‘Coffee Murder’ Case That Gripped Indonesia Ends With a Guilty Verdict
JAKARTA, Indonesia — The quiet afternoon coffee date nine months ago at an upscale Jakarta cafe ended when Wayan Mirna Salihin, after one sip of her iced Vietnamese coffee, collapsed suddenly. Hours later, she was dead.
An autopsy on the 27-year-old woman’s body found that she had died of cyanide poisoning. On Wednesday, a court in Indonesia ruled that her coffee companion, Jessica Kumala Wongso, killed her friend by spiking her drink.
The verdict, in what has been called the “coffee murder” case, was read on live television. TV One, a private national broadcaster, showed every minute of the trial, which gripped Indonesia as well as Australia, where the women attended college together.
When Ms. Wongso was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in prison, her supporters, who packed half the courtroom, could be heard gasping at the verdict. Ms. Wongso denounced the ruling as “unfair and one-sided” as she was led from the courtroom by the police. Members of the victim’s family broke down in tears.
The case set off morbid curiosity and made national headlines after Ms. Wongso was arrested in late January, three weeks after she and Ms. Salihin, both graphic designers, met with another friend at Olivier, the cafe, inside Indonesia’s largest upscale shopping mall.
Intrigued residents have flocked to the restaurant to sit in the booth where Ms. Salihin was poisoned, and to order the iced Vietnamese coffee that was the last thing she drank. The restaurant regularly runs out of the brew.
Closed-circuit television footage from inside the restaurant on Jan. 6 showed Ms. Wongso arriving about an hour before Ms. Salihin and the third woman. After sitting in a booth, she quickly ordered drinks for the three of them.
The footage showed Ms. Wongso putting three shopping bags she had with her on the table, blocking her and the drinks from the camera’s view. After making a series of unknown movements, she placed the bags on the seat.
Prosecutors argued that the defendant was lacing Ms. Salihin’s iced coffee with cyanide from behind her makeshift screen.
After Ms. Salihin arrived at the restaurant and joined her friend at the booth, she took a sip of her drink and then complained that it tasted funny. Within a minute, Ms. Salihin collapsed and began violently convulsing. She was rushed to a hospital and died a few hours later.
The panel of judges that heard the case against Ms. Wongso agreed that the grainy footage was convincing evidence despite the fact the defendant’s actions were shielded from view.
“This deed was vile and sadistic, committed against her own friend,” said Kisworo, the chief judge, who, like many Indonesians, goes by only one name.
After the autopsy was completed on Jan. 10, investigators questioned Ms. Wongso five times and conducted three re-enactments of the episode before arresting her on Jan. 30.
During the police investigation and the court trial, which attracted fevered attention from the news media, it emerged that Ms. Wongso had attempted suicide while living in Australia and that she was involved in a drunken-driving accident.
Prosecutors said during the trial that Ms. Wongso had decided to kill Ms. Salihin because Ms. Salihin had once “insulted” the defendant’s former boyfriend by advising her to break up with him. Ms. Salihin had also recently married, causing the defendant to become increasingly angry and jealous of the victim, according to prosecutors.
Ms. Wongso, who was living in Sydney, returned home for a holiday last December with plans to get revenge on Ms. Salihin by killing her, prosecutors contended.
Restaurant employees noted that Ms. Wongso showed no emotion after Ms. Salihin went into convulsions and made no effort to come to her aid.
An Australian toxicology expert testifying for the defense said that the cyanide found in Ms. Salihin’s body would not have been enough to kill her, but the judges rejected his testimony.
After the verdict, Ms. Wongso’s defense team announced that it would appeal.
“We are concerned and disappointed because the judges did not fully consider the evidence that we presented at the trial,” said Otto Hasibuan, Ms. Wongso’s lead defense attorney. “The judges only considered evidence from prosecutors.”
“The C.C.T.V. evidence was not even considered by the judges” as proving that the defendant was never seen spiking the coffee with the poison, he said.
Hey, my name’s Eric and for just a second, imagine this…
- Someone does a search and winds up at murdercoffeeco.com.
- They hang out for a minute to check it out. “I’m interested… but… maybe…”
- And then they hit the back button and check out the other search results instead.
- Bottom line – you got an eyeball, but nothing else to show for it.
- There they go.
This isn’t really your fault – it happens a LOT – studies show 7 out of 10 visitors to any site disappear without leaving a trace.
But you CAN fix that.
Talk With Web Visitor is a software widget that’s works on your site, ready to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It lets you know right then and there – enabling you to call that lead while they’re literally looking over your site.
CLICK HERE https://jumboleadmagnet.com to try out a Live Demo with Talk With Web Visitor now to see exactly how it works.
Time is money when it comes to connecting with leads – the difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus 30 minutes later can be huge – like 100 times better!
Plus, now that you have their phone number, with our new SMS Text With Lead feature you can automatically start a text (SMS) conversation… so even if you don’t close a deal then, you can follow up with text messages for new offers, content links, even just “how you doing?” notes to build a relationship.
Strong stuff.
CLICK HERE https://jumboleadmagnet.com to discover what Talk With Web Visitor can do for your business.
You could be converting up to 100X more leads today!
Eric
PS: Talk With Web Visitor offers a FREE 14 days trial – and it even includes International Long Distance Calling.
You have customers waiting to talk with you right now… don’t keep them waiting.
CLICK HERE https://jumboleadmagnet.com to try Talk With Web Visitor now.
If you’d like to unsubscribe click here http://jumboleadmagnet.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=murdercoffeeco.com
Hi, my name is Eric and I’m betting you’d like your website murdercoffeeco.com to generate more leads.
Here’s how:
Talk With Web Visitor is a software widget that’s works on your site, ready to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It signals you as soon as they say they’re interested – so that you can talk to that lead while they’re still there at murdercoffeeco.com.
Talk With Web Visitor – CLICK HERE https://jumboleadmagnet.com for a live demo now.
And now that you’ve got their phone number, our new SMS Text With Lead feature enables you to start a text (SMS) conversation – answer questions, provide more info, and close a deal that way.
If they don’t take you up on your offer then, just follow up with text messages for new offers, