48 Hours - Death by Eye Drops

Episode Date: April 22, 2024

A caregiver is accused of poisoning her friend with eye drops. She says investigators got it wrong. Jericka Duncan reports.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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If you are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant caused the death of Lynn Hernan with the intent to kill, you should find the defendant guilty of first-degree intentional homicide. If you are not so satisfied, you must find the defendant not guilty. Lynn Hernan's not here to tell you what went on. We were dispatched to a suicide. A female had located her friend deceased in a residence. It was immediately obvious that the decedent was there in a recliner. She has multiple medication bottles that are within arm's reach. She has multiple medications that are kind of scattered on her carpet.

And this appears to be an unknown powdery substance left behind on a plate. I received a witness statement from Jesse. From what I knew, Jesse was the caretaker of the individual. Jesse Krzyzewski took care of Lynn during the last year of Lynn's life. Jesse was like an adopted daughter to Lynn. So Jesse and Lynn were very close. Lynn was really sick and depressed. Lynn started suffering from health issues that were unexplained.

She was going in and out of the hospital, but doctors couldn't figure out what it was that was ailing Lynn. She was going to, like, doctor after doctor, and then she'd call me and say, like, can't find anything wrong with me. The defense argued that Lynn wanted to die by suicide because she was sick of being sick. I remember hearing it from Jesse on the phone. Looks like Lynn, you know, committed suicide. When you heard your Auntie Linny died by suicide, did you believe that? I wasn't really sure at the time what to believe because, you know, I just couldn't see her, you know, ending her own life.

She wants to die. She doesn't like life. The speculation at the time on law enforcement's behalf was that this was clearly a suicide. You received information from the medical examiner. Did that cause the sheriff's office to change their investigation? Yes. There was a substance that was unusual. The medical examiner found tetrahydrozoline in Lynn Hernan's system. It's the active ingredient in eye drops that when ingested can be fatal.

My opinion is that Lynn Hernan died of tetrahydrozoline poisoning. What about the manner of death in this case? It's homicide. Our killer is the eye drops. Are you serious? Do you guys think I murdered her? Did you? I swear to God, I didn't. In June of 2021, Jesse Krzyzewski was charged with first-degree intentional homicide. The state argued that Lynn Hernan was worth more dead than alive to Jesse Krzyzewski. You're going to see that the access Ms. Krzyzewski had to Lynn Hernan

allowed her to steal every dollar almost that Lynn Hernan was worth in life. Lynn gave Jesse money all the time because she wanted to. She wanted Jesse to have it. This is not a suicide. This was intentional homicide. Lynn loved Jesse. If Lynn Hernan was here today, she would say, Are you crazy? Prosecution.

Jesse's innocent. Jerika Duncan reports. Death by eyedrops. This case must be decided by you, the jurors, based on of the credibility of the witnesses and the weight of the evidence. In October of 2023, in the courtroom of Judge Jennifer Dorough, 39-year-old Jesse Krzyzewski went on trial for the intentional homicide of 62-year-old Lynn Hernan, along with two counts of felony theft for stealing from Lynn, someone who'd always thought of Jesse as a beloved friend. Five years earlier, Jesse called police and told them she found Lynn dead,

sitting in her recliner in the living room of her Pewaukee, Wisconsin condo. Jesse had been taking care of Lynn, who had serious medical problems. The lawyers will now make their opening statements. Good afternoon, everyone. The prosecutors for Waukesha County are Deputy District Attorney Abby Nicolai and Assistant District Attorneys J.J. Crawford and Randy Sitzberger. So this is Wisconsin v. Jesse Kruszewski. Said otherwise, this is a case of murder, greed, and lies.

You're going to see that in or about October 3, 2018, Lynn Hernan became worth more dead than alive to Jesse Krzyzewski. Prosecutors told the jury that this case was about someone who wanted money. Stephanie Rodriguez covered the trial for the CBS affiliate in Milwaukee. And prosecutors said that that's why she was caring for her, not because she genuinely cared, but that Jesse wanted the money in her bank account. Between January of 16 and October 3rd of 2018, Ms. Kruszewski was able to steal $144,000 plus from Lynn Hernan while she was still alive. And then she wanted Lynn dead to get the money from her estate.

