- Jessy Kurczewski faces a mandatory life sentence for the murder of Lynn Hernan, 62
- Hernan was found dead in her Milwaukee home on October 3, 2018, with a fatal dose of tetrahydrozoline, the main ingredient in Visine eye drops, in her system.
- Kurczewski made the scene look like a suicide, cashing checks for himself and opening store accounts in the victim’s name after the murder
A Wisconsin woman openly wept as she was sentenced poisoned her with eye drops in a staged suicide before stealing nearly $300,000 from her.
Jessy Kurczewski, 39, killed Lynn Hernan, 62, by administering a fatal dose of tetrahydrozoline, the main ingredient in eye drops.
She then made the scene look like a suicide before committing nearly $300,000 in fraud, including writing a $130,204 check from the victim to herself.
Kurczewski cried as she was found guilty by a jury Tuesday of first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of robbery in Waukesha County. She faces a mandatory life sentence.
“The defendant betrayed Lynn out of greed,” said Deputy District Attorney Abbey Nickolie.
Jessy Kurczewski has been found guilty of murdering Lynn Hernan by poisoning her with eye drops and making it look like suicide before stealing nearly $300,000 from her
Kurczewski broke down when she was found guilty Tuesday of first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of robbery in Waukesha County
Nickolie added that the verdict was “a step toward closure for all those who mourn Lynn.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Hernan was found dead in her Milwaukee home on October 3, 2018, with the scene littered with opened bottles of pills. An autopsy found a lethal dose of tetrahydrozoline, an ingredient in Visine eye drops and other medications, in Hernan’s system.
Kurczewski had known her victim for years and lawyers claimed she was “just like her daughter.”
She admitted handing Hernan a bottle containing six bottles of Visine brand eye drops, which she had been drinking.
She claimed that Hernan had been suicidal and that she was trying to help.
Months before the murder, Kurczewski’s credit score had plummeted due to maxing out credit cards.
Kurczewski’s defense team argued that Hernan (left) was like a mother to Kurczewski (right) and said the accusations would have driven Hernan ‘crazy’
Financial statements also revealed several payments had been made by the victim to the killer and a ‘fraudulent’ loan.
Hernan’s entire estate was left to Kurczewski, who told authorities she had power of attorney. However, one of the victim’s cousins told them that it was strange that the estate had been left to her.
After police performed an autopsy on Hernan, pictured here, they discovered a fatal dose of tetrahydrozoline, the main ingredient in eye drops, in her system.
The court heard that after committing the murder, Kurczewski went shopping and opened accounts in Hernan’s name.
“She wasn’t worried about Lynn all day,” Assistant District Attorney Randy Sitzberger said. WISN reports.
“She opened a JC Penney account in Lynn’s name, and she used Lynn’s other accounts to go shopping and do some online shopping, knowing she had just given Lynn poison.”
Investigators initially thought it could be a drug overdose, with Kurczewski saying she told investigators she had been caring for Hernan, who was “acting strangely.”
Kurczewski denied all charges against her, with her defense team trying to argue that Hernan’s death was the result of a combination of medications in her system that she had taken to manage her pain.
They claimed that Hernan became suicidal and wanted to give away her money before her death.
Lawyers for the defendant claimed that Hernan would have found it “crazy” that Kurczewski had been accused of any wrongdoing.
“Lynn kept giving Jessy money because she wanted to,” attorney Donna Kuchler said. ‘Giving money to Jessy made her happy. Jessy looked like her daughter.”