Make sure to grab a cup of coffee because it is the highlight of this story. As the most notorious case in Indonesia in 2016, Mirna Salihin’s death marked the most attention. An international student who lived among beautiful young girls, one of whom turned out to be her most terrifying and dangerous enemy.
Adapting To A New World
The magnificent city of Jakarta, Indonesia, was home to Wayan Mirna Salihin, born on 30 March 1988. As Mirna grew up, she became fascinated with design as a career path. As a country well known for academic studies, Australia gained her attention. Following her admission to Sydney’s Billy Blue College in 2007, she began to seek out more Indonesian students with whom she could bond.
Within a few weeks, Mirna met many interesting people with whom she grew close. Among them were Hani Juwita Boon and Jessica Kumala Wongso. They parted amicably four years after graduating and went to separate lives. Jessica remained in Sydney to become a permanent resident, but the other girls, including Mirna, returned to their home countries.
Mirna revisited Sydney in 2014 to visit her former footsteps and met up with Jessica. Human nature is to change over the years, for better or for worse. Similar circumstances might have existed between these two former friends.
Darkness Was Engulfing Jessica’s Bright Life
A conversation between two women in a restaurant went awry unexpectedly. Mirna disapproved of Jessica’s boyfriend, which caused Jessica to leave the meal in anger. Their once tightly knitted bond now ceased to exist.
Although Mirna returned home to Indonesia, Jessica was still dealing with a lot of difficulties in Sydney. In 2015, she spiraled into a world of depression. She was hospitalized on several occasions and even attempted suicide multiple times.
Jessica now seemed to be miles apart from the bright and goofy personality she once used to be. As of August 22, 2015, her alcohol abuse had reached a new level. While she was intoxicated, she lost her concentration, resulting in her car crashing into a building.
Despite surviving, she had broken two ribs and sustained a chest injury. In addition, she received multiple fines for driving under the influence. She suffered far more than just that in the accident. Her mental health became known to everyone. Jessica also lost her position as a graphic designer at South Wales Ambulance.
While back in Indonesia, things were going the opposite way for Mirna. In November 2015, Mirna and her fiancé, Arief Sumarko, traveled to Bali to marry. But for one person, the fairy-tale wedding came as a huge shock. Seemingly, Mirna did not invite Jessica to her wedding. Jessica was enraged by the news. Her life was already on a downhill slope, and now she was experiencing heartbreak from a former close friend.
What Is A Reunion Without A Cup Of Coffee
As a way out of her chaotic life, she took the indirect route. In the hopes of finding some peace in her life, Jessica traveled back to Indonesia. It was also supposed to be a way to heal her rift with Mirna. Nevertheless, the execution of her plans fell far short of that.
As soon as Jessica arrived in Jakarta, she invited Mirna for a coffee. Mirna, however, was reluctant to meet Jessica alone. So she convinced Hani to join her for the short reunion on January 6th at 5 pm at the Olivier Cafe. It was within Jakarta’s busiest mall, Grand Indonesia Shopping Mall.
Unlike their good-old college days, this time, Jessica bought their drinks even before they had arrived. Jessica got there much earlier than the other two at 3:30 pm. It gets stranger because she left two minutes after scouting the area, only to return 42 minutes later carrying three bags.
What seemed like gift bags turned out to be something no one could have guessed. As of 4:15 pm, Jessica had ordered two cocktails for herself and Hani and one Vietnamese iced coffee for Mirna. The surveillance camera in the dead zone and the gift bags blocking the scene made it unclear what she did with the drinks. However, Hani and Mirna finally arrived 50 minutes later.
Her Homecoming Gift To her Friend Was A Funeral
As the pair sat down at the table, they hugged Jessica and welcomed her with open arms. Within the very first minute, Mirna took a sip of her coffee that Jessica had pre-ordered. After two seconds, she became agitated. She started to fan herself and cough, claiming the drink tasted funny. Only a minute later, Mirna slumped backward in her seat and collapsed. A strange scenario turned into a terrifying one. She began convulsing and foaming at the mouth.
The entire café was panicking to aid her. Almost immediately, Jessica accused staff members of tampering with Mirna’s coffee. Even though Mirna was rushed to a hospital only a mile away, she tragically died within five minutes of reaching the door.
Mirna’s husband, Arief, was unable to be by her side during her final moments. By the time he reached her, she was gone, his love after only a few weeks of marriage as two of Mirna’s closest friends watched her horrifying end.
Mirna’s death was suspicious from the beginning. Lucky for the forensic experts, Mirna’s drink was preserved by the coffee shop owner, so they could confirm that the drink contained cyanide. A chemical that could kill a person within minutes if ingested.
Caught On Camera, Her Crimes Were Evident
On 10 January 2016, an autopsy on Mirna’s body found bleeding was evident on her stomach and traces of cyanide. Following the investigation, the CCTV of the coffee shop highlighted Jessica’s strange behavior. Suspicion was mounting on Jessica’s head day by day.
As a permanent resident of Australia, Indonesian police feared she would flee at any moment. After carefully piercing all the evidence, Jessica became a suspect for premeditated murder on January 30th.
On June 15th, her trial began with new details about the case. In Australia, one of Jessica’s former managers revealed that Jessica was very resentful and hateful in her mindset. She even claimed that Jessica was capable of killing or hurting someone. Nonetheless, Australian authorities agreed to share Jessica’s personal information only if any verdict in the case excluded the death penalty. They then shared Jessica’s medical reports with the Indonesian police.
Finally, the prosecution referred back to Jessica’s obvious behaviors from the CCTV during the trial. A trail of clues suggested that Jessica had indeed spiked Mirna’s coffee. Furthermore, she seemed particularly fine in all of the public appearances. The only vital missing piece of evidence was how and from where Jessica acquired cyanide since it is a tricky substance to use.
Yet enough evidence suggested that she killed Mirna. As of October 27, 2016, Jessica Wongso was officially convicted of murdering Mirna Salihin. She was sentenced to 20 years behind bars, evading the death penalty.
Although the judges found this act both vile and sadistic, they hoped she could still change. We do not know the legalities of murder cases, but considering one life was lost out of hate, the 20-year sentence is relatively short. Mirna had a life ahead of her, she might have had beautiful plans in her newlywed life, yet she and her family could never see her future due to her tragic fate.
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