Lynn Hernan was dead at only 62 years old from a tetrahydrosaline poisoning after the defendant gave her a bottle laced with vising eye drops to drink. But the defense presented Jesse as a close friend who took care of Lynn, who they claimed was depressed about her declining health. This case is extremely important to Jesse. He's presumed innocent. Don't ever let that thought leave your mind

that she's presumed innocent. At trial, Jessie was represented by defense attorneys Pablo Galaviz and Donna Kugler. Here's a picture of Lynn and Jessie, a graduation party that Lynn threw for Jesse, high school. At the mention of her close relationship with Lynn, This is my daughter. She's so proud. Jesse immediately teared up.

That's who Jesse is to Lynn, her daughter. Jesse had known Lynn since childhood, through her mother, Jennifer Flower. Jennifer's like her best, best friend. And Jesse became her best, best friend. And Jessie became her best, best friend. Lynn, who worked most of her life as a hairdresser, never married and lived alone. Then, in the two years before her death, her health rapidly declined. There were times where Lynn would fall in her home and Jessie would have to go and help her get up. Lynn also had lung disease, high blood pressure, and severe gastrointestinal issues, which doctors were never able to fully diagnose.

She had been in and out of the hospital several times in the year before she died. Jessie was always with Lynn because she became her full-time caretaker, essentially. Jesse would do the grocery shopping for Lynn. Jesse paid Lynn's bills. Jesse was the only person she trusted. The defense told the jury that as Lynn's health further deteriorated, she became despondent. And you saw the way she was done up with the hair and nails and jewelry. She didn't look like that anymore. She didn't want any more visitors because she didn't look, in her mind, the same.

The defense argued that on October 3rd of 2018, Lynn was tired of being sick and decided to take her own life. When they arrived on the scene, this is what they found at the scene. They found a lot of empty prescription bottles. And they can't see that as a suicide? She's innocent. Find her not guilty. One of the first orders of business for prosecutors...

The statement next called Tabitha Cukas. ...was to establish the cause of death. Former Waukesha County Deputy Medical Examiner Tabitha Kukas talked to jurors about those pictures she took when she arrived at Lynn's condo. This is a close-up of the medication bottles that were directly to her left. There's additional medications that are present, some without their caps on. Kukas had photographed multiple medications scattered on the carpet,

as well as a white powder on a plate and on Hernan's chest. Defense attorney Koukoulour suggests the powder was spilled by Lynn herself. Jesse told you it was common for Lynn to crush medications because of her problem swallowing. That's what she told me. Jurors heard from Chief Medical Examiner I told you it was common for Lynn to crush medications because of her problem swallowing. That's what she told me. Jurors heard from chief medical examiner,

Dr. Linda Biedrzycki, who testified about those photos taken in Lynn's living room. She said the pills and powder scattered at the scene did point to a potential suicide. There was a thought that maybe there was an ingestion, was a possibility for the cause of death. But before pronouncing the cause of death, Dr. Biedrzycki waited to see the results

from the toxicology tests. When she received them weeks later, she was in for a surprise. There was a substance that I was unusual, an unusual finding that I hadn't seen in a report from their facility before. It was called tetrahydrozoline. Dr. Bedritsky began her own research on tetrahydrozoline, a drug found in some over-the-counter eye drops.

This is a substance that I haven't seen in a toxicology report before. It's not supposed to be in the blood. But how did it get there? In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military, and when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. As a kid growing up in Chicago, there was one

horror movie I was too scared to watch. It was called Candyman. The scary cult classic was set in the Chicago housing project. It was about this supernatural killer who would attack his victims if they said his name five times into a bathroom mirror. Candyman. Candyman? Now we all know chanting a name won't make a killer magically appear. But did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder? I was struck by both how spooky it was, but also how outrageous it was. We're going to talk to the people who were there. And we're also going to uncover the larger story.

