Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - DEATH BY VISINE?

Episode Date: July 2, 2021

A Wisconsin woman is charged with fatally poisoning a disabled friend after stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the victim. Jessy Kurczewski, 37, had reportedly called police to the victim’s Pewaukee home, claiming the woman was not breathing. A Waukesha County deputy who responded to the home found the deceased woman lying in a recliner with a large quantity of crushed-up medication on her chest and on a plate located next to her. An autopsy report revealed that the woman had a fatal concentration of tetrahydrozoline in her system when she died. The medical examiner also determined that the amount of tetrahydrozoline in her blood could not have come from using it in the eyes.Joining Nancy Grace Today: Darryl Cohen - Former Assistant District Attorney, Fulton County, Georgia, Defense Attorney, Cohen, Cooper, Estep, & Allen, LLC, www.ccealaw.com Dr. Bethany Marshall - Psychoanalyst, www.drbethanymarshall.com, New Netflix show: 'Bling Empire' (Beverly Hills)  Joe Scott Morgan - Professor of Forensics Jacksonville State University, Author, "Blood Beneath My Feet", Featured on "The Piketon Massacre: Return to Pike County" on iHeartRadio Jennifer Dzikowski - Investigative Freelance Journalist Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Death by Visine. You heard right. Death by Visine. The eyedrop. You ever heard of that? Well, you have now. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Let's start at the beginning. Listen to this. In October 2018, Kercheski called police to her friend's home. A Waukesha County Sheriff's deputy got there and saw a woman who wasn't breathing, lying in a recliner with a large amount of crushed medication on her chest and prescription pill bottles nearby. Kercheski claiming the woman had been suicidal.

Again, thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation Series 6M111. When officers first get to the scene, they see a woman stretched out on her favorite recliner with crushed meds on her chest, surrounded by pill bottles. That seems obvious, doesn't it? Or does it? With me, an all-star panel to break it down and put it back together again. You were just hearing our friends at WISN 12 News. What would you do in that situation if you were the officer? How would you handle that scene? What is the truth about what happened to a beautiful young woman? With me, Daryl Cohen, former felony prosecutor, now a defense attorney, joining me out of the Atlanta jurisdiction. And he is a named partner in Cohen, Cooper, Eastep, and Allen. Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst to the stars, joining me out of L.A., of course.

Star of the new Netflix program, Bling Empire. And you can find her at drbethanymarshall.com. Joseph Scott Morgan, professor of forensics, Jacksonville State University. Author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon, and star of The Piketon Massacre, Return to Pike County on iHeartRadio. Welcome, Joseph Scott. But first, let's go out to investigative journalist, and this is in her neck of the woods in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, Jennifer Zagowski joining us. Jennifer, first of all,

where did this happen? Okay, so this did happen in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. That is just west of Milwaukee in Waukesha County. It's a beautiful, charming little beach town. I actually lived there after college when I bought a puppy just because of the lake and wanting to be in a really nice area. So nothing big ever happens in Pewaukee. This woman, Lynn Hernan, police came to her home after 37-year-old Jessie Kerchewski reported that she found the victim unresponsive, Lynn Hernan. When they initially got there, they found crushed up pills on her body, her chest specifically. And as you can imagine, they thought the death to be a suicide at that time. Do we know right now, Jennifer Sikowski, what the meds were that were crushed up and were on her chest? The victim was prescribed Xanax, but it did not talk about any other specific medication,

even though Jesse Kerchewski said that she was on multiple medications. Let's go straight out to Joseph Scott Morgan, professor of forensics and death investigator. I wonder how much Xanax it would take to bring about a death. Why were the pills crushed up? And I guess I need to know that those crushed up pills were in fact Xanax on her chest. Also, I want to know, were they on her chest because she's laid back in her recliner and she had ingested them and a few of them sprinkled down on her chest? Or were they, did she have them sitting there and she was ingesting them like eating potato chips? Just a lot of questions in the way this whole thing is laid out. Yeah, Nancy, I got to tell you, over the course of my career, you know, people don't realize this. The medical

