A Long Island man is in jail after being indicted on murder charges. Asif Qureshi is accused of killing his estranged wife by poisoning her with a dangerous chemical. The man had allegedly been stalking his wife for months after she asked for a divorce, and he had a history of threatening to do something drastic to kill her. Unfortunately, it appears his threats were more like a promise. Qureshi knew exactly what he was doing, and it seems that he had been planning on killing his wife for some time. Now their children, who were the last people to see their mother alive, have to live with the pain of her death.
Qureshi was indicted and arraigned on January 8, 2026, the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office noted in a news release. The 53-year-old was charged with one count of second-degree murder and two counts of first-degree burglary. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
The charges stem from the death of his estranged wife, Aleena Asif, on October 17, 2025. According to the indictment, Asif’s 18-year-old daughter left the home to attend college classes around 7 a.m. that day. About 7:53 a.m., the 46-year-old mom of three left the home with her 14-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter to take the older child to school.
Asif Qureshi entered the home while they were gone, dressed in a dark hooded jacket, baseball cap, black gloves, and a mask. He was also allegedly holding a red and white tote bag.
He was allegedly hiding in the home when his estranged wife returned home with the young girl around 8 a.m. She left to walk the little one to school around 8:50 a.m., returning a little after 9 a.m., the news release noted.
At roughly 10:50 a.m., Asif Qureshi left the home, carrying a large black duffle bag in addition to the tote bag. He walked to a nearby intersection and got on an electric scooter locked to a telephone pole before driving away.
That afternoon, Asif Qureshi’s older daughter got a call from her sister’s school telling her their mother never picked the younger girl up, per the release. The teen called police, who found the home locked when they arrived.
When police entered, they found Aleena Asif lying face up in her bed with red burns around her mouth. She was already dead.
The Nassau County Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy, finding that she died of asphyxiation due to the inhalation of a chemical agent, according to the release. The chemical was later found to be cyanide.
“Aleena Asif brought her children to school on October 17th, 2025, unaware of the danger lurking inside of her own home and her estranged husband hiding in the shadows,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly shared in the news release.
“Asif Qureshi allegedly snuck into the house during school drop off, lying in wait, until his wife returned home. When he had her alone, he allegedly held cyanide over her mouth, killed her, and left her body for their children to gruesomely discover,” Donnelly added. “A home should be a place of sanctuary, but this defendant turned it into a house of horrors. Our thoughts are with Aleena’s three children as we prosecute this tragic case.”
Speaking with WABC New York, Donnelly called the killing “one of the most horrifying cases I have ever seen in my career.”
“Basically, he seared her lungs,” she explained to the outlet. “She took a breath and the cyanide just burns your lungs.”
According to police, Asif Qureshi stalked Aleena Asif for months after she demanded a divorce, the outlet reported. Sources told WABC that there were several reports of trouble before her death. In one incident, Asif Qureshi allegedly threatened to force her to drink bleach.
Quereshi is being held in jail without bail. His next court appearance is set for February 18, 2026.