My architect was shocked when he saw how this was created. Literally shocked. And we'll look at what the story tells us about injustice in America. If you really believed in tough on crime, then you wouldn't make it easy to crawl into medicine cabinets and kill our women. Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, wherever you get your podcasts. Dr. Bedritsky, were you involved in the cause of death and manner determination for Lynn Hernan? Yes. Medical examiner Dr. Linda Bedritsky told the jury it was in late September

2019, almost a year after Lynn Hernan's death, that she published her official conclusion about how Lynn died. The cause of death I determined was tetrahydrosaline poisoning. And Dr. Bedritsky ruled that Lynn did not deliberately drink a fatal dose of eye drops. How this injury occurred is that she was given tetrahydrosine by another, which is why I called it a homicide. The belief that Lynn Hernan was given tetrahydrosine by another shows that she was given this unsuspectingly. She didn't know that she was ingesting tetrahydrosaline when she did it.

The defense challenged the medical examiner's findings. These are all the drugs that were found in Ms. Hernan, right? Correct. Toxicology reports showed that Lynn had at least eight prescription drugs in her system, some of which Lynn was not supposed to be taking at the time because those medications had been discontinued by Lynn's doctors. And these were all in her blood, which means they've already been ingested and made it into the bloodstream. True. Dr. Bedritsky said that in her determination, those medications,

along with some of Lynn's medical conditions, contributed to, but did not not cause Lynn's death. The medications found in Lynn's body were all at therapeutic levels. Your conclusion was that she died from the tetrahydrozoline, right? Yes. But the defense asked, how could the medical examiner be so certain Lynn did not ingest the eye drops on her own. You don't know, as you sit there today, whether she voluntarily ingested that. It was my opinion she didn't, but knowledge of her action,

no. Well, you weren't there. I wasn't there. On redirect, Deputy DA Nikolai asked about the powder found on and near Lynn's body. What do you think happened? I think that they may have been deposited there. The medical examiner believed that Lynn Hernan's body was staged to look like an overdose

because toxicology reports showed that none of the crushed up medication that was found on Lynn Hernan and next to her was actually in her system. The following day, the jury heard from some of Lynn's friends. Did you know Lynn Hernan? Yes, I did. Jim Kelleher met Lynn at a music festival in 1983 when she was 27. What was your first impression? That lady that looked that good wouldn't go out with me. But Lynn said yes, and their romantic relationship lasted 10 years. Even after it ended, they remained close friends. Lynn was a beautiful lady. Inside and out, she was beautiful.

Jim says he never met Jessie until right after Lynn died. I get a phone call from Jessie, and she says, I have some bad news. Lynn committed suicide. And by the way, we're going to have a dinner for her on the 13th at the Open Flame restaurant. She said, in one sentence, your dear friend died by restaurant. She said in one sentence, Correct. your dear friend died by suicide. Right. The next sentence she tells you

there's going to be a dinner in her memory. Right. What did you make of that? Well, I kind of didn't believe her right off the bat. She wasn't crying. On the stand, Jim said he didn't believe Lynn would have taken her own life. Did you ever hear Lynn say anything to you about thinking of killing herself?

No, I did not. She never gave me the indication of suicidal. Never. He said that despite her growing frustration with her health problems, Lynn would still visit him and his girlfriend at their home. She'd bring treats and stuff. She would say she does stomach aches or whatever, and she would always leave. But the defense questioned whether Jim really knew much about Lynn's health struggles.

In the last year of Lynn's life, she'd been in and out of the hospital, discharged the final time just five days before her death. Did you offer to go over there and take care of our cat when she was in the hospital? No, I did not. You didn't go visit her, did you? No, I did not. Prosecutors also called Corrine Poza.

We were best friends for about 35 plus years. And Corrine's son, Anthony, who says he always had a special bond with Lynn since childhood. What did you call Lynn? Auntie Lynn. Anthony says he stayed close to Lynn, regularly dropping by her condo while he attended college nearby. I loved doing stuff with her, you know, thrift store shopping. You know, that was a date we would go on is go thrift store shopping.