examiner in the corner actually handled more suicides than we do homicides. It's almost two or three to one in the great number of these. And suicides are actually more difficult to investigate many times than homicides. Straight back out to Jennifer Sikowski joining us, investigative reporter. Jennifer, was this a home? Was it an apartment? Did anybody hear anything? How did the witness end up being there? Did they live together? Did she come home and find the victim dead? What do we know? Lynn Hernan apparently became acquainted with Jesse Krchewski because Jesse's mother had been helping to take care of Lynn Hernan. And as time went on, it seems that Jesse Kerchewski ended up being the person who would take care of her the most. So that is how they became acquainted. Lynn Hernan, according to Jesse Kerchuski, she had a plethora

of medical conditions and she told people that's why she was so involved with caring for her. And it was a condo that they resided in. And I shouldn't say they, I'm sorry. Lynn Herning resided in the condo. Jesse Krczewski lived in a neighboring town and apparently had been coming into the home about once a week. But as time went on and closer to Lynn Herning's death, she had been coming about every other day and sometimes even every day to the home. So long story short, when Jessica Tuskey finds Lynn dead in the recliner, she was coming there to take care of her as she had been doing. So that is the nature of their relationship. Did anyone in the surrounding condos hear anything before Lynn was found dead? There was nothing said about anyone hearing anything before

Lynn was found dead by Jesse Kruchewski. So I don't believe that at least my neighbors, there was any suspicion. Okay. Guys, take a listen to our friends at WTMJ. Pruski told investigators she had been taking care of the woman and that she was acting odd leading up to her death. Witnesses, people who knew the victim, told law enforcement things weren't adding up. Dr. Bethany Marshall joining me, psychoanalyst joining us from LA. Dr. Bethany, with people that are suicidal, what would you expect to see in their demeanor, in their behavior leading up to their death? Well, Nancy, there are two types

of suicidality. In my practice, I see one type where the patient is constantly telling me they wish they were dead. They say it all the time, but it's really just like a fantasy that alleviates the misery of their everyday life. They imagine if they were gone, they would feel so much better. But there's really no wish to act on the feelings. The second type of suicidality is obviously more lethal and scary. And that is when the person actually has a plan. And in that case, they'll say, you know, I'm gathering Xanax or I'll do a suicide assessment. I'll say, well, if you were to kill yourself, you know, how would you do it? And if they say, well, I have a gun or I've been

hoarding medications, I've been, you've been getting prescriptions from multiple places, then I begin to think, oh, there's an active plan. It's not just a fantasy that if they were gone, they would feel better. And one of the things you look for, too, is impulsivity, anger towards another person, hopelessness. Maybe they have a medical condition. And 90% of individuals who successfully terminate their lives have either a co-occurring mental illness or a substance abuse disorder. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst joining us out of L.A., giving us tips on how to recognize whether someone is suicidal. But I strongly suggest that even if you suspect someone is suicidal, to take it extremely seriously.

The suicide hotline, 800-273-8255, repeat, 800-273-8255. So, Dr. Bethany Marshall, if you were to tell our listeners the top four tips on recognizing someone that is suicidal or having suicidal ideation, what would they be? Well, first of all, you would suspect that they have a plan, but they might be secretive about it, although that's more rare. Here's what I'm going to suggest. If you know somebody who you feel is at risk for suicide, it is very appropriately appropriate to ask them directly and in a straightforward way, do you want to end your life? Most of us are afraid to ask those tough questions, but the person who's suicidal will actually feel relieved. Secondly, you say, if you were to do it, how would you do it? And if there's an immediate plan, like there's a gun in their house, you would call 911 so somebody could come and remove that gun. Third, you find a place where, like a local hospital or a suicide hotline, you pick up the phone with that person.

