A woman from Wisconsin who was convicted last year of poisoning her disabled “friend” with eye drops and taking her money was given a life sentence on Friday.
Jessy Kurczewski will have to wait 30 years before she can apply for parole, WISN reported.
Judge Jennifer Dorow expressed that she believes 30 years is a long time, but her main goal is for Kurczewski to be nearly 80 years old before she is released, which is older than the victim, Lynn Hernan, would be today.
A jury found Kurczewski, 40, guilty in November of 2018 for the murder of Hernan and for making it appear as a suicide, as CrimeOnline reported. Initially, Hernan's death was thought to be an overdose when she was discovered dead with crushed medications on her chest and prescription pills nearby. However, an autopsy revealed that she died from tetrahydrozoline poisoning, which is found in over-the-counter eye drops. The amount of the drug in Hernan’s system was too high to have come from normal usage.
During Friday’s sentencing hearing, Kurczewski spoke for nearly two hours, refusing to take responsibility for Hernan’s death and claiming that her “friend” took her own life.
“Being accused and convicted of murder, when I didn’t do it, is a lot to handle,” she said. “It won’t bring her back or make her life easier. You're blaming me for her actions. Those are her decisions, her choices, and her actions. Not mine, not anyone else's.
Prosecutors presented evidence during the trial of Kurczewski researching the effects of tetrahydrozoline online before Hernan’s death.
The jury convicted Kurczewski of first degree intentional homicide and two counts of theft, as records showed her transferring large sums of money from Hernan’s accounts to her own and making significant purchases.
Kurczewski was initially supposed to be sentenced on December 7, 2023, but the hearing was postponed when her lawyers withdrew from the case. It was delayed again when a second set of attorneys also withdrew, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported.
[Featured image: Jessy Kurczewski/Waukesha County Police]