A mother of three’s face was left severely burned when her estranged husband gruesomely murdered her with a “cyanide-like” substance in her Long Island home days after he was served divorce papers, according to police.
Aleena Asif, a 46-year-old certified public accountant, was found unconscious and not breathing with severe burns on her face in her Herricks home on October 17. Nassau County Police reported that her husband had allegedly stalked her for days, waiting for the chance to kill her.
Asif Qureshi, 53, was arrested later that day at a residence in Bellrose, Queens, where he had been living. He was charged with murdering his wife, ABC 7 reported. The report also noted that Aleena had served him divorce papers the week before the incident.
Aleena had just returned home after dropping their 7-year-old daughter at school when Qureshi allegedly attacked her inside the house while nobody else was home, police said. Her body was discovered hours later after the couple’s eldest child, their 18-year-old daughter, called police for a welfare check when Aleena did not pick up the younger daughter after school.
The medical examiner determined that Aleena died from asphyxiation caused by an unknown chemical that police believe to be a “cyanide-like substance,” according to ABC 7.
“On the 17th, we have him showing up, waiting for the right opportunity, waiting for his wife to drop off the kids at school, and then assaulting her and killing her,” Nassau Police Det. Capt. Stephen Fitzpatrick told reporters.
Qureshi was served divorce papers at his Queens residence on October 9 but refused to accept them. Afterward, he began showing up outside Aleena’s Herricks home. She had initially asked for a divorce earlier in 2023. The couple reconciled in 2024, but Aleena filed for divorce again this year, Newsday reported.
Born in Pakistan and a U.S. citizen, Qureshi is currently charged with second-degree murder; however, prosecutors are pushing to upgrade the charges to first-degree murder. A judge ordered that he be held without bail following a hearing on Friday.
The alleged killer has one prior arrest related to a domestic incident involving his wife, but the case is sealed, Fitzpatrick said.
Police had previously responded to five domestic incidents at the home involving Qureshi—four incidents involving Aleena and one involving their 18-year-old daughter. Most of the disputes centered around finances. Fitzpatrick noted that Qureshi once threatened to “make [Aleena] swallow bleach,” according to Newsday.
Despite the history of domestic incidents, no orders of protection were ever issued.
The couple’s children—the 18-year-old daughter, a 14-year-old boy, and the 7-year-old girl—are currently staying with other relatives.
https://nypost.com/2025/10/24/us-news/husband-killed-wife-with-cyanide-like-substance-at-long-island-home-cops/
