The 'Iced Coffee Killer' and the Power of the Media

It is January 2016. Three friends are meeting for coffee at Oliver's, one of Jakarta’s trendy coffee clubs. Jessica Wongso and Mirna Salihin have been friends for a long time. They studied design together in Australia.

Jessica is now a permanent resident of Australia. She was visiting family and catching up with friends. She pre-orders the coffee and takes it to a table while waiting for her friends. She is seen on CCTV carefully arranging her shopping bags around the coffee. When her friends arrive, she directs Mirna to a specific chair.

Mirna took a few sips of the iced Vietnamese coffee Salihin bought. Then, she started convulsing and foaming at the mouth. In front of shocked café patrons, her body collapsed. It was quickly taken to the nearest hospital. She was pronounced dead on arrival.

In the "cyanide coffee case," she went to court. She was charged with poisoning her friend using cyanide. The story gained notoriety comparable to that of the O.J. Simpson trial in the US. The Indonesian media circus seized on the story.

A trial that lasted nearly five months started in late January 2016. It was broadcast on Indonesian television and caught the nation's attention. It concluded with a guilty verdict on October 27. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

In 2023, Netflix dropped a documentary called "Ice Cold: Murder, Coffee, and Jessica Wongso." It revisits the suspected poisoning of Mirna.

Jessica Wongso was released from Pondok Bambu Women’s Penitentiary in Jakarta on August 18, 2024. She had served 8 years of her 20-year sentence. She received 58 months of remission for good behavior. She must report to authorities until her parole ends in 2032.

After her early release, she requested a judicial review to overturn her conviction. She claims she is innocent. Her legal team supports her with new evidence. The Netflix documentary shows odd events and possible gaps in the trial process and Indonesian law.

People who were initially convinced of her guilt started to ask questions. Was justice really served, and if not, what happened to Mirna?

The circumstantial evidence was compelling.

Jessica arrived an hour before her friends. She was seen casing the coffee lounge, presumably trying to find a table hidden from the CCTV.

She preordered the coffees before the other two arrived.

She told Mirna to sit in a certain spot at the table. It was in front of a coffee cup hidden from the cameras.

The prosecution said 298 milligrams of cyanide were found in the drink.

After her friend collapsed, witnesses saw Jessica rubbing her hands on her trousers. Cyanide is known to irritate the skin. She admitted to having thrown away her trousers after the meeting.

Since the death of her friend, Jessica has denied that they were ever good friends. Some people say Jessica and Mirna had a conflict about Jessica’s boyfriend in Australia.

Her defense argues that there were big gaps in testimony and not enough solid evidence, both then and now. No autopsy was done on the body. Also, there are big issues with how the coffee sample from the café was handled.

Indonesian law determines the fate of criminals by judges, not by a jury. In this case, three judges agreed she was guilty.

There is a general feeling of dissatisfaction with the legal process in Indonesia. The court of public opinion changed its verdict on Jessica and granted her early parole. Many believe the decision was shaped by public opinion.

Australians are all too familiar with this from past cases.

The Bali Nine were convicted of smuggling heroin in 2006. Two were sentenced to death, and seven received prison sentences from 20 years to life.

A year earlier, Schapelle Corby was intercepted with 4.2 kg of cannabis in her boogie board bag. Her highly publicised trial resulted in a 20-year prison sentence. It sparked massive media scrutiny and public debate in Australia.

Jessica has faced serious mental health challenges. She has attempted suicide four times. She was also in a car accident caused by alcohol. Additionally, she has shown threatening behaviour toward her colleagues. Her former boyfriend obtained an Apprehended Violence Order against her.

Today, while finishing her parole, she has become a social media influencer. She has a small cult following on TikTok and Instagram.

Did Mirna die of natural causes or as a result of cyanide poisoning by her friend?

What do you think — guilty or framed?

Till next time

Calvin