Olga Tsvyk agreed to a last-minute eyelash appointment, never imagining the client would lace a cheesecake slice with a Russian sedative and try to steal her identity.
At a Glance
- Eyelash technician Olga Tsvyk was poisoned by client Viktoria Nasyrova with phenazepam-laced cheesecake
- Nasyrova wanted to assume Tsvyk’s identity and stole her passport, visa and thousands in cash
- The sedative can be fatal if body temperature rises; Tsvyk’s apartment thermostat was cranked to 107°F
- Nasyrova was convicted in 2023 and sentenced to 21 years in prison
- Why it matters: The case shows how a routine beauty appointment turned into a near-fatal identity-theft plot
The new episode of ID’s The Curious Case Of… titled “The Killer Cheesecake,” premiering Jan. 19, recounts the August 28, 2016 attack that left Tsvyk unconscious for three days and fighting for her life.
How the Cheesecake Was Delivered
Tsvyk, then 35, met Nasyrova through another client. Nasyrova begged for a same-day appointment, claiming she was flying on vacation. When she arrived at Tsvyk’s Queens home, she produced a box of cheesecake “from some bakery in Brooklyn,” Tsvyk says in the documentary.
Nasyrova ate two pieces, left one behind, and encouraged Tsvyk to try it. Minutes later Tsvyk felt nauseous, vomited on the floor and blacked out. Her next memory is Nasyrova handing her paper towels.
The Search That Uncovered a Near-Fatal Scene
Salon owner Stella Stepanyan grew alarmed when Tsvyk missed work. She entered the apartment and found her employee in lingerie, incoherent and surrounded by scattered pills. Hospital tests for narcotics came back negative, but Tsvyk remained in a stupor for roughly 72 hours and needed help walking once home.
She discovered that:
- Thousands of dollars in cash
- Her purse, clothes and gold ring
- Passport and work visa
had vanished. NYPD opened a grand-larceny investigation.
Heat Set to Kill
Retired detective Kevin Rodgers noted the apartment thermostat had been dialed to 107°F and the remote control shoved under the bed. “Someone intentionally turned the heat up all the way in late August in New York and didn’t want somebody to turn it off,” he says in the episode.
The temperature detail became crucial: phenazepam-detected in the cheesecake container-can kill if body temperature spikes.
A Pattern of Alleged Poisonings
Weeks later Queens resident Ruben Buruhkov told police he met “Anna” on a Russian dating site and shared a meal at her home. After a few bites he felt disoriented, and later reported that valuables were stolen. “Anna” was allegedly Nasyrova. Buruhkov later testified about the incident at her trial.
Russian Murder Warrant Surfaces
Rodgers learned Russia had an outstanding warrant for Nasyrova on charges she murdered a woman there. Private investigator Herman Weisberg, hired by the victim’s daughter Nadia Ford, joined the hunt.
Arrest and Conviction
Nasyrova was arrested on March 20, 2017, after lab tests confirmed phenazepam in the dessert box. In 2023 she was convicted of:
- Attempted murder in the second degree
- Attempted assault in the first degree
- Assault in the second degree
- Unlawful imprisonment in the first degree
- Petit larceny
Judge sentenced her to 21 years in prison plus five years’ post-release supervision.
‘Ruthless and Calculating’
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement: “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.”
Prosecutor Dino Litourgis hopes Russia will seek her extradition after she completes her U.S. sentence so she can “face justice in that system.”
Prison Art and Denials
Nasyrova declined interview requests for the episode unless paid, according to legal analyst Beth Karas. She has spoken with the New York Post, claiming from prison that she sells 3D art and maintains her innocence.
Key Takeaways
- A simple beauty appointment turned into an attempted murder rooted in identity theft
- Phenazepam, undetectable in standard drug screens, nearly killed Tsvyk when combined with extreme heat
- Evidence from a cheesecake box and a second alleged victim helped secure a 21-year sentence
- Authorities believe Nasyrova remains wanted in Russia for an unrelated murder charge
