Woman accused of poisoning friend with eyedrops

[RickshawFan]

Defendant name Kurczewski, Jessy R​

DA case number 2019WK000743

​

Court record​

Date	Event	Court official	Court reporter	Amount
10-19-2023	Video conferencing
10-19-2023	Motion hearing	Dorow, Jennifer R	Schiek, Lori
	Additional text:10:08 AM Defendant Jessy R Kurczewski in court, in custody. Attorney Pablo Galaviz in court for Jessy R Kurczewski. Attorney Donna Jean Kuchler appeared by video for Jessy R Kurczewski. Attorney J.J. Crawford in court for State of Wisconsin. Victim/Witness appears by zoom. Attorney Demetra Christopoulos of Corporation Counsel appears with and on behalf of Deputy Jail Administrator, Captain Tracy Lewandowski. Lieutenant Brian Bortmess appears on behalf of Court Services. State has complied with victim's rights. Case called to address the Motion Relating to Trial Attire filed by Defense on 10/17/23. Court has received the recent filings made by the parties. Attorney Christopoulos makes statements on the record regarding the rules and policies of the Jail and what allowances could be made for trial. Lieutenant Bortmess makes statements on the record with respect to how Court Services handles defendants getting ready for trial. Court addresses the requests related to attire, styling tools, and makeup. State takes no position. Court grants the request for the Defendant to wear a necklace, if brought in by the attorneys to be inspected by the bailiff, and worn only in the courtroom. Court denies the request for the Defendant to wear her own undergarments, the ability to use a hair curler/straightener, and makeup. Court addresses the ability of the Defendant to confer with her attorneys outside of the regular business hours. Captain Tracy Lewandowski advises the Court and the parties of the procedure for discovery. Court advises Defense to work with the Jail. All other motions filed will be addressed by the Court after the Jury is empaneled.

Wisconsin Circuit Court Access

wcca.wicourts.gov

The judge is having to decide whether the defendant can use a hair curler? There's an argument about wearing a thong and push up (speculating as to detail)? We're wasting judge time on a necklace motion? This is ridiculous. Most jails also have an inmate-run beauty parlor.

 

[arielilane]

What to know about the trial of Jessy Kurczewski, accused of killing friend with eye drops

The trial of Jessy Kurczewski, a Franklin woman charged with poisoning a family friend and stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars, starts Oct. 23.

www.jsonline.com

10.20.2023

The jury trial of Jessy Kurczewski, a Franklin woman facing felony charges for allegedly poisoning a family friend and stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from her starts Oct. 23.

She pleaded not guilty to the charges in 2021.

Here’s what you need to know before the trial begins.

When does the trial start?​

The trial begins at 8:30 a.m. Monday, Oct. 23, and is estimated to last for approximately five weeks.

What charges is Kurczewski facing?​

Kurczewski is facing one felony count of first-degree intentional homicide, one felony count of theft of movable property greater than $100,000, and one felony count of theft of movable property over $10,000 but less than $100,000.

Who is representing Kurczewski?​

She is represented by attorney Pablo Galaviz and attorney Donna Jean Kuchler.

 

[RickshawFan]

What to know about the trial of Jessy Kurczewski, accused of killing friend with eye drops

The trial of Jessy Kurczewski, a Franklin woman charged with poisoning a family friend and stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars, starts Oct. 23.

www.jsonline.com

10.20.2023

The jury trial of Jessy Kurczewski, a Franklin woman facing felony charges for allegedly poisoning a family friend and stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from her starts Oct. 23.

She pleaded not guilty to the charges in 2021.

Here’s what you need to know before the trial begins.

When does the trial start?​

The trial begins at 8:30 a.m. Monday, Oct. 23, and is estimated to last for approximately five weeks.

What charges is Kurczewski facing?​

Kurczewski is facing one felony count of first-degree intentional homicide, one felony count of theft of movable property greater than $100,000, and one felony count of theft of movable property over $10,000 but less than $100,000.

Who is representing Kurczewski?​

She is represented by attorney Pablo Galaviz and attorney Donna Jean Kuchler.

I can't believe this trial is going to go for 5 weeks. It's kinda obvious who did it. Maybe there are a lot of forensics....WI has a great cadre of forensic experts.

 

[arielilane]

Jessy Kurczewski's homicide trial gets underway Monday in a Waukesha County courtroom.

Kurczewski, 39, faces a count of first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of felony theft in the 2018 death of a Pewaukee woman.

Prosecutors allege Kurczewski used eyedrops to poison the woman, whom she was caring for, and staged the scene to look like a suicide by drug overdose. Kurczewski also is accused of stealing $290,210 from her over time.

She has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Here's a closer look at some of the people who are expected to play key roles during the trial, which is expected to stretch five weeks:

The accused​

Jessy Kurczewski

Age: 39


More of article @link...

