Husband Killed Wife Using ‘Cyanide-Like’ Chemicals at Long Island Home After Being Served Divorce Papers
A man was arrested on Friday after his wife was found dead at her Long Island home, suffering from facial burns and covered with a chemical substance.
Authorities say Aleena Asif, 46, was suffocated with a cyanide-like compound by her estranged husband, who was stalking her after she demanded a divorce.
The husband, identified as 53-year-old Asif Qureshi, was arraigned on second-degree murder charges on Friday morning and held without bail as a flight risk. Prosecutors said they will ask a grand jury to indict him on first degree murder charges.
Asif was Served Divorce Papers on October 9, He Then Started Stalking Aleena
The two fought over money and their multiple homes, and Qureshi agreed to a separation agreement in late 2024. Aleena requested a full divorce this summer.
On October 9, he was served divorce papers, which he refused to take. He began showing up at her house, starting the next day, and multiple subsequent dates, in a pattern of stalking, officials say. Authorities allege he entered her home last Friday, waited for his wife to drop off the children at school, and then killed her.
Aleena’s body was found at 3:52 p.m. after their 18-year-old daughter called police because Aleena did not pick up her 7-year-old daughter at the end of school day. She was asphyxiated with severe burn marks in and around her face and mouth, officials say. Asif was arrested in Bellerose, Queens, where he is renting a room on 248th Street.
Asif Had a History of Being Violent with His Wife, Children
Asif has one prior arrest for a domestic incident with his wife, which is sealed. He has five prior domestic incidents dating back to 2023, four with his wife and one with his daughter.
He once allegedly threatened to force her to swallow bleach. No orders of protection had been issued. He is an unemployed software engineer and a naturalized U.S. citizen. Aleena was a certified public accountant.
According to prosecutors, Aleena and the children were so frightened of Asif that they turned off their surveillance cameras at the house because they were fearful he would use it to spy on them.
The couple’s children – an 18-year-old girl, 14-year-old-boy and 7-year-old girl – are in the custody of other family members.
