Suspect Convicted of Poisoning Friend, Stealing Her Money

(RepublicanPress.org) – According to People, Jessy Kurczewski from Wisconsin called police in October 2018 to report her friend — Lynn Hernan — wasn’t breathing. A criminal complaint obtained by the news source stated that officers arrived on the scene to find the victim unconscious in a chair with crushed “medication on her chest and a plate” in front of her. The initial indication was that Hernan had attempted suicide by overdosing. After the woman died, the investigation that followed pointed to murder. The suspect was Kurczewski herself.

On November 15, the New York Post reported that a Wisconsin jury found the defendant guilty of murdering her longtime friend using Visine eye drops. Kurczewski confessed to the killing, saying she emptied six bottles of eye drops into Hernan’s water bottle and gave it to the victim. However, she claimed that Hernan was suicidal and asked her to taint the water.

Wisconsin woman convicted of fatally poisoning friend with eye drops, stealing $300K https://t.co/YPNYiTmf0v pic.twitter.com/CTtd2FbfMk

— New York Post (@nypost) November 15, 2023

Indeed, the Waukesha County medical examiner discovered tetrahydrozoline — Visine’s main active ingredient — in Hernan’s system. That discovery prompted the examiner to rule her death a homicide. The suspect’s Google searches revealed Kurczewski was looking for information on household poisons, casting doubt on her suicide claims.

After poisoning the victim, Kurczewski went on a spending spree to the tune of $290,000. According to reports, the killer maxed out her own credit cards and opened others in Hernan’s name. The defendant also stole all of the victim’s money out of her bank accounts. Waukesha County Asst. District Attorney Randy Sitzberger said despite Kurczewski’s feigned concern over her friend’s condition, she was busy shopping.

Tragically, the perpetrator’s defense attorney, Donna Kuchler, said the pair had a mother/daughter relationship — making the crime even more horrific. In a weak justification for stealing the money, Kuchler said it made Hernan happy to give her client money. In fact, she did it “all the time.”

Kurczewski now faces life in prison, which is mandatory for a murder charge in Wisconsin. The court is scheduled to sentence her on December 7.