Do you recall when the last conversation you had with Lynn was? The last time I saw Lynn was a month before she passed away. Anthony testified that despite her medical troubles, Lynn appeared to be improving. She said she was starting to feel better and she's like, I'm fine. I'm glad I'm getting out again. And, you know, we need to do this more often. Prosecutors asked Waukesha County Sheriff's Detective Chris Cole about his investigation into Lynn's death. Did you speak with Ms. Kruszewski in regard to this death investigation? Yes, she contacted our office looking for an update. Prosecutors introduced video of that meeting with Detective Cole.

He testified that five months after Lynn died, before the medical examiner had ruled on the cause of death, Jesse came to the sheriff's department with her mother, Jennifer Flower, asking questions. You know, when I talked to the medical examiner last, well, I talked to them numerous times, and they said I had to contact you guys. They kind of, like, weren't sure we didn't know if it was a suicide or if it was something medical. So, at this point, I mean, they're waiting for their secondary, the count-confirming test. During that interview, Detective Cole found out more about Jesse's relationship with Lynn. So, she was like an aunt, a second mom to me. She didn't have kids. She didn't want to go her whole life. Detective Cole found out more about Jessie's relationship with Lynn. Jessie said she was just about the only person still in Lynn's life before she died. According to Jessie and her mother, Lynn was so withdrawn,

she did not want to talk to her friend Jim when he called. But that's not how Jim remembers what happened when he and his girlfriend called Lynn's number. Well, this girl answered the phone, and she was kind of mouthing off to us, don't use this phone, don't call this number ever again, don't worry about Lynn. And you're thinking what? I'm going to find out from Lynn what's going on. A few days later, Jim says Lynn called him from the hospital, and they agreed to make plans to get together when she went home.

And that's the last time that I heard Lynn's voice. As they tried to make sense of her death, Lynn's friends say they recalled Lynn talking about something else that was troubling her, something that had nothing to do with her health. You know, she would talk about her money. It's disappearing. She just said, I don't know what's happening to my money. How do you think Lynn Hernan died? Chat now with the 48 Hours team on Facebook and X.

48 Hours team on Facebook and X. Did Ms. Krzyzewski tell you who would be in charge of handling Lynn's estate? Yeah, she said she was appointed power of attorney. Okay. As the prosecution turned to the charges that Jesse stole money from Lynn, they asked Anthony Poza about his communications with Jesse and the months after Lynn's death. I would just check up with Jesse every once in a while via text and ask her if she needed any help.

Lynn left a will she had drawn up in 2016, which named Jesse as personal representative, Wisconsin's equivalent of an executor. Jesse and Anthony were co-beneficiaries. When Jesse sent Anthony some paperwork of accounts she was settling, I just remember getting a final account with just a bunch of credit card bills. he was surprised at the amount of money Lynn appeared to owe. And it was just weird how she had all these debts that just didn't make any sense to me. Lynn's friends remembered her as living paycheck to paycheck until 2014,

when she inherited $250,000 after her mother died. Now, after Lynn's death, Jesse reported to Anthony that most of Lynn's assets had been eaten away by debt. I just felt like something was up and I wanted it looked at more closely. The jury next heard from someone who was looking more closely. You went through all these financial accounts sort of line by line. Is that correct? Yes. Detective Nathan Plennis testified about the investigation into Lynn's finances. Prosecutors alleged Jesse stole more than $200,000 from Lynn before and after she died. And in the course of their investigation, detectives discovered a bombshell. Jesse Krzyzewski had a criminal record.

Back in 2011, Jesse was convicted on charges of identity theft and forgery and sentenced to eight years. Jesse had been released from prison early in 2016 on extended supervision, which coincided with the time Lynn's health began to decline. Can you just scroll down to page three? Plennis told jurors what he learned about Lynn Hernan's bank accounts. He testified that Lynn's money market account, which had around $250,000 in 2016,

was down to only $87 just after she died. A fraction of the total was spent by Lynn on a Jeep and some jewelry. Almost everything else, including a total of 20 checks, $9,135.62, went to Jessie Kersheski. Two checks, March 13th, $7,330.86. $9,416. Jessie was accused of stealing from Lynn because she was getting 20 checks out of Lynn Hernan's account with varying things in the memo notes like IRS payment, car payment.

