Murder Martini

Lynn Hernan was born in Madison, Wisconsin, on June 26, 1956, the daughter of Bob and Lorraine Hernan. She graduated from La Follette High School in 1974 and spent her working life as a hairstylist, eventually owning her own salon for a while. She never married and had no children. She had a long series of relationships, most of which ended amicably, and in 1983, aged 27, she met Jim Kelleher at a music festival. They were together for about ten years and remained close friends afterwards. She loved old black-and-white films, collected The Wizard of Oz memorabilia, kept cats and lived quietly in a townhouse in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. She paid for most things in cash, had no mobile phone and did not use the internet.

In 2014 her mother died and Lynn inherited $250,000. Until then she had lived from pay cheque to pay cheque. In 2016 her health began to fail rapidly. She had a lung disease, high blood pressure and severe gastrointestinal problems that doctors could not diagnose. She fell as though she were in her nineties, was in and out of hospital, and could not manage her own shopping or bills.

the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now She told people she worked as a dental assistant, but she had in fact been out of work for six months and was leaving the house in scrubs each morning to keep up the pretence.

Lynn's money began to disappear. She told Anthony that her savings were shrinking and that she did not understand where the money had gone. details of the account remain covered until revealed In August 2018 she seemed to improve and began going out again. In September a young woman answered Lynn's phone when Jim Kelleher called and told him never to call the number again and not to worry about Lynn. A few days later Lynn called Jim herself from hospital, sounding cheerful, and they made plans to meet once she was discharged. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it

this part of the story is covered for now A sheriff's deputy arrived to find Lynn pale and unconscious, with a large amount of crushed medication on her chest and on a plate beside her, and prescription bottles scattered across the floor and carpet. Investigators first treated the death as a possible overdose or suicide.

details of the account remain covered until revealed Jim did not believe her. Lynn had been making plans and had never seemed suicidal. Anthony Potza then discovered that most of Lynn's assets had been consumed by debt; she had $83 in her account when she died. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it

Toxicology found eight prescription drugs in Lynn's system, all at therapeutic levels, but also tetrahydrozoline, the active ingredient in over-the-counter eye drops such as Visine. The medical examiner had never seen it in a toxicology report and said it should not be in the blood. None of the crushed medication on Lynn's chest or on the plate was in her system, which suggested the scene had been staged. In July 2019 the medical examiner ruled the cause of death tetrahydrozoline poisoning and the manner homicide, concluding that Lynn had been given the drug by someone else.

this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed Detectives began forensic accounting. They found that more than $250,000 had been taken from Lynn. A money market account holding about $250,000 in 2016 held $87 after her death. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it During Lynn's final hospital stay money was transferred from Lynn's account and withdrawn at ATMs at a local casino. this part of the story is covered for now

details of the account remain covered until revealed Scott ended the relationship. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it She first said Lynn used eye drops in her eyes all the time. The next day she said Lynn drank vodka mixed with Visine, and that she had bought the Visine for her. On the third day she said Lynn had poured six bottles of Visine into a water bottle and that she had given it to her after an argument because Lynn wanted it. She also said Lynn had been suicidal, had bought a gun, and had spoken of killing herself. Detectives found deleted searches for poisons on her phone, including a file called cyanide.pdf, and text messages in which she told Scott that she had been given tetrahydrozoline in a drink at a bar and that a doctor had told her it was the main ingredient in eye drops and could kill.

this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed The prosecution said the motive was money and described a timeline of theft, murder and more theft. The defence argued that Lynn had taken her own life, pointing to her depression, anxiety, agoraphobia, chronic insomnia, heavy drinking and prescription drug use, and to a defence pathologist who said the cause of death was undetermined and could have been a mixed drug toxicity. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now

details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed Her two attorneys moved to withdraw; the prosecution objected, and she wrote a 26-page letter to the judge claiming the county had set her up.

the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now She was ordered to pay $380,000 in restitution and a further $16,000 towards the cost of state witnesses. details of the account remain covered until revealed