A California man who told the authorities his girlfriend was injured after falling off her bike has been charged with her murder and will be arraigned in December.
Jacob Krzemski, 38, initially told investigators that Corina Lee, 47, had fallen off her bike and sustained an injury in early April, which became fatal less than a week later when she allegedly collapsed in the shower and hit her head on the toilet.
Krzemski brought Lee to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley on April 8.
She died the following day.
After her death, hospital staff called the authorities, who learned Krezemski had an outstanding warrant. Lee also had a restraining order out against him.
Lee’s family said the story Krzemski told them about how Lee was injured seemed suspicious from the start.
“It was so fake, it was like [Krzemski] was forcing it,” Lee’s mother, Patricia Lee, told the Mercury News.
The police said Krzemski’s story fell apart in light of a surveillance video, interviews with her neighbors, and an autopsy report that found her injuries were inconsistent with a bicycle crash.
Krzemski, who has been behind bars in Santa Rita Jail since September on a no-bail hold, has appeared in court several times but has not entered a plea in the case. He was taken into custody in April on suspicion of violating a court order prohibiting him from contacting Lee.
Kzremski has also been charged with false imprisonment and criminal threats.
His arraignment is scheduled for Dec. 9.
Patricia Lee said she believed her daughter had been physically abused by Krzemski in the past and was not aware that the two had been in contact.
She only learned Krzemski was back in her daughter’s life when he called her to say Lee was unresponsive following the alleged shower incident.
“She always brought laughter and joy, everybody was so happy to be around her,” Patricia Lee said.
Authorities said Krzemski had been living with Lee around the time of her death.
One neighbor told police that he had heard Lee cry for help and heard Krzemski yelling at her. The neighbor did not report the incident.
In a separate incident, Lee’s neighbors called 911 to report hearing a woman scream “help me” from her apartment. When officers arrived, the apartment was quiet and the lights had been turned off.
The police left.
Lee’s autopsy not only found that her injuries were inconsistent with a bicycle accident but that she had suffered a brain hemorrhage about three days before her death.
The Washington Examiner attempted to track down Lee’s attorney for comment, but no lawyer had been listed in court documents.