You dial the number together. And fourth, do not leave them until assistance arrives or they're safely in the care of somebody, a mental health expert who knows what they're doing. You know, to you, Daryl Cohen, former prosecutor, now defense attorney at Cohen, Cooper, East Steppen, Allen. Daryl, I remember vividly, I don't know if you remember this case or not, our elected district attorney that you and I both worked for, Mr. Slayton, had a very good friend who was the name partner in a huge, one of the biggest law firms in this entire area, in the entire area at that time. And his daughter committed suicide. And I will never forget when Mr. Slayton, I was in my office doing something frantically as usual,

and I heard him say, Nancy Grace, come down to my office. You know how to get over the loudspeaker? And of course, I had my office, which was very tiny, but I picked it because it was right by the stairwell. And I could run up and down more quickly than I could in an elevator. If you could have seen those high heels running down those steps. And I burst in. I said, what is it, Mr. Slayton? Because he very rarely called people to his office.

And he handed me the file and told me to investigate this suicide. Well, I didn't know what to think, but I did know it was a 30-ish in age, married adult female with a child, a little boy that was the light of her life, got all, she shot herself in the head. Each one of these facts are very important. While lying in her own bed at home, next to her child's room, completely naked.

Now see right there, everything I just said is contradictory to the method and assessment of suicide v. homicide. Statistically, a woman, and this is broken down by age, education, race, all sorts of ways to assess whether someone has or will commit suicide. Very rarely do you see a female of that age, a mother, shoot herself in the head butt naked. I'm not a shrink, that's Dr. Bethany, but I know that that's true, what I just told you. So right off the bat, I felt that it was wrong.

But this is what convinced me. We got her bed sheets, took them to the crime lab, of course with the proper chain of custody. And I had, I don't know why he was there, but this really old, wily Georgia State Patrol officer was there who would not have been a scientist, but we were with the blood spatter expert. And we were looking and we had the sheets up attached to something and a light behind them looking at the blood spatter. And all of a sudden we noticed blood spatter, which comes after the gun is shot at the after the gun is shot, at the time the gun is shot, in a split second.

And very often it's invisible to the naked eye. It could be as tiny as a pinprick or not. We saw blood spatter under Daryl, under her pillow. Impossible. There cannot be blood spatter under her pillow. Well, actually. Get it? If she was lying there on her pillow and shot herself in the head, it could not have gotten under her pillow.

Not that way. Absolutely not that way. It could have been that. Exactly. Could not happen. So it was murder. It was murder. Don't even start, Daryl, trying to explain it.

Because I prosecuted the husband, and he was found guilty. Blood spatter. What I'm saying is there was no indication that she was suicidal. Well, Nancy, she— And what was the trigger? She had been flirting with some guy online. They hadn't even met. He lived 3,000 miles away.

You've got to worry about these online relationships, certainly from 3,000 miles away, because... I'm more worried about the blood spatter. Well, Nancy, it's not just the blood spatter. Everything that you said, everything, all of the facts in this case show that it was not a suicide. Homicide, yes.

Suicide, why would she do it when she's completely naked? Why would she do it in the room next to her child? The whys outnumber everything else other than her husband, who obviously was jealous. And if you're jealous, there are certain ways of expressing that. And clearly, murder is one of them, though the least likely to allow yourself to be jealous again. Well, what made it even more simple, and I'm going to get off my case and go back to this case, is that when the blood spatter evidence came out, he suddenly changed his plea from not guilty to not guilty by reason of insanity, which means in regular people talk, I did it, but I was crazy.

So it was very easy to prove that he was sane at the time, but that made the case for me much easier. My point is, you can look at a scene just like Joseph Scott Morgan was telling us, and really all the hair on the back of your neck should go up when you see things that don't make sense. For instance, let me go back to Jennifer Tsikowsky, an investigative reporter who actually lived in this area for a period of time. Jennifer, what were the allegations that she had been acting suicidal and what were the allegations that she had not been acting suicidal? Sure. So the allegations that she was suicidal from everything that I have read said the only person who said that was Jesse

Krzyzewski. Lynn Hernan didn't have a lot of family from the sounds of it. In her obituary, it doesn't name anyone. In the police report, it does talk about a cousin and a nephew um but also friends and everyone all of those people who knew her said they did not believe she was suicidal in her obituary it said uh you know she she was a hair stylist she had her own salon had been living her dream and then after she had owned the salon, moved on, they said, and I'll quote this, if you knew Lynn, her other passions without a doubt were the sun, water, entertaining and cooking, but most of all, Betty Davis, black and white movies

and the Wizard of Oz, end quote. So she just sounds like this lovely, you know, person who is at a stage that she should have been enjoying her life. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. We're talking about the death of a lovely woman found dead on her own recliner, just like she's watching TV, by suicide. Ground up medication all over her chest. Back to Jennifer Tskowski joining us, investigative reporter on the case. Jennifer, when Jessie Krasuski, her caregiver, her friend,

said she'd been suicidal, suicidal in what way? Did she say she wanted to commit suicide? Had she been losing weight? Was she depressed? What do we know? Yes, she said that for several months leading up to Lynn Hernan's death, that she believed Lynn Hernan was in fact suicidal. And she blamed medical conditions on it. or apparently scared Lynn Hernan enough that she thought she would need to move into an assisted living home, a nursing home of some type. Huh. I'm just trying to get a clear beat on why Jessica Suski thought Lynn was suicidal. But I can tell you this much. We got a big surprise when we got that medical examiner's report.

Take a listen to Casey Kronis, Fox 6, and Caroline Reinwald, WISN 12. Kraszewski was caring for a family friend who died. At first, investigators believed the woman died from a possible drug overdose. A medical examiner's report revealed the woman somehow swallowed tetrahydrosaline, which is the main ingredient in eye drops. Toxicology results showed that in her system, the victim had a fatal dose of tetrahydrozoline, the main ingredient in eye drops. Levels the medical examiner said would be impossible to have in the blood just by using it in the eyes. Tetrahydrosaline. Okay, and Joe Scott Morgan,

they send Lynn's body to the medical examiner thinking she's had an OD of potentially Xanax. They've gotten all of the granular bits off her chest of crushed up meds. Then they find out they got it totally bass-ackwards. Now, Joe Scott, I know you're a death investigator. That's a technical legal term, bass-ackwards. She didn't die of OD Xanax. She died of OD tetrahydrozoline, Visine. Yeah, she did, and this is the interesting part.

When the toxicology came back on this poor woman, Nancy, the the me, the initial report, when it came back in, the me stated that all drugs within her system that they found in her system were within what's referred to as therapeutic ranges. And kind of let me break that down to you. Let me tell you what it means. If she's on Xanax, if she's on heart medication or whatever else she had, that means that they fall within the parameters for treatment. Like she's being followed, you know, by the doctor, you should have these levels and they're non what's called non-lethal levels that are found within her system. And I can tell you this toxicology took some time to get done because, you know, they're sitting there and they're scratching their heads. They're thinking, okay, she doesn't have a gunshot wound. She doesn't have marks on her neck. There's no bruising.

We've got these crushed up tablets on her chest. Let's look for this and see what's there. When they get there, there's nothing. It's vacant. So this is actually a case where you have to backtrack and do things by the process of elimination what else could we be looking for it's like looking for a needle in a haystack trust me nancy when you're doing a toxicology test in a standard what's called a standard panel you know where you draw the blood and you just look for things. Tetrahydroxazine is not going to be on that list. That's something that they have to go out and look for. That's why this tells me that more than likely the investigators found something at the scene, like empty containers maybe, I don't know,

that indicated to them that maybe possibly possibly, she had ingested this. Now, how she had ingested it is anybody's guess, but I can tell you this. It's almost virtually impossible to take enough of this substance, say, Visine, and absorb it through your eyes to get lethal levels. I mean, you would literally have to be dousing yourself with this stuff. It would have to be, if this is the cause of death or the mechanism that led to her death, it would have to be in an ingestible form. Tetrahydrolizine is actually what's called, it's soluble. It means that it binds really well with water

and with alcohol. Okay, hold on just a moment, Joe Scott. I'm guessing that Vizine would be very difficult to taste if it was mixed in with another drink. Because I was surprised to learn after covering several murders where antifreeze was used, in two cases alone it was put in Jell-O, the person never tasted a thing because it apparently has a very sweet taste to it. And I'm wondering if Visine has a taste to it, but specific... No, no, no. It's odorless and tasteless. Specific to you,

I'm assuming as a layperson that what Visine does to your eyes is it constricts the vessels, the blood vessels that are red, and therefore the blood can no longer run, kind of like a mini cauterization,

the blood can no longer run through the eye blood vessel because it's been restricted or closed. I assume it does the same thing to the vessels around your heart if taken in the proper quantity? Yeah, yeah, it does. It's what's referred to as a vasoconstrictor. That means it tightens down the vessels. Whereas, let's say if somebody has hypertension, they have high blood pressure, you put them on a vasodilator, which means it opens up the vessel.

So you get the pressure down. With this, it's a vasoconstrict. So you get the pressure down with this. It's a vasoconstrictor. And let me tell you, Nancy, when the mechanism of death occurs with this particular substance, it's kind of a horrible rollercoaster ride physiologically because the individual will actually go through these throws where they're having incredible increases in heart rate, and all of a sudden it'll plummet. It'll plummet very sharply, and they'll go into a state of hypotension, which means their blood pressure drops,

until finally they'll actually develop this fancy word that's called tachycardia. It's an irregular heart rhythm, and they die. It's a horrible way to die, Nancy. I think I'm hearing Jennifer Czajkowski jumping in. Go ahead. Piggybacking off of what Joe Scott said about possibly finding Visine at the scene. Interestingly enough, Jesse Kruszewski was calling the medical examiner's office and apparently several times to find out the the cause of lynn hernan's death and that's i believe when also red flags were going up why was she what do you mean several calls concerning her death just you what? Let's talk like regular people, okay? So you're telling me Jennifer Kruszewski called the MA's office and asked what?

She was asking what the cause of death was. She was wondering if it was an overdose, quote, or if it was a natural death. But they found it to be suspicious that Jesse Krczewski kept making these calls to the medical examiner's office and being so persistent on wanting to know the exact cause of death, asking if it had been an overdose or natural. A normal person wouldn't likely be calling the medical examiner's office over and over. And they would just wait for the results, you know, in a normal fashion, which she did not. guys we are talking about the death of a young woman and she is found stretched out in her recliner as if she's been watching tv her chest covered in ground-up meds, apparently, by suicide. But then suddenly, Daryl Cohen, I've got your client calling over and over and over to the ME's office going, so what's the COD?

What's the COD? What's the COD? What's the COD? Why? That makes you look really bad. And FYI, they have caller ID. They know it's her. They really do have caller ID.

I mean, my first phrase is, what an idiot. My second is, the eyes obviously don't have it. And my third is, when she does this sort of thing, it makes people wonder. And when they wonder, they start looking and they start investigating. Why in the world would you continue to call? Yes, you're curious. But one call, that's all. That's enough.

But after that, it becomes let's take a closer look. Let's find out why she has so interested. You absolutely. Yeah. Guys, take a listen as the odd circumstance continue to pile up. Here's Caroline Reinwald, WISN 12. Authorities learned Kercheski had keys to the woman's home, had been caring for her, and was her power of attorney. In the months that followed, a relative of the victim expressed concern over the circumstances, telling investigators it was suspicious his loved one would have left her entire estate to Kercheski. What? Okay, wait a minute.

Kercheski's just coming in a few times a week to help Lynn out. Why does she suddenly have POA, power of attorney, in a nutshell, Daryl? I know that's hard for a good trial lawyer like yourself to do. In a nutshell, what is poa power of attorney which gives the person who has it the absolute and complete ability to do anything that they would like in behalf allegedly in behalf of the person who provided it so not good especially when it comes to your money and now you've got this temp that comes in and out of your house, your family friend that's supposed to be there maybe two or three times a week

to, what, bring you some food or straighten up. She's got power of attorney? That's a technical legal document. I mean, I'm a criminal prosecutor. I would have to consult a civil lawyer to make sure. If I was drawing up a power of attorney, to make sure I had done it correctly. So how does this woman get a POA? But that's not all.

Take a listen to KC Cronus, Fox 6. Family members were suspicious and told investigators they didn't think the victim would have died by suicide and thought Kraszewski was somehow involved. The criminal complaint says Krzyzewski changed her story to investigators many times. At one point saying the victim was suicidal and constantly buying Visine. Okay now now we hear the word Visine. That and the word Visine is first brought up by the caregiver. But that's not all. Take a listen to Mara Montalbano

inside edition. According to the complaint, Krzyzewski said her friend was, quote, known for eye drops, bought them in large quantities, and that she saw the victim drink Visine with vodka. Okay, in my mind,

the situation is getting much, much worse because now I have the caregiver, Jesse Krasuski, bringing up Visine, claiming the victim was, quote, known for Visine, and she would mix it with vodka and drink it. I mean, Joe Scott Morgan, try to talk like a normal person, okay? What, if any, effect would

Visine have on you other than making you sick? If you drank it, does it make you high or feel drunk? Why would you mix it with vodka? No, it doesn't. It's a vasoconstrictor. That's it. That's the totality of what it does. These are facts that were not lost on not only investigators, but journalists as well.

Take a listen to Victor Giacobbo, CBS 58. Investigators say Krzyzewski also committed financial fraud, totaling more than $290,000, with more than $130,000 transferred fraudulently by check from the victim to Krzyzewski. I had no idea that all this had transpired. Sally DeVrent was a neighbor to the victim and said the victim was socialized with the community but noticed a change. Just prior to this, I would say she was probably more isolated at that point because of her health. She probably was needing more help. To Dr. Bethany Marshall, we're now getting a picture of the victim who was isolated because of ill health. She probably was needing more help. To Dr. Bethany Marshall, we're now getting a picture

of the victim who was isolated because of ill health. And this caregiver swooping in, basically a temp, had somehow insinuated herself. That's a lot of motive, nearly a half a million motives. And Nancy, remember, Jesse was not the primary caregiver. Her mother was. So Jesse also swooped in under the auspices of her own mother, who is the one who was originally hired by Lynn. Nancy, people who have health problems and need a caregiver in their home are very vulnerable. And what happens usually is that they begin to feel grateful towards the caregiver for taking care of them. Maybe they've lost their activities of daily living, feeding, bathing, toileting, dressing, eating. Those are the five what we call activities of daily living, ADLs. And when you begin to lose those, you need a caregiver.

What generally happens is that a patient then begins to feel so grateful towards the caregiver that they are vulnerable to giving the caregiver things. They can even be manipulated by the caregiver into believing that if they don't put their estate in the caregiver's name, that all that care will be withdrawn. But, Nancy, it happens slowly. It's sort of like, oh, Lynn, I like this vase. Do you mind if I take it? Oh, Lynn, I see you have extra groceries in the refrigerator. Do you mind if I take some home to my family? Oh, Lynn, you know what?

I don't think you're capable of writing checks anymore. You know, do you mind if I just sort of take over your bill paying and it goes from there? Nancy, when I have patients who have family members in need of care, I always say go to a licensed, bonded caregivers association where people will actually, caregivers will lose their job if they develop a dual relationship with the patient. Take a listen to our friends at WTMJ. 37-year-old Jessie Kukzuski appeared in Waukesha County Court Monday facing three charges, including first-degree intentional homicide. The state believes this defendant has evidenced her capacity to take advantage of at-risk individuals and poses a risk to the public both through her financial victimization and ultimately violent behavior toward victim A in this case. Well, if you don't

buy the circumstantial evidence so far, take a listen to our friend Casey Cronus, Fox 6. Krzyzewski was in jail previously on fraud charges and at that time a jailhouse roommate told investigators Krzyewski admitted to killing the victim by poisoning her with Visine to stop her suffering. When Kurjewski finally admitted it to investigators, she told them she buried the evidence, which detectives never located. Well, she just can't seem to stop talking. Take a listen to Mary Jo Ola, WTMJ. In January of 2019, the medical examiner said a lethal dose of tetrahydrozoline, the main ingredient in eye drops, was found in the victim's blood,

changing the cause of death to homicide. Months later, Krakzewski told investigators she brought the victim a water bottle filled with six bottles of Vizine, claiming she was helping the victim do what she wanted and taking her own life. With these charges, which carries a lifetime penalty of a lifetime sentence, there is a huge exposure here and therefore a flight risk. Death by Visine. We wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off. Goodbye, friend.

This is an iHeart Podcast.