A grand jury from Long Island has issued an indictment against a man from Bellerose, accusing him of surreptitiously entering the residence of his estranged wife and fatally poisoning her with cyanide.

According to Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly, 53-year-old Asif Qureshi faces charges of second-degree murder and burglary linked to the October 17, 2025, demise of Aleena Asif. More details can be found in the official statement.

The 46-year-old victim, Aleena Asif, was discovered lifeless in her home, bearing facial burns. The medical examiner determined her cause of death was chemical asphyxiation, as reported by CrimeOnline.

District Attorney Donnelly detailed that on the morning of October 17, Aleena Asif had taken her children to school and returned home, unaware that Qureshi had unlawfully entered and was waiting for her.

“Once they were alone, he allegedly forced cyanide over her mouth, resulting in her death, and left her body for their children to make the horrific discovery,” Donnelly explained. “A home should be a refuge, yet he transformed it into a scene of terror.”

Qureshi entered the home when Asif left to take her 14-year-old son to school shortly before 8 a.m. She took her 7-year-old daughter with her, but returned with the daughter a few minutes later. Qureshi remained hidden in the home, Donnelly said, when Asif left with the daughter at about 8:50 a.m. to walk her to school.

Asif returned home a few minutes after 9. Qureshi remained inside until nearly 11 a.m. before leaving and walking to a nearby intersection, where he got on an electric scooter and rode away.

That afternoon, the young daughter’s school phoned her 18-year-old sister to say that Asif had not picked up the 7-year-old at the end of the school day. The teen called police, who arrived at the home and found it locked. When they entered, they found Asif dead on her bed “with red facial burns around her mouth.”

Investigators obtained surveillance video showing Qureshi wearing the same dark clothing he was seen wearing when he arrived at the home on several other occasions, including locking the electric scooter to the pole a week before the murder, walking to house and around it, and then leaving.

Qureshi was arrested a week after the murder.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is being held without bond. His next court appearance is February 18, according to Law&Crime.