Wisconsin Women Accused Of Murder By Using Eyedrops As Poison
This story is insane! I never knew until today that eyedrops could be deadly. Prosecutors are accusing a Wisconsin woman of using eyedrops as poison in the killing of her friend.
WISN news reports that a criminal complaint shows that this case began back in 2018. Jessy Kurczewksi, 37, called police to her friends home in Pewaukee saying that her friend wasn't breathing. That friend is unnamed in the complaint, but estate records identify the victim as Lynn A. Hernan.
A deputy arrived on scene and found her lying unconscious with crushed medication on her chest. Investigators believed that it was an overdose.
Toxicology reports came back and showed that Hernan had high levels of tetrahydrozoline which is found in eyedrops. Tetrahydrozoline is safe if used correctly in the eyes. It acts a decongestant that relives redness. However if it is ingested it can cause serious medical problems like irregular blood pressure, coma, seizures, and all sorts of bad stuff.
After investigators confronted Kurczewski about the tetrahydrozoline found in her friend she changed her story. She said Hernan wanted to die and she must have staged her own suicide. She admitted later to bringing her a water bottle filled with six bottles' worth of Visine.
Kurczewski was named as Hernan's heir in her estate. Detectives also believe that $130,204 was fraudulently transferred by check from Hernan to Kurczewski. All in all, she's accused of committing nearly $300,000 in fraud.
Kurczewski has been arrested and is held on a million dollar bail in the Waukesha County Jail.
Strangely enough, this isn't the first time someone has been accused of eyedrop poisoning. In 2018 Lana Sue Clayton poisoned her husband, watching him die slowly for a period of three days.