Jessy R. Kurczewski of Milwaukee was in court this week in an unusual situation: She's accused of poisoning her friend to death with a lethal dose of drugstore eyedrops.
She faces charges of homicide and felony theft.
According to court records, the Franklin resident is currently in custody at Waukesha County Correctional Facilities, being held on a $1 million bond.
Prosecutors allege Kurczewski killed the unnamed victim with a fatal dose of tetrahydrozoline on Oct. 3, 2018. Tetrahydrozoline is the main ingredient in eyedrops.
Kurczewski told authorities that she was caring for the victim, and she claimed that they had an obsession with eyedrops and would drink them regularly.
Initially, it was believed that the unnamed victim died of a drug overdose before prosecutors claimed that it was only staged to look that way. The victim was found with crushed medication on their chest and a plate nearby, leading to authorities coming to their original conclusion that they now believe was fake.
There is currently no clear picture as to how the tetrahydrozoline got into the victim's system. However, it would be difficult to get a fatal dose through the eyes, according to authorities.
Kurczewski has changed her story to claim that she had helped the victim commit suicide after she learned that investigators didn't believe the death was an overdose, according to NBC News. She then told them that she was bringing her friend six water bottles' worth of Visine but didn't think that the victim would kill themself because they had been drinking it for so long.
Kurczewski is also in a case that is looking at removing her as the victim's "beneficiary" after she transferred $130,000 to herself fraudulently by check.
Kurczewski is due to return to court on June 25, and the judge wrote in her case that if she is released on bail, the defendant should have "No use/possession of over-the-counter eye drops."
