'Eye drops killer' Jessy Kurczewski, 39, sobs as she's found guilty of killing friend Lynn Hernan by

May 2024 · 2 minute read

A SUSPECT accused of poisoning a friend with eye drops has been found guilty of first-degree murder.

Jessy Kurczewski, 39, broke down in tears after a Wisconsin jury convicted her of killing her longtime friend and caregiver, Lynn Hernan, in October 2018.

Kurczewski is now facing a life sentence.

Hernan was found dead in her home in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, north of Waukesha, on October 3, 2018.

The 62-year-old was found on a recliner with crushed medication and prescription bottles lying around.

Kurczewski called police and told them her friend was not breathing, according to a criminal complaint.

Read more in The U.S. Sun

She told officers that her friend had been acting strangely in the week leading up to finding her unresponsive body.

Kurczewski claimed Hernan was struggling with suicidal thoughts and addiction.

Despite claiming to police that Hernan was possibly the victim of a suicide, the Waukesha County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide.

Officials found a fatal amount of tetrahydrozoline, the main ingredient in eye drops, in Hernan's system.

Most read in The US Sun

Police revealed that Kurczewski was curious as she wanted to know the details of the toxicology report.

In the months after Hernan's death, authorities also saw an increase in her bank activity.

Kurczewski was arrested in July 2019, as prosecutors revealed she had stolen approximately $290,000 from Hernan before and after her death.

During her trial, prosecutors argued that Hernan was worth more to Kurczewski dead than alive, so they believe she poisoned her by putting large amounts of eye drops in her water and staged the scene like a suicide.

"This is a case of murder, greed, and lies," Assistant District Attorney Randy Sitzberger argued during the trial.

“Lynn Hernan became worth more dead than alive to Jessy Kurczewski.”

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEZqqupl6YvK57zZ6urGdpa392gpdqZp6xlWKxs7vPrGSkoZyhsrN5yZ6qrLFdoMKzr9merqyjmWK0trXLrbBo