Kurczewski found guilty of murdering friend with eye drops
Prosecutors said Jessy Kurczewski poisoned Lynn Hernan’s water with eye drops and staged the scene to look like a suicide
WAUKESHA, Wis. (WBAY) - A Wisconsin murder trial, where prosecutors said eye drops were the murder weapon, has ended with guilty verdicts. The verdict was handed down by a Waukesha County jury Tuesday afternoon in the murder trial of Jessy Kurczewski.
Now a convicted murderer, she faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison for the death of Lynn Hernan.
A jury found the 39-year-old guilty of first-degree intentional homicide for poisoning Hernan by putting eye drops in her water in 2018.
A jury also finds her guilty on two counts of theft -- stealing money from Hernan before and after her death with theft charges of moveable property over $100,000, and theft of moveable property between $10,000 and $100,000.
A jury’s verdict had to be unanimous on the homicide charge.
A close friend of Hernan, Anthony Pozza, talked to the media shortly after the guilty verdict. He actually called Hernan his aunt and was in Hernan’s will. He also testified during the trial.
Pozza says justice has finally been served and he hopes Hernan can now rest in peace. In total, the jury listened to 3 weeks of testimony and viewed well over 200 exhibits presented in this case. During the two days of deliberations-- jurors had several questions and asked to see exhibits-- mostly pertaining to the finances in this case.
Tuesday around 1 pm-- the jury found Kurczewski guilty on all three counts.
As we reported, the defense argued Hernan had a history of drug use and was suicidal. The attorney pointed to Hernan’s medical records and argued she died from an overdose of a combination of drugs.
Jurors deliberated for six hours on Monday, during which they asked the court two questions about viewing exhibits and the wording of the theft charges. The jury resumed deliberations Tuesday morning.
Kurczewski, now convicted of first-degree intentional homicide, faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for December 7.
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