A Wisconsin jury convicted a woman Tuesday of fatally poisoning her friend’s water with eye drops before stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from her.
Jurors in Waukesha County deliberated for 11 hours before finding Jessy Kurczewski guilty of first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of theft in the death of Lynn Hernan.
Kurczewski broke down in tears as the verdict was read in open court, FOX Milwaukee reported.
Kurczewski, 39, told investigators she gave Hernan a water bottle filled with six bottles of Visine in 2018. Hernan was found dead in her Pewaukee condo with crushed medication on her chest, prosecutors said.
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Jessy Kurczewski wipes away tears as Deputy District Attorney Abbey Nickolie gives closing arguments during her trial at the Waukesha County Courthouse in Waukehsa, Wisc., Monday. Kurczewski was found guilty of the 2018 death of Lynn Hernan, 61, of Pewaukee. (Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP/Pool)
Kurczewski called the police to report Hernan was unconscious and not breathing. She told authorities Hernan was possibly suicidal.
Her death was ruled a homicide after tetrahydrozoline, an ingredient in Visine, was found in her system. Toxicology results from the autopsy showed that the woman had 160 nanograms per milliliter of tetrahydrozoline, an amount one medical examiner said would have been impossible to have in one’s system just by using eye droplets.
When told that her friend was poisoned, Kurczewski told investigators Hernan, 61, must have staged her own suicide with the crushed pills. Detectives also eventually concluded Kurczewski stole $290,000 from Hernan.
Hernan’s close friend, Anthony Pozza, told the news outlet that Hernan was ‘a compassionate, humble and very generous person.”
Defense attorney Donna Jean Kuchler makes a case as she holds Lynn Hernan’s medications and presented them as evidence as she makes closing arguments during the trial of Jessy Kurczewski at the Waukesha County Courthouse. (Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP/Pool)
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“She’d give you the shirt off her back if she knew it would look good on you,” Pozza said. “When I learned of Lynn’s passing, I immediately knew something was awry and not reality. I thank God every day for the detectives and DA that represented this case.”
Kurczewski is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 7.