Stephanie Rodriguez covered the trial for the CBS affiliate in Milwaukee. But none of the money was going to the places where Lynn supposedly intended for them to go. Plennis described to the jury how he matched each of those checks to deposits in Jesse's accounts and then tracked where Jesse spent that money. There was a big spike in spending while Lynn was in the hospital two weeks before she died. During her last hospital stay, money was being transferred from Lynn's account into Jesse's account, and then Jesse was withdrawing that money from ATMs at a local casino. Plennis also testified that on the day that Lynn died, a JCPenney credit card was opened in Lynn's name. A JCPenney credit card was opened in Lynn's name.

Just days later, a $3,000 purchase of furniture made on another credit card in Lynn's name was delivered to the home Jesse shared with Scott Craig. Mr. Craig, how is it you know Ms. Kruszewski? We were boyfriend and girlfriend for three and a half years. What was it that happened in the summer of 2019 that caused that end to the relationship? When Waukesha Sheriff's Department came to my house and took her away. Jesse was arrested for potentially violating the terms of her supervised release on those identity theft and fraud charges. This is the initial interview that was conducted with Ms. Krzyzewski once the warrants were conducted

on July 9th. Detective Aaron Hoppe, the lead investigator in the case, and Detective Chris Cole interviewed Jesse. Hoppe watched portions of that interview along with the jurors. Typically, would you go there in the morning or the night? I didn't have a set.

It just depended how she was doing the day before. Following up following up on their suspicions that jesse had been stealing from lynn detective chris cole gave her a chance to explain she claimed lynn had been paying her for helping at home It was all different. Did you have an official arrangement that made $5 an hour? No, no, there was nothing, no, nothing like that. I mean, there was no, you know, one day, oh, here's the check, one day, here's my card, go get this, one day. I mean, it was no, no set. No set? A balance? No. I mean, she'd help out, or she'd help my mom, oh, this month I'm going to pay rent, or I'm going to pay your car.

Jurors watched as Detective Cole, for the the first time shared Lynn's autopsy results with Jesse. There's an anomaly in her toxicology. There's a drug in her system that's not supposed to be there. What would that be? It's called tetrahydrazine. What is that? I'm coming with those eye drops. She uses eye drops all the time. What does she use them for? She uses them for her eyes. She put them in her eyes all the time.iner thought someone gave the eyedrops to Lynn orally in an attempt to kill her. You said you won't have the most to gain on this. I have no reason to murder her. But detectives say Jessie knew all about tetrahydrozoline. She told her boyfriend Scott in text messages someone had put it in her drink when she was at a bar about three months after Lynn's death.

Detective Hoppe read the texts in court. Jesse to Scott. Scott, I don't feel good. Scott told detectives that Jesse said she went to the hospital. They said my blood pressure is really bad. I have traces of tetrahydrozoline in my blood. The doctor said that's the main ingredient in eye drops. He said that people put it in people's drinks all the time. He said there's no taste to it and people don't notice. Jesse also tells Scott in those text messages that people can die from tetrahydroxylene poisoning. Have you ever wondered who created that bottle of sriracha that's living in your fridge?

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another interview between Jessie and detectives. This one took place the day after she was arrested on that parole hold. She had asked to speak to detectives again. I was up all night long trying to think of everything. I think I was thinking of theines. After spending her first night in jail, Jessie's clothing had changed, and so had her story. Right after her arrest, Jessie had told detectives that Lynn used eye drops for dry eyes. Now, Jessie told Detective Hoppe that Lynn had another use for it. She was drinking vodka and visine. During the second day of interviews with detectives,

the jury heard Jesse tell them that Lynn did drink Visine. How do you know if she had mixed Visine with her vodka? Because that's what she did. She's done it about three times. Why didn't you tell us that yesterday? Because I didn't want to tell you guys because you guys are making it sound like it happened the day of and that's not when she was doing that. But Jesse says she never gave Lynn Hernan any Visine. She never put the Visine in her vodka. So she put Visine in her vodka. Then Jesse went further.

