'She wanted to get better': Friends of victim in eye drop murder case testify

WAUKESHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Witness testimony continues in the eye drop murder trial as the state called lifelong friends of the victim to the stand.

"Oh yeah, I would've tried to do something. She never gave me the indication of suicidal, ever," ex-boyfriend and later friend of Lynn Hernan James Kelliher said after being asked if he would have gotten her help if he knew she was suicidal.

Kelliher was one of the three people who testified on Friday, Oct. 27, for the fourth day of the trial against Franklin woman Jessy Kurczewski. The 39-year-old faces one count of intentional homicide for allegedly poisoning Lynn Hernan with eye drops in 2018.

The state also called Forensic Toxicologist Dr. Sherri Kancinko to the stand. Kancinko did a toxicology report on Hernan at the request of the Waukesha County Medical Examiner.

During her testimony, Kancinko stated that tetrahydrozoline, the active ingredient in eye drops, can be fatal. She also said that per her findings, Hernan had an amount of tetrahydrozoline in her system that was over 400 times the highest level seen in typical eye drop use in her system.

After several interviews with investigators after Hernan's death, Kurczewski eventually admitted to giving her friend a bottle of water with six bottles of Visine in it to help Hernan commit suicide.

Another friend of Hernan's, Koreen Pozza, also shared her thoughts on her friend's mental state while on the stand.

"Did you ever get the feeling that Lynn was just giving up?" Waukesha County Assistant District Attorney Randy Sitzberger asked Pozza.

"No, no, I wouldn't say that. I think she just felt like she wanted to get better," Pozza answered.

Pozza is the mother of the only person named in Hernan's will other than Kurczewski. She testified Friday that she never witnessed Hernan give her son large amounts of money or lavish gifts.

During opening statements earlier this week, the defense claimed Hernan willingly gave Kurczewski, someone she saw as a daughter, all the money Kurczewski is accused of stealing.

Kurczewski faces life in prison if convicted of homicide.