Cyanide-laced coffee murder in Jakarta
I didn't kill Mirna: Jessica
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Jessica Kumala denied any involvement in the death of her friend Wayan Mirna Salihin, 27, who died after drinking cyanide-laced coffee in a Jakarta restaurant earlier this month and was calling for a better laboratory investigation, her lawyer said on Tuesday.
Jakarta Police questioned Jessica on Tuesday as part of the investigation into Mirna's death as she was the one who ordered the drinks for Mirna and another friend, Hani, in a restaurant in the upscale Grand Indonesia Mall in Central Jakarta on Jan. 6.
Jessica's lawyer Yudi Wibowo said his client, who is also his niece, was stressed by the media coverage that had focused on her.
"But she is not afraid. She is tough because she has done nothing wrong in relation to the case," he said.
Police had questioned Jessica and searched her house to search for evidence relating to the case last week.
Tuesday's questioning also involved a forensic psychiatric evaluation of Jessica.
Yudi believed that Mirna did not die from cyanide poisoning even though police have confirmed they found cyanide in Mirna's stomach contents and in the sample of the coffee she had drunk. He questioned Mirna's autopsy process and urged that an autopsy be conducted in another reputable hospital.
Police investigators conducted an autopsy on Mirna's body in Kramat Jati Police Hospital on Jan. 10.
Yudi claimed that Hani had also taken a sip of Mirna's coffee and was unharmed.
"That means Mirna did not die because of the coffee. Two people drank the same coffee but Hani is alive and well," he said, adding that he did not know why Jessica did not also try the coffee.
The newly wed Mirna suffered convulsions after drinking the coffee. She died a few hours later in Abdi Waluyo Hospital in Central Jakarta.
Best friends
Yudi explained that Mirna and Jessica were best friends. They both went to Billy Blue College of Design and then continued their studies in Swinburne University of Technology, both in Australia.
Jessica worked as a graphic designer in Australia and she came back to Indonesia in December to find a job.
As college mates, Jessica then invited Mirna and Hani to meet up in the restaurant.
She arrived at the cafe an hour earlier and ordered the drinks for her friends as her treat.
"If Jessica waited to order until Mirna came, Mirna would have paid for the coffee. It had happened a couple of times," Yudi said.
Yudi denied rumors that the case was related to a love rivalry between Jessica and Mirna.
"There is nothing like that. Jessica has a boyfriend overseas," he said.
The police have not yet named a suspect in the case claiming that they are still waiting for the final results from the National Police's forensic laboratory.
"Jessica is not a potential suspect yet," Police general crimes directorate head Sr. Comr. Khrisna Murti said on Tuesday. (rin)
- See more at: I didn't kill Mirna: Jessica | The Jakarta Post
Greater Jakarta: Friend’s pants dumped after Mirna’s death
Investigators from the Jakarta Police could not find the pants that Jessica, one of the key witnesses in the death of Wayan Mirna Salihin, wore at the Olivier restaurant, Central Jakarta, when they raided her house recently, according to Jakarta Police general crime detective chief Sr. Comr. Krishna Murti.
Krishna said that when investigators asked Jessica about the pants she wore when visiting Olivier with Mirna and another friend, Hani, she said her maid had dumped them in a trash bin near the house.
“We searched for the pants in the bin but could not find them,” he said. “She said her maid had dumped the trousers because they had been torn when she helped rush Mirna to the hospital [prior to Mirna’s death].”
Krishna refused to comment when asked whether investigators were trying to find cyanide traces on the pants.
“But it’s okay [if we cannot find the pants]. We can still search for other evidence,” he said.
Jessica’s lawyer, Yudi Wibowo Sukitno, previously said that the police had confiscated a laptop, a credit card and several items from Jessica’s house after the raid. “They checked if there was any record of a cyanide purchase,” he said as quoted by wartakotalive.com. - See more at:
Greater Jakarta: Friend?s pants dumped after Mirna?s death | The Jakarta Post
Police Take Jessica’s Maid Into Protective Custody, Cite ‘Significant Testimony’
Police Take Jessica’s Maid Into Protective Custody, Cite ‘Significant Testimony’ in Mirna’s Murder
Jakarta. Police have taken into protective custody a maid working for Jessica Kumala Wongso, the woman increasingly at the center of the high-profile poisoning of her friend Wayan Mirna Salihin.
