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Lynn Hernan was a 62-year-old woman who was found dead, sitting on her armchair at her home in Pewaukee, Wisconsin on October 3, 2018. Hernan's caretaker, Jessy Kurczewski, called 911 reporting about the situation. Kurczewski happened to be the daughter of one of Hernan's close friends and was taking care of her, due to her dwindling health conditions.
At the crime scene, the investigators found prescription pills scattered all over the floor, and there was crushed medicine on a plate beside her armchair, where she died. Initially, the authorities thought this was a case of suicide until they found some crucial evidence, that completely changed the direction of the case.
The investigation behind the murder of Lynn Hernan is documented in Season 37, Episode 27 of 48 Hours titled, Death by Eyedrops. On November 17, 2024, the episode was aired on Investigation Discovery. It is available for streaming on CBS and Paramount Plus.
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What is the story of Lynn Hernan and how was she murdered
Lynn Hernan had been a woman, who survived throughout her life with financial struggles having little to almost no savings for herself. In 2014, her life changed completely, when she inherited $ 250,000 after her mother's death. Hernan had known Jessy Kurczewski since childhood and even threw a party at her graduation.
Kurczewski started visiting Lynn Hernan often, as her health began to worsen with age. She assisted her in running errands like paying bills and for groceries shopping. Upon Hernan's death. Kurczewski told the investigators that Herna had been taking a lot of medicines, and had been spending a lot of money. The case initially looked like a drug overdose, but suspicion began to gather when Hernan's autopsy reports arrived.
Tetrahydrozoline is a compound found in eye drops, which can be fatal to human beings when used in large amounts. Detectives found a hefty proportion of this compound was found in Hernan's body, which became the reason for her death. Taking such an amount of the compound externally from eye drops, was nearly impossible.
When authorities inquired about it to Kurczewski, she defended herself saying Hernan used to repeatedly use eye drops. Things went more grave when the caretaker began calling the detectives back again.
Jessy Kurczewski started making up stories
Jessy Kurczewski denied all the accusations gathering around her and called the detectives again. This time, she came up with a new story saying Hernan sometimes drinks Visine mixed with Vodka. As per her, it used to help Hernan sleep. Hence, directing the entire case towards a self-inflicted suicide.
Kurczewski called the detectives the very next day, to add her further thoughts. This time she said that Hernan had been drinking Visine with vodka regularly for months, and would even mix eye drops sometimes. As per her story, it would relax her nerves and help her doze off. Kurczewski further added that despite her interruptions, Hernan continued to do so.
Kurczewski's story then turned more bizarre, when she said on the morning of Hernan's death, she had mixed six bottles of Visine in a plastic bottle. She initially didn't want to give it to her but upon her obstinate urgings, she was forced to hand over the bottle. Kurczewski added that after this she went out for hours, and wasn't aware of how much Hernan was gulped from the bottle.
By this time, the case was getting almost clear for the authorities. It was obvious that Kurczewski's story was fabricated. It became concrete that the murderer of Lynn Hernan was her caretaker when the investigators found a hefty proportion of the victim's assets getting transferred to Kurczewski or the accounts she had indirect access to.
It was in June 2021, when Jess Kurczewski was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. As per a CBS article, published on April 21, 2024, detectives also found that Kurczewski had stolen $ 290,000 from Lynn Hernan since 2016. The case was concluded by finding that Hernan was killed by her caretaker, injuring her with eye drops.
Jess Kurczewski was charged with homicide, added up with theft and forgery. As reported by a Fox 6 article, on April 5, 2024, Kurczewski was sentenced to life imprisonment, without any parole for the next 40 years. The Waukesha County judge set a restitution money of $ 380,000 added with $ 16,000 to cover the state witness expenses for the trial. Jessy Kurczewski is currently spending her sentence at a prison in Waukesha County.
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