NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
Long Island, NY, October 27, 2025: A mother of three originally from Mumbai was found dead in her Long Island home last Friday after her estranged husband allegedly attacked her with a “cyanide-like” substance, authorities said.
The victim, 46-year-old Aleena Asif, was a certified public accountant and mother of three who lived in Herricks, Long Island. Police say her estranged husband, 53-year-old Asif Qureshi, killed her after a long and bitter domestic dispute that escalated following divorce proceedings.
Qureshi was arraigned on second-degree murder charges on Friday and ordered held without bail as a flight risk. Prosecutors said they plan to present the case to a grand jury and seek a first-degree murder indictment (ABC7 NY).
According to ABC7 NY, the couple had fought over money and multiple homes. They signed a separation agreement in late 2024, and Qureshi filed for a full divorce earlier this year. On October 9, he was formally served divorce papers, which he refused to accept. Officials told ABC7 NY that beginning the next day, he started appearing at her home repeatedly — a pattern described by investigators as stalking behavior.
Authorities allege that on October 17, Qureshi entered Aleena’s home after she dropped off her children at school. When she returned, he attacked and killed her, allegedly using a “cyanide-like” chemical substance. Her 18-year-old daughter called police later that afternoon after Qureshi failed to pick up the youngest child from school. Officers arrived at 3:52 p.m. to find Aleena unconscious, not breathing, with severe chemical burns around her mouth and face, consistent with chemical asphyxiation (ABC7 NY).
ABC7 NY reported that Qureshi has five prior domestic incidents recorded since 2023 — four involving his wife and one involving his daughter. He also had one prior arrest in a domestic incident with Aleena, though that case remains sealed. Prosecutors said he had once threatened to make his wife swallow bleach, but no protective orders were ever issued.
Police say the couple’s children — an 18-year-old girl, 14-year-old boy, and 7-year-old girl — are now staying with relatives. Prosecutors added, according to ABC7 NY, that Aleena and the children were so terrified of Qureshi that they disabled the home’s security cameras, fearing he might use them to monitor or intimidate them.
Qureshi, an unemployed software engineer and naturalized U.S. citizen, was arrested later that day in Bellerose, Queens, where he had been renting a room on 248th Street. Aleena, meanwhile, had built a successful career as a CPA and was remembered by friends and family as hardworking, kind, and deeply devoted to her children.
