Woman Poisons Friend Using Eye Drops, Stages Victim's Suicide And Steals $300K

A Wisconsin woman used eye drops to poison a family friend under her care, staged the scene to make it look like the victim died of an overdose and stole hundreds of thousands from the deceased, according to a criminal complaint.

Jessy Kurczewski, 37, has been accused of poisoning her friend with a lethal dose of tetrahydrozoline, a key ingredient in making eye drops, on Oct. 3, 2018.

According to court records, a $1,000,000 arrest warrant was issued for Kurczewski on June 4.

On the day of the incident, the 37-year-old called the police to her friend's residence in Pewaukee. The friend, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities said Kurczewski had staged the scene to make it look like a case of suicide.

Kurczewski has also been accused of stealing more than $290,000 from the victim. "The amount was arrived at based on the different places of credit card activity, the amounts, the frequency of use and based on the continued activity after" the victim's demise, the complaint indicated.

Moreovermore, acquaintances of the victim told police that she would never overdose internationally or unintentionally.

A will was produced after the victim's death, according to which Kurczewski was to be handed the victim's real estate. Cousins of the victim raised concern about the claim and said it was unlikely and suspicious that the victim would leave the real estate to Kurczewski, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel said in a report.

Police dispatched to the scene after Kurczewski's call found the victim unconscious on a recliner with a large amount of crushed medication on her chest and several medicine bottles near her.

During initial observation, investigators believed that the death had been caused by drug overdose, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel said in a report. Kurczewski also informed the cops that the victim had been suicidal.

Police ran a toxicology test and found the presence of the eye drop ingredient in the victim's blood suspicious.

Waukesha County Medical Examiner Linda Biedrzycki told authorities that the amount of tetrahydrozoline found in the victim's blood was impossible for someone to have just by using it on their eyes.

Meanwhile, Kurczewski called the medical examiner's office multiple times for the toxicology results and showed "a great deal of interest and curiosity," reported the New York Post.

Police then ruled the victim's death as a homicide, the complaint said.

In a later interview, Kurczewski told police that she had provided the victim with six bottles of Visine. However, according to her, it was at the victim's request.

A search warrant was executed at Kurczewski's home in July 2019, following which she was placed on probation pending further investigation.

Kurczewski was charged with first-degree intentional homicide and theft of movable property Friday.