Jesse goes into detail about how Lynn wanted to die by suicide, that Lynn was using the eye drops to help her die by suicide. She was looking for her way out. Jesse vehemently denied helping Lynn die. I never mixed it. I swear to God, I bought it for her and I knew she was mixing it. She put it in her water once in a while and in her body for once in a while. The following day, Jesse asked to speak with the detectives yet again, the third time in three days. The jury watched as Jesse had a new revelation for the investigators.

Jesse tells detectives that Lynn would get a buzz off of drinking Visine. She said she lost, like, feeling of her body. It made her feel good. And I honestly, she was doing it for so long that I didn't think she was going to die from it. It really didn't. I thought, okay, she's getting some sleep from it. That's it. she was doing it for so long that I didn't think she was going to die from it. It really didn't. I thought, okay, she's getting some sleep from it. That's it. She was doing it for two months at least. Two months.

The Visine. And Jessie now said that Lynn actually did drink Visine the day she died. Jessie claimed that when she visited Lynn that morning, Jessie knew that Lynn had poured six bottles of Visine into her own water bottle. Jesse said she spent 10 minutes trying to stop Lynn. She said, no, I want that bottle of water. He'll put me to sleep.

And then you gave it? Yeah. It's her choice and what she wants. And then you left? Yeah. Hours later, detectives alleged Jesse opened that JCPenney card in Lynn's name and went grocery shopping. I didn't do it to her, though. I didn't.

Well, Jesse? It would be 23 months later that Jesse Kruszewski was charged with Lynn's death. Does the state have any other witnesses to call? No, the state rests. When it was the defense's turn, Jesse's attorneys focused almost solely on their claim that Lynn died by suicide by drinking Visine.

We would call Gary Verdon. Verdon, a friend of Jesse's mother... Call her Jenny or Jennifer. I'd call her Jenny. ...said he'd been in Lynn's condo twice, the second time about a year before her death. Yet his memory of the visit was clear. I saw her always sitting in this chair with a table next to her. She had a white slurpy cup with a straw coming out of it. She had a bottle of vodka next to it. She had an ashtray, her cigarettes, and a bottle of Visine.

You sure it's Visine? Yes. Verdon testified that on another occasion, he heard Lynn on speakerphone when he visited Jesse's mother, Jennifer. Well, Lynn just started rambling off, and she was either sleepy or tired or whatever. She was rattling off about the will. Then she started talking about how she wanted to kill herself. Defense calls Sarah Trump.

Sarah Trump is a nurse practitioner who began treating Lynn for back pain in 2017. Despite prescribing several pain medications for her, Trump said Lynn did not improve. In 2018, January, she continues to complain about her back pain. Yes. The pain being worsening, correct? Yes. Forensic pathologist Dr. Lindsay Thomas was hired by the defense. I would say her past medical history was very significant. She had a very long list of medical conditions and also

had quite a few psychiatric disorders. Depression, anxiety, agoraphobia, which is fear of public places, chronic insomnia. Those were the ones that were listed in her medical records. Dr. Thomas testified she agreed with the state's conclusion that Lynn's medical problems contributed to her death. She did not agree with the state's finding that Lynn died from tetrahydrozoline poisoning. The forensic pathologist that the defense brought up said that Lynn's cause of death was undetermined, but she believed it was mixed drug toxicity. And so that means she thought that it was a combination of all of the drugs found in Lynn's system. Would you say that there is strong evidence here that Lynn Hernan's death was a suicide?

I would say there is strong evidence that it certainly could have been a suicide, yes. As the defense concluded, Judge Jennifer Duro asked Jessie if she'd be taking the stand. What is that decision? It was very hard for me to decide, but ultimately I will not be testifying. Madam reporter here. In her closing argument... Ms. Kruszewski's intent is clear. It was to kill. Deputy District Attorney Abby Nikolai said Jesse had just one motive, money.

And the motive is her own personal benefit. This is someone who has profited over $144,000 before death and over $80,000 after. In her closing, the state has not proven first-degree intentional homicide. Defense attorney Donna Kukler maintained that Lynn took her own life. Jesse knew that Lynn would take Visine, drink it, but she doesn't know how she died that day. Looked like a suicide with pills from a person who was unhappy. As for the allegations that Jesse stole from Lynn...

