Jury finds Wisconsin woman guilty of poisoning friend with eye drops

A Wisconsin woman has been found guilty of poisoning her friend with eye drops, officials announced Tuesday.

A jury found 39-year-old Jessy Kurczewski guilty of first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of theft in the 2018 murder of her family friend Lynn Hernan, the Waukesha County District Attorney's office said in a press release. 

Hernan was found dead in her Pewaukee condo in October 2018 with crushed medication on her chest. According to a criminal complaint, Kurczewski called the police and said her friend wasn't conscious or breathing. Kurczewski said she was a family friend and had been checking on Hernan daily. She had said there was a possibility Hernan was suicidal.

The Waukesha County medical examiner ruled Hernan's death a homicide after discovering tetrahydrozoline, an ingredient in Visine, in Hernan's system.

When investigators told Kurczewski that Hernan was poisoned and the scene was staged to look like a suicide, she said it was what Hernan wanted and she must have staged her suicide, according to the complaint. Kurczewski later told investigators she brought Hernan a water bottle loaded with six bottles' worth of Visine, according to the complaint.

Detectives also eventually concluded Kurczewski stole $290,000 from Hernan.

Prosecutors said they were satisfied with the verdict and offered condolences to Hernan's family.

"The verdict today is a step toward closure for those who grieve for Lynn, and it sends a clear message to the community that our society will not tolerate the intentional act of taking someone's life," Abbey Nickolie, the county's deputy district attorney, said in a statement. 

Kurczewski is set to be sentenced on Dec. 7, 2023. The homicide charge requires a mandatory life sentence as well as an additional 10 years of imprisonment for each count of theft, prosecutors said.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.