The maid, identified only by the initials S.R., was taken into custody late on Thursday, according to Sr. Comr. Krishna Murti, the Jakarta Police’s director of general crimes.
“We took the maid into custody because her testimony is significant,” he said on Friday.
“Her parents had come to the police to ask that she be taken under our protection,” he added, but did not elaborate on what threats, if any, S.R. faced.
The development is the latest indication yet that police are focusing their investigation into the Jan. 6 death of Mirna, 27, on her friend Jessica, also 27.
Mirna suffered convulsions shortly after taking a sip of iced coffee that Jessica had ordered for her at the Olivier café at the Grand Indonesia mall in Central Jakarta on the afternoon of Jan. 6. She was taken to the mall’s clinic and later to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
An autopsy found traces of cyanide in her stomach, while tests on the coffee also revealed a large concentration of the toxic substance.
While police are still formally treating Jessica as a witness in the case, their investigation has of late appeared to focus on her relationship with the victim. Earlier this week, the police announced that they had sought help from the Australian Federal Police in following a lead out of that country. Jessica and Mirna studied at the same university in Australia, and Krishna said the information being sought “has direct links with what was behind the victim’s death.”
Another lead police are following up on is the revelation that Jessica ordered her maid to dispose of the jeans that she had been wearing at the café on the day Mirna died. Police have searched Jessica’s house and a nearby dumpsite for the jeans, but come up empty-handed.
Krishna indicated that the police’s decision to take the maid into protective custody was linked to that part of the investigation.
“It doesn’t matter whether or not we find the jeans. We’ve got plenty of other evidence,” he said, but stopped short of saying whether the evidence was intended for naming Jessica a suspect.
He added, though, that police would discuss the case with prosecutors next Tuesday, indicating that they had already determined a suspect in the murder.
Police Take Jessica?s Maid Into Protective Custody, Cite ?Significant Testimony? in Mirna?s Murder | Jakarta Globe
essica accused of committing premeditated murder
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Jessica Kumala Wongso has been accused of the premeditated murder of her friend, Wayan Mirna Salihin. Mirna died shortly after drinking an iced-coffee at Olivier Café in Central Jakarta on Jan. 6. Jessica now faces the possibility of the death penalty.
Jessica was arrested at Neo Hotel in North Jakarta at 7:45 a.m. on Saturday after been named by the police a suspect in Mirna’s murder. Jessica has also been banned from traveling overseas by the immigration office.
The Jakarta Police general crimes division head Sr. Corm. Krishna Murti said the decision to arrest Jessica had been taken on Friday evening after police investigators conducted an internal case review to ensure that they had adequate evidence.
Police officers came to Jessica’s house on Friday night but found her house empty. Jessica was arrested the following morning. "We arrested her respectfully. There was no resistance from her. She was brought to the police station accompanied by her parents," Krishna said.
The police are currently interrogating Jessica and they have 24 hours to make a decision whether or not to detain her. "She will now be interrogated as a suspect," Krishna added.
Krishna said that when Jessica was earlier questioned as a witness, she did not give consistent information to the investigators and the information she gave was not in line with the facts that had already been collected by the police.
She was charged under Article 340 of the Criminal Code on premeditated murder.
Krishna called on Jessica to immediately appoint defense lawyers. "If she doesn't have a lawyer, the country will provide her with one. If she has a lawyer, we're waiting for her lawyer so that the interrogation can start," Krishna said.
Krishna added that the police had collected four from a minimum of two pieces of evidence required to name Jessica a suspect. "We have information from about 20 witnesses and six experts," Krishna added.
Based on a case reconstruction, it is thought that Mirna and Jessica were at a café together. Jessica came first and ordered a cocktail and an iced-coffee. Some minutes later, Mirna came to the café. Mirna drank the coffee and shortly thereafter suffered convulsions and began to foam at the mouth. She died on the way to the hospital. (bbn)
- See more at: Jessica accused of committing premeditated murder | The Jakarta Post