Meet the key figures in Jessy Kurczewski's 'eye drops' homicide trial

Prosecutors allege Kurczewski used eyedrops to poison a woman she was caring for, and staged the scene to look like a suicide.

www.jsonline.com

Updated 4:27 pm CT 10.20.2023

 

[arielilane]

The judge is having to decide whether the defendant can use a hair curler? There's an argument about wearing a thong and push up (speculating as to detail)? We're wasting judge time on a necklace motion? This is ridiculous. Most jails also have an inmate-run beauty parlor.

I supposed that's it for attire week...nothing was reported for Oct. 20 via court site.

 

[DeDee]

Jessy Kurczewski's homicide trial gets underway Monday in a Waukesha County courtroom.

Kurczewski, 39, faces a count of first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of felony theft in the 2018 death of a Pewaukee woman.

Prosecutors allege Kurczewski used eyedrops to poison the woman, whom she was caring for, and staged the scene to look like a suicide by drug overdose. Kurczewski also is accused of stealing $290,210 from her over time.

She has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Here's a closer look at some of the people who are expected to play key roles during the trial, which is expected to stretch five weeks:

The accused​

Jessy Kurczewski

Age: 39


More of article @link...

Meet the key figures in Jessy Kurczewski's 'eye drops' homicide trial

Prosecutors allege Kurczewski used eyedrops to poison a woman she was caring for, and staged the scene to look like a suicide.

www.jsonline.com

Updated 4:27 pm CT 10.20.2023

Motive: "Kurczewski also is accused of stealing $290,210 from her over time."

I loved Judge Jennifer during Brooks' trial. Interesting that the Judge denied the accused any beauty regiment beginning each trial day. Can't blame a gal for trying. Will this trial be televised or livestreamed? tia

 

[arielilane]

Motive: "Kurczewski also is accused of stealing $290,210 from her over time."

I loved Judge Jennifer during Brooks' trial. Interesting that the Judge denied the accused any beauty regiment beginning each trial day. Can't blame a gal for trying. Will this trial be televised or livestreamed? tia

L&C will live stream, tho, I dont believe full jury selection is live streamed. Not sure if Court TV will live stream trial, and I'm sure there is a local station to live stream trial. Updates will be posted on thread.

Anyone else know of live streaming info, updates? TIA


NEW TRIAL: Jury selection begins Monday in #EyeDropMurderTrial WI v. #JessyKurczewski. Wisconsin woman accused of murdering her friend by poisoning her with eye drops.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1715859877862506910

 

[RickshawFan]

Motive: "Kurczewski also is accused of stealing $290,210 from her over time."

I loved Judge Jennifer during Brooks' trial. Interesting that the Judge denied the accused any beauty regiment beginning each trial day. Can't blame a gal for trying. Will this trial be televised or livestreamed? tia

She could presumably have someone in the jail do her hair, though, that's why we get those bizarre hairstyles on defendants.

 

[Weki]

I was just thinking that the only thing I’ve learned from watching so much true crime is how to kill someone and never get a way with it. I thought I had seen it all but this one takes the cake. I had no idea eye drops could kill you!

 

[arielilane]

I was just thinking that the only thing I’ve learned from watching so much true crime is how to kill someone and never get a way with it. I thought I had seen it all but this one takes the cake. I had no idea eye drops could kill you!

It's going to be interesting. moo

 

[arielilane]

--- An older article, from over two years ago.


When Jessy R. Kurczewski called 911 in 2018 to report that a friend was unconscious in her Wisconsin home, police arrived to find the womanon a recliner with crushed pills on her chest and several prescription bottles nearby.

Kurczewski told the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department she was the woman’s only friend, sole caregiver and had her power of attorney, according to court records. Her friend, who was ill and “sick of being sick,” may have died by suicide, she suggested.

For weeks, police believed that was possible — until the woman’s autopsy came back with a strange result: A fatal amount of tetrahydrozoline, the main ingredient in eye drops, in her bloodstream. The amount in her blood couldn’t have been taken in through her eyes alone, police said.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/06/08/wisonsin-woman-charged-killing-friend-eyedrops/

June 8, 2021 at 7:12 a.m. EDT

 

[arielilane]

--- Not many pictures of victim Lynn Hernan (LH) were found.
--- Linked article includes short video of LH's friend showing his love & support for his friend.
--- Even daily mail had no pic.
--- Her friend mentioned her birthday - LH's birthday was June 26

Jury seated for trial of woman accused of killing family friend with eye drops

The criminal complaint says Jessy Kurczewski poisoned Lynn Hernan with six containers worth of Visine in a water bottle.

www.wisn.com

(Video shows Jessy Kurczewski in court in June 2021)

Updated: 5:09 PM CDT Oct 22, 2023

 

[arielilane]

On Monday, October 23 at 8:30 am the murder trial of Jessy Kurczewski will begin in Waukesha County Circuit Court. If you’re a true crime aficionado, this is a trial you may want to follow. Kurczewski, 39, is charged with first degree intentional homicide for allegedly using eye drops to poison Lynn Hernan, 62, in her Pewaukee home. She is also charged with two felonies for allegedly stealing $290,210 from Hernan. The alleged murder occurred on October 3, 2018.

