HERRICKS, NY – A quiet Long Island neighborhood was shaken to its core when a mother of three was discovered dead in her home, the victim of a chilling and meticulously planned act of domestic violence. Police say the case unfolded with a harrowing chain of events that began on an otherwise routine October morning.
Authorities allege that Asif Qureshi, 53, waited for the perfect moment to slip into his estranged wife’s home on Larch Drive. The victim, 46-year-old Aleena Asif, had left just after dawn with two of her children to bring them to school. Prosecutors say that the estranged husband, dressed in dark clothing and a mask, infiltrated the family’s house, carrying a red and white tote bag and gloves that would later become key evidence.
Qureshi, officials contend, concealed himself inside as Aleena briefly returned. She finished the morning routine before her final outing, but when she came back alone, the house was no longer the safe space she once knew. Authorities allege that Qureshi attacked her, using cyanide—an extraordinarily lethal substance—forcing her to inhale the poison. She never left her bedroom alive.
Hours later, security cameras recorded a figure matching Qureshi’s description leaving the residence, slipping away with the same tote bag and a large black duffle, officials say. He was soon seen hopping on an electric scooter that had been stashed nearby days before, vanishing into the bustling traffic near Queens.
The crime might have gone unnoticed for longer had it not been for a routine phone call. When Aleena failed to pick up her youngest child from school that afternoon, her eldest daughter—away at college classes that day—was notified. She rushed to alert police, who arrived at the silent house, forced their way in, and made a grim discovery: Aleena’s lifeless body lay face-up in her bed, with telltale red burns around her mouth.
A subsequent autopsy identified asphyxiation by cyanide as the cause of death, a revelation that sent shivers through the community. Investigators began combing through surveillance footage in the neighborhood and nearby Queens, which captured Qureshi unmasked at a convenience store and around the area in the days leading up to the killing. Authorities believe he had meticulously surveilled his wife’s home, locking his scooter nearby and watching the residence.
Police say a search of Qureshi’s own home turned up gloves and bags matching those seen on security footage. Investigators also believe that Qureshi had been stalking his estranged wife for months, driven by anger over her decision to seek a divorce.
Law enforcement officials described the murder as calculated—a betrayal that transformed a family’s sanctuary into a nightmare. The District Attorney emphasized the cruelty of the attack and the lasting trauma inflicted on the couple’s children.
Qureshi was taken into custody on October 23 and was arraigned in court, where he pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and burglary. He is currently being held at Nassau County Correctional Center without bail.
Court documents indicate that Qureshi is set to appear again before a judge in February of next year as the community awaits justice for a case that has left Herricks in stunned disbelief.