Shortly after returning from the family outing that afternoon, she was mortally stabbed in the parking lot of the apartment complex where her mother and brother lived, per the police report obtained by A&E Crime + Investigation.
Cindy said she and Morgan went into their unit and soon heard screams coming from outside. They found Taylor laying bloodied and unresponsive next to her car and called 911. The mother and son told investigators they witnessed a dark-colored SUV flee the scene and suspected Taylor’s ex, who had recently violated a restraining order, was responsible for the attack, according to police.
Taylor was transported to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The autopsy report revealed she died from multiple stab wounds to the head, face, neck, back and left hand.
An Ex Who Wouldn’t Let Go
Investigators zeroed in on Taylor’s ex-boyfriend, Jeffrey Kucharski, then 27, after learning the former couple had a tumultuous relationship that spanned eight years. The report states that Taylor broke up with Kucharski three months prior in February 2023, and she secretly moved out of their apartment while he was away due to his “abusive tendencies.”
Morgan said he previously lived with his sister and the suspect for three months, during which he witnessed Kucharski being emotionally abusive.
Morgan alleged her ex “would get upset and yell and punch holes in the wall,” and “go into angry, ‘drunk’ aggressive rants where he would call Taylor names and say that she was worthless,” per the police report. He “would also threaten suicide if Taylor ever broke up with him.”
Per the report, shortly after the breakup, Cindy said Kucharski followed through with the threat and tried to kill himself by slitting his wrists in front of Taylor. The victim’s family members claimed he also spent time in a mental health facility, although the timing is unclear.
Taylor was subsequently granted a restraining order, which Kucharski violated several times by stalking her at her home and work, loved ones told police.
Friends and family alleged the system essentially failed Taylor.
“She was in fear for her life, and Kucharski was permitted to walk freely,” investigators wrote in the police report. “They all feel that this could have been avoided, and all of them were actively working in trying to put Kucharski away for a while in jail/prison because they knew how much of a danger he was to Dragicevich and others around him.”
That evening, authorities tracked Kucharski to his parents’ house in Lawton, Mich., where he was hiding in their attic, armed with a knife and refusing to surrender.
Officers were forced to deploy a drone and tear down parts of the attic to get a better vantage point.
Kucharski “made many threats of wanting to die because it was his only way out of all this,” he confessed to the crisis negotiator, according to police. He held the knife to his neck and chest and was “very erratic in his behavior” and “experiencing a clear wave of emotions,” police alleged.
Officers eventually tased Kucharski and were able to safely bring him into custody.
He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to a minimum of 60 years in prison.