This is likely to be another high-profile local trial with national media coverage, as Court TV and others are planning to live stream at least parts of the trial, which is scheduled to run every weekday until November 28. Judge Jennifer Dorow will be officiating the trial, as she was in Waukesha’s last high-profile trial of Darrell Brooks, the notorious Waukesha Christmas Parade killer, a year ago. The lead prosecutor is Deputy District Attorney Abbey Nickolie who has been a prosecutor since 2013. The defense team is led by criminal defense attorney Donna Kuchler of Kuchler & Cotton in Waukesha, who specializes in sensitive crimes such as child abuse and sexual assault, and defended Morgan Geyser in the Slender Man stabbing case.

There are two reasons this trial is likely to be high profile:

• The use of common eyedrops as the alleged murder weapon
• The fact that the alleged murderer is female, as only about 20 percent of murders in the U.S. are committed by women

Focus Waukesha will update this story with links to where you can find livestreams and analysis of the trial if it receives the level of national media and podcast interest that we anticipate it will.


More at link...

Murder by Eye Drops: High Profile Trial Begins Monday in Waukesha - Focus Waukesha

October 22, 2023

 

[pukasonqo2]

Eyedrops? Who thinks of this stuff? It will also be interesting to hear about internet searches. Clearly, this poor lady was taken advantage of by the alleged killer. I am getting familiar with the case but sounds as if Ms. Hernan didn't have any family nearby. moo

Agatha Christie wrote a book, Crooked House, in which the murderer used eye drops to kill her victim but never heard of someone using a similar method IRL

 

[arielilane]

2018PR000561

10-10-2018

Waukesha

Reopened

Kurczewski, Jessy

In the Estate of Lynn A Hernan

Court activities​

Date	Time	Location	Description	Type	Court official
04-27-2020			Inventory due date	Non-court	Nowakowski, Paul
12-06-2023	08:30 am	Parties to appear remotely via Zoom.	Order to show cause hearing	Court	Nowakowski, Paul

​

04-05-2023	Notice of hearing	Nowakowski, Paul
	Additional text:Order to show cause hearing on December 6, 2023 at 08:30 am.

Wisconsin Circuit Court Access

wcca.wicourts.gov

Murder by Eye Drops: High Profile Waukesha Trial - Focus Waukesha

On Monday, October 23 at 8:30 am the murder trial of Jessy Kurczewski began in Waukesha County Circuit Court. If you’re a true crime aficionado, this is a trial you may want to follow.

focuswaukesha.com

Additionally, from the article:

Kurczewski was living in Franklin at the time of her arrest and has been held in Taycheedah Correctional Institution and the Waukesha County Jail since her arrest. While in Taycheedah, she allegedly confessed to a fellow inmate that she had killed Hernan.

Also...

A review of Wisconsin Circuit Court records revealed that Kurczewski pled guilty in 2011 in Milwaukee County to two counts of felony “misappropriate ID info – obtain thing of value” (aka identity theft) and one count of “forgery – writings or objects” for which she was sentenced to one year in state prison and three years of extended supervision. Several counts of felony bail jumping and one count of misdemeanor “resisting or obstructing an officer” were dismissed as part of a plea deal.

In addition, there is an open probate case in which a will by Lynn Hernan, listing Kurczewski as the beneficiary, is pending the outcome of this criminal trial. In pre-trial hearings, Judge Dorow ruled in favor of allowing some prior acts to be included in the trial and others to be excluded, but we do not yet have confirmation regarding whether her 2011 convictions or the probate case will be allowed as evidence.

 

[RickshawFan]

Agatha Christie wrote a book, Crooked House, in which the murderer used eye drops to kill her victim but never heard of someone using a similar method IRL

I'm wondering if this wasn't the method used to kill Lori Vallow's brother, Alex.

There have been some other recent cases of murder by eyedrops. See my refs ^^^^.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Kurczewski denied killing the woman, assisting in or staging her death but said she’d “saved” the victim from herself in the past.

Kurczewski told police the victim was known to purchase a great volume of eyedrops. In a later interview, she told detectives the woman drank Visine with vodka before her death. Kurczewski said she had brought a water bottle with Visine in it to her friend at her request.

As she’d been “drinking it regularly for so long,” Kurczewski said she didn’t think it would kill her.

Five years later, trial of Franklin woman accused of poisoning friend with eyedrops starts Monday

Five years later, the trial of Franklin woman accused of poisoning her friend with eyedrops starts Monday.

www.jsonline.com

 

[arielilane]

NEW TRIAL | Jessy Kurczewski insists Lynn Herman’s death was due to a drug overdose, but a medical examiner says it was murder. Kurczewski allegedly spiked Herman’s drink with a lethal amount of eyedrops, causing her death.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1716479089903607979

 

[arielilane]

The Alternate Corner has started live streaming.

 

[arielilane]

Jury selection began this morning in WI v. #JessyKurczewki. 2 of the 50 jurors called didn't show up. The judge sent the sheriff's dept to their homes to bring them in. Don't mess around with Judge Dorow.

https://twitter.com/cathyrusson