy thing to try and take the life of another person.
“It was [an] easy thing to gain the trust of another person and then take everything from that person… it was easy for her to steal. It was easy for her to kill.”
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Queens District attorney Melinda Kartz also had her say on the bizarre situation.
She called Nasyrova a ‘ruthless and calculating con artist’ and said she would be 'going to prison for a long time for trying to murder her way to personal profit and gain'.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder called Nasyrova an 'extremely dangerous woman'.
Nasyrova will be supervised by the court for five years following her eventual release from prison.
Ella Scott