Who is Jessy Kurczewski? Wisconsin woman poisons pal with eyedrops, steals $300K
WAUKESHA COUNTY, WISCONSIN: A Wisconsin woman has been charged with poisoning her companion with eyedrops and then attempting to make her death appear to be a suicide. Jessy Kurczewski, 37, is suspected of killing her unidentified friend in 2018 after stealing over $300,000 from her.
BREAKING: Franklin woman is accused of killing her friend by poisoning her with eye drops in 2018, according to prosecutors.
— Kasey Chronis (@KaseyChronisTV) June 7, 2021
Jessy Kurczewski, 37, was charged Friday, June 4 with first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of felony theft.https://t.co/wsZyEk3jrM
Tetrahydrozoline is a main ingredient in eyedrops and could be fatal if taken in large amounts. In April last, a North Carolina man was accused of poisoning his wife with eyedrops after he was arrested for starting a fire on a helicopter.
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Wisconsin has witnessed some murders in the recent past. Just last month, it was reported that family murderer Chris Watts, whose crimes were elaborated in Netflix's 'American Murder: The Family Next Door', was back in touch with his girlfriend. In August last, an 18-year-old woman murdered her doctor and his wife. In January, a Voodoo cult leader manipulated his followers into murdering him for an insurance scam.
Who is Jessy Kurczewski?
Jessy R Kurczewski from Franklin was accused of killing her friend by poisoning her with eyedrops in 2018, after stealing nearly $300,000 from her, the Daily Mail reported.
Kurczewski had previously committed fraud and had a gambling problem, according to a criminal complaint, as reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. According to the lawsuit, the victim's financial activities "changed over time as contact with Kurczewski increased," Kurczewski's financial conduct came to "more closely mirror" that of the victim.
According to a criminal complaint, Kurczewski stated in a statement on October 3, 2018 that she had been checking in on the victim two to three times daily to care for her., claiming to be the victim's family friend as well as the victim's power of attorney. She claimed the victim lacked a family and had little interaction with anyone other than her, reported the Sentinel.
Throughout the week leading up to her death, the victim's behavior "was odd", according to Kurczewski. Kurczewski saw that the victim's medicines were either too many or not enough when she checked them. Kurczewski told cops there was a "possibility" the victim was suicidal, but she didn't think she would want to abandon her cats.
Last year, Kurczewski claimed to have discovered the victim dead at her home and phoned the cops. She had placed painkillers on the woman's chest and stated that she was suicidal to the police. The victim's toxicology results from the autopsy revealed that she had a deadly dose of tetrahydrozoline in her system, according to Waukesha County Medical Examiner Linda Biedrzycki.
Kurczewski sought to persuade them that the victim drank the fluid on purpose to kill herself. She eventually admitted to bringing six bottles of Visine eyedrops to her friend, but said she didn't think it would kill her because the friend had already consumed the liquids.
When police checked at her bank records, they discovered she had made a $290,000 transaction. According to the complaint, about $130,204 was allegedly "transferred fraudulently" via a check from the victim to Kurczewski. She is now facing homicide and two counts of felony theft charges.