Woman killed her friend with eyedrops

Jessy Kurczewski pretended to be a carer, but she was really a killer

- GAIL SHORTLAND

Their family friendship started right back when Jessy Kurczewski was a child. Lynn Hernan had been friends with Kurczewski’s mum and Lynn treated her friend’s daughter like her own. Lynn looked out for Kurczewski as she was growing up and they remained close through to adulthood.

Over the years, Lynn achieved her dream of being a hairstylist, while Kurczewski struggled to find her way. She had a gambling problem and got herself into debt, but by 2018, despite not having a job, friends noticed she was living more comfortably, and they hoped she had turned a corner.

By then, Lynn, 62, was having some health problems and Kurczewski jumped at the chance to care for her family friend. Kurczewski would visit Lynn several times a day at her condo in Pewaukee, Wisconsin to help out and take her to doctors’ appointments. While Lynn had inherited money from her parents, she lived a frugal life and shunned technology, including mobile phones. Kurczewski made sure she was on hand to help.

Then, at around 5pm on 3 October, 2018 Kurczewski made a 911 call from Lynn’s home. She said that she’d found Lynn unconscious and not breathing. Kurczewski suggested that Lynn had been suicidal recently and might have attempted to take her own life. Paramedics rushed to the scene but it was too late. Lynn was found dead in her living room recliner.

The police found a large amount of crushed-up medication on Lynn’s chest and a plate on the table next to her, with more crushed-up medicine. Kurczewski said that she’d turned up at the house and had found Lynn unresponsive. She said Lynn had been acting strange in the weeks leading up to her death and had spoken about taking her own life because of her declining health.