Woman found guilty of murdering friend with eyedrops
A woman from Wisconsin killed her friend by spiking the latter's drink with a fatal dose of eyedrops.
NBC News reported that Jessy Kurczewski, 39, was convicted of first-degree intentional homicide on Thursday, Nov. 16 after killing Lynn Hernan, 61, in 2018. The court also found Kerczewski guilty of two counts of felony theft for stealing from Hernan.
Kurczewski is listed as one of the beneficiaries in Hernan’s will, as she’s “like a daughter” to Hernan.
She initially told investigators that Hernan had an obsession with eye drops and overdosed. She then claimed Hernan had committed suicide.
Kurczewski allegedly called the police to Hernan's home, saying her friend wasn’t breathing.
Police found Hernan dead with crushed medication on her chest and a nearby plate.
It was initially ruled as an overdose, according to ABC News, but the investigation was reopened three months later after the toxicology report showed Hernan had a fatal dose of tetrahydrozoline, a main ingredient in eyedrops, in her system.
Kurczewski was arrested and charged in 2021.
During the trial, Kurczewski's lawyer said Hernan had committed suicide because “she was depressed, sick and abusing medication.”
But the jury ruled that Kurczewski was motivated by greed and killed Hernan to defraud her out of about $300,000 (over P16 million) from her estate, including cash.
Kurczewski later told investigators she brought Hernan a water bottle loaded with six bottles of Visine. In putting eyedrops on her friend's drink, she said she didn’t think it would kill the victim because she had been drinking it for so long.
Kurczewski will be sentenced on Dec. 7, NBC News reported.