[chris]

Jessy Kurczewski, a family friend and caregiver from Franklin, Wisconsin, was convicted of first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of felony theft of movable property in the death of Lynn Hernan in Pewaukee, then sentenced on April 5, 2024, to life in prison with eligibility for extended supervision after 30 years.

Hernan, a hairstylist and salon owner, was 62 in 2018 and lived in a condominium in Pewaukee, Waukesha County. She had suffered for years from lung disease, high blood pressure and persistent stomach problems her doctors had not fully explained. She had been in and out of hospital during the year before she was found dead on October 3, 2018, sitting in a recliner with pill bottles scattered around her. The scene suggested an overdose, and the first reading was a possible suicide.

Toxicology found a fatal quantity of tetrahydrozoline, the active ingredient in over-the-counter eye drops such as Visine, along with other medications. Waukesha County medical examiner Dr. Lynda Biedrzycki concluded that another person had given Hernan the poison, and the death was ruled a homicide.

Kurczewski had been Hernan's caregiver for roughly five years and was 39 at trial. The defense described their relationship as being "like mother and daughter." She was one of only two people named in Hernan's will. Kurczewski also had a 2011 conviction for identity theft and forgery carrying eight years and was released to extended supervision in 2016.

About five months after Hernan's death, Kurczewski called the medical examiner's office for an update and was referred to the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department. She sat for an interview with her mother beside her and was questioned more than once by Detectives Chris Kohl and Aaron Hoppe. After her arrest on a supervision hold in July 2019, she was interviewed again on July 9, 2019, and for a third time the following day. Kurczewski first said Hernan used eye drops for dry eyes, later said Hernan drank vodka mixed with Visine and had prepared it herself, and eventually said Hernan swallowed six bottles of Visine in water on the morning she died. She denied mixing or administering anything, killing Hernan or helping her end her life.

Investigators found fraudulent checks drawn on Hernan's accounts, a forged signature, credit cards opened in her name and unauthorized transfers. More money was taken from the estate after her death. Detective Nathan Plennes traced 20 checks into Kurczewski's accounts and followed withdrawals to casinos. Figures given in court and in reporting ranged from about $224,000 to close to $300,000. No suicide note was found. Prosecutors filed charges in June 2021.

Kurczewski pleaded not guilty and went to trial in October 2023, maintaining that Hernan was ill, suicidal and had poisoned herself. On November 14, 2023, after about ten and a half hours of deliberation, the jury convicted her on the homicide count and both theft counts. Sentencing was delayed after 37 pages of handwritten documents surfaced that the state said directed a friend to fabricate a voice recording of Hernan confessing to suicide. Kurczewski denied writing them. Judge Jennifer Dorow imposed the mandatory life sentence and added consecutive terms totaling 10 years for the theft counts, which would put Kurczewski near 80 before any release. Restitution was set at more than $380,000, with a further sum for state witness costs, and the judge barred her from profiting from the case. Kurczewski told the court she was innocent and said she would appeal. No appellate ruling has been reported.

The video is about 16 minutes of police interview-room footage released from the sheriff's department interviews described above. It is an excerpt of the interview itself, with no narration or presenter.