'Eye drops' homicide trial: Prosecutors turn focus on Jessy Kurczewski's spending habits

Jessy Kurczewski, the woman accused of fatally poisoning a Pewaukee woman with eyedrop fluid, lavishly spent on bedroom furniture and offered to pay for a trip to Thailand around the time the woman died, witnesses testified.

Prosecutors allege Kurczewski used eyedrops to poison beautician Lynn Hernan, whom she was caring for, and staged the scene to look like a suicide by drug overdose. Hernan was 61 when she died.

Prosecutors on Monday, the fifth day of testimony, presented several witnesses who testified on the Franklin woman's spending habits. One by one, they painted Kurczewski, 39, as someone who was generous with gifts, though none of them were clear on where exactly her money came from.

Here are some of the takeaways from the hearing:

Three new bedroom sets raised questions about how Jessy Kurczewski earned money

Scott Craig, 48, dated Kurczewski for 3½ years and lived together in his West Allis home for most of that time. In May 2018, Kurczewski told Craig that Hernan was in the hospital with a coma after overdosing. She died in October 2018. Craig testified he presumed she died while in a coma in Froedtert Hospital, but it wasn't until after Kurczewski's arrest that he learned from a detective that Hernan had been found dead in her home. Their relationship ended in 2019, when Kurczewski was arrested.

Craig testified he and Kurczewski had spoken briefly about a new bedroom set for their home. The discussion ended with him asserting he didn’t think he needed one. He came home one day to find three new bedroom sets had been delivered to his home. Craig said he was unaware of the purchases, which came after Hernan’s death.

Jurors heard audio clips of recorded phone conversations between the two when Kurczewski called from the jail. A weeping Kurczewski is heard trying to convince Craig she had been honest with him about Hernan's condition, but admitted she concealed some details to protect him.

Jessy Kurczewski pretended to have a job while constantly spending money on entertainment

Daniel Radoff, Craig's cousin, lived in Craig's West Allis home for part of the time that Kurczewski also resided there. Kurczewski said she worked as a dental assistant, but Radoff testified he began to suspect Kurczewski didn't have a job and confronted her about it. She confided in him she had been out of work for four to six months and didn't tell Craig. She kept up the ruse by putting on a set of scrubs or a uniform each morning, then leaving the home, only to return several hours later as if she had worked the entire day, Radoff said. Even without a job, Kurczewski still managed to spend on gifts and bar and dinner tabs, along with nights out at the casino.

“It seemed like there was no end to the money she had,” Radoff said. “There was always money, lot of spending at the bar, drinks for people, food for people … There was just constant spending.”

Did Jessy Kurczewski offer to buy her boyfriend's ex-wife airline tickets to Asia?

Jacqueline Gerloski remained on good terms with Craig, her former husband and the father of their three children. Gerloski testified she was civil with Kurczewski, whom she met at a fast-pitch softball game while Kurczewski and Craig were dating. Gerloski said Kurczewski offered to pay for her to travel to Thailand to visit their adult daughter, who was teaching English there. Gerloski declined, but said she always was curious how she had that kind of money.

What are the charges against Jessy Kurczewski?

Kurczewski faces charges of first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of felony theft. She has pleaded not guilty.

The trial began Oct. 23.

What did Jessy Kurczewski tell police after Lynn Hernan died?

Jurors also were shown a video of a March 6, 2019, interview Waukesha police investigators had with Kurczewski and her mother, Jennifer Flower. Kurczewski said during the interview that Hernan was never good with medication, and overused Xanax. At one point, she said Hernan was in a hospital and a camera was installed in her room because she wasn’t cooperative on her meds. Kurczewski told investigators Hernan became a “completely different person” after her parents got sick and died, and began retreating from everyone. She waved off visits from friends when she was in the hospital.

Testimony is expected to resume Tuesday.

The trial, before Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Dorow, is expected to last five weeks.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: At 'eye drops' homicide trial, Jessy Kurczewski's spending scrutinized