Lynn gave Jesse money all the time because she wanted to. The defense contended that Lynn gave Jesse the money because Lynn knew she was going to end her own life. She wanted Jesse to have it. She knows she's going out and Lynn made a decision. She made a decision that she was going to exit and she did that on October 3rd, once Jesse had left the home. Attorney Nikolai, when you're ready. In its rebuttal, the prosecution pushed back. It happened at the exact point in time when Ms. Kershelsky maximized the amount of money that she made on this whole ordeal. The jury deliberated for seven hours the first day, but did not reach a verdict.

Verdict watch for this case was tense. When the jury began to deliberate into a second day, there was some wonder. That's when I got worried. I was wondering, you know, what's the holdup? Go behind the scenes with the 48 Hours Postmortem Podcast. Madam foreperson, has the jury reached their verdict? In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn.

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Jessie Krzyzewski steadied herself as Judge Jennifer Dorough read the jury's verdicts. We, the jury, find the defendant, Jesse R. Kershowski, guilty of first-degree intentional homicide. Jesse broke down as the judge continued. Jesse was crying uncontrollably. Kershowski was also convicted on the two counts of felony theft for stealing money from Lynn before and after she died. I was just overcome with emotion. And it also makes you reflect on the last five years with the

lies and the deceit. But before sentencing, the case took a bizarre turn when an envelope containing 37 pages of these handwritten letters and documents was received by a friend of Jesse's, who then turned it over to the sheriff's department. The letter requests a friend of Jesse to fake evidence, create a voice recording, pretending to be Lynn Hernan, to send all of this to the judge in this case, to local media, even to the governor, to try to prove Jesse's innocence. Prosecutors said the documents were written by Krzyzewski on the back of her trial notes, giving directions to her friend on how to impersonate Lynn and fabricate materials and submit them to the court. Krzyzewski allegedly asked her friend to, quote,

make a voice tape pretending to be Lynn, writing, she has an older, raspy female voice. Kersheski allegedly directed her friend to say, quote, I cannot go on anymore. I chose to drink Vizine and end my life. Jesse denied writing the documents, and the Sheriff's Department began an investigation into their origin. And the results of that investigation were revealed on April 5, 2024, when Krzyzewski was back in Judge Doros' court for sentencing. All rise. Prosecutors played video recorded in Krzyzewski's bunk room

at the Waukesha County Jail a few days before those documents were turned over to authorities. So what I'm playing is jail video from Ms. Krzyzewski's pod. They said it showed Krzyzewski putting papers into an envelope, leaving it on the bed of another inmate who later takes it to a mail drop-off. The prosecution said this proved Krzyzewski wrote those documents. Ms. Krzyzewski, this is your opportunity to address the court. What, if anything, would you like to say? Krzyzewski again denied she was the author of those documents.

She spent almost two hours without a break proclaiming her innocence, insisting the only thing she was guilty of was being a loyal friend. Let's be very clear here. There wasn't no murder. I did not commit murder. I did not poison Lynn, give her pills or anything else. It is a lot to be accused and convicted of murder when I didn't do it. You're holding me responsible for what she did. Judge Duro said she believed Lynn's death was premeditated. Tetrahydrosoline was not something we expected to find. And I do believe it was something you, Ms. Kershefsky, banked on,

no one, testing for. I have to ask out loud, it's a rhetorical question, but were you poisoning Lynn Hernan all along, following your release from prison? No. I'm not asking for an answer. This is my time. So do not interrupt me. Kershelsky was sentenced to life in prison on the intentional homicide charge and 10 years for the two theft charges. The soonest she could be paroled would be after 40 years,

when she would be nearly 80 years old. Jesse poisoned Lynn like she was a rodent. Lynn Hernan's friend, Jim Kelleher, had a few final words for Lynn's killer. The devil awaits you. I hope you rot in hell. Lynn Hernan is an angel in heaven. May you rest in peace, Lynn. You're dearly missed and always will be. I'm so very sorry. God bless. Jesse Krzeski's mother, Jennifer Flower, has not been charged with any wrongdoing in connection with Lynn's death.

Krzeski says she plans to file an appeal. If you like this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at wondery.com slash survey.