'Eye drops killer' Jessy Kurczewski's lawyers want to withdraw amid allegations of her plotting to fabricate suicide audio message from victim

WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN: Just days before convicted killer Jessy Kurczewski was set to be sentenced for the murder of Lynn Hernan, her defense attorneys filed motions to withdraw from the case.

Attorneys Donna Kuchler and Pablo Galaviz submitted requests on November 30 and December 5, respectively, to no longer represent the so-called "eye drops killer," as per Law&Crime.

This comes amid allegations that Kurczewski had orchestrated an elaborate scheme to fabricate evidence that Hernan died by suicide.

Jessy Kurczewski claims innocence in a 37-page letter written to a friend

According to court documents obtained by Law&Crime, Kuchler wrote a letter to the court imploring them to postpone Kurczewski's sentencing hearing scheduled for Thursday, December 7, saying "I believe I am duty-bound to withdraw from this case."

She added, "My own interests of protecting my law license of 27 years are at issue here. If the Court proceeds with the sentencing hearing, I will remain silent."

The urgency behind the attorneys' withdrawal seems to stem from a 37-page handwritten letter penned by Kurczewski from jail.

She allegedly wrote the letter on the back of notes taken during her trial for Hernan's murder and sent it to a friend asking them to forge documents and audio recordings to support a false narrative that Hernan was severely ill and took her own life.

"I did not kill Lynn nor did I assist nor did I ever steal a dime from her," allegedly wrote Kurczewski to her friend, adding, "I trust you and whether you help or not this is something I need you to take to your grave."

The letter even asks the friend to impersonate Hernan's voice in an audio recording and implies one of Kurczewski's attorneys suggested the elaborate scheme.

A jury convicted Kurczewski in November of first-degree intentional homicide for Hernan's 2018 death. Prosecutors say Kurczewski killed the 62-year-old woman by slowly poisoning her with eye drops over time while also stealing tens of thousands of dollars from her estate.

Jessy Kurczewski accused of orchestrating elaborate suicide audio scheme from victim

The rambling 37-page letter Kurczewski allegedly wrote from jail doesn't just proclaim her innocence or ask her friend to help falsify evidence.

It also contains specific instructions for creating fake documents and audio recordings to support the narrative that Hernan died of suicide out of guilt for murdering her own mother years earlier.

"I feel like theres [sic] programs online to change voices — theres [sic] so much technology these days," purportedly wrote Kurczewski about fabricating an audio recording of Hernan speaking.

She gave tips on mimicking Hernan's "older, raspy, smokers [sic] cough" voice, suggesting having music or movies playing in the background "to help distract."

The letter apparently instructed the friend to forge a handwritten, backdated, and notarized confession letter from Hernan admitting to killing her mother with eye drops — the same substance Kurczewski used to kill Hernan over time.

This alleged scheme could help lend credence to Kurczewski's trial defense argument that Hernan was obsessed with purchasing eye drops herself.

It even apparently contained a script for the fake Hernan recording, reading, "Jessy I am sorry to leave you like this and Im [sic] assuming you’ll be the one to find me after all you have done for me all the times you saved my life."

Prosecutors characterized the detailed letter as Kuchler and Galaviz's reason for urgently wanting to withdraw, saying Kurczewski orchestrated "an apparent driving force behind the motions to withdraw."

While Kurczewski has denied writing it, prosecutors say the bizarre nature of the letter and subscribed scheme necessitated her attorneys bowing out.

Prosecutors argue against allowing Jessy Kurczewski's lawyers off the case

As Kurczewski's alleged fake suicide plot has thrown her sentencing into uncertainty due to her attorneys suddenly filing motions to withdraw, prosecutors argued against allowing Kuchler and Galaviz off the case for now.

They say doing so would leave Kurczewski without representation during a critical phase of her case and delay sentencing for months. It was also noted that Kurczewski has denied writing the letter or knowing anything about the alleged scheme when speaking to others from jail.

"Such a continuance would result in Ms. Kurczewski continuing to languish in the Waukesha County Jail for several more months while replacement counsel is located and brought up to speed on this matter," read the prosecution response. 

A judge has not yet ruled on the defense attorneys' withdrawal motions. Kuchler implored the court in her letter to postpone Kurczewski's sentencing if it would not allow her and Galaviz to immediately leave the case.

Kurczewski, 39, faces up to life in prison after being convicted of first-degree intentional homicide, as well as two felony theft counts for stealing from Hernan's estate.

Prosecutors meticulously proved she slowly killed Hernan over 21 days in 2018 by continually spiking her water with eye drops, causing deadly levels of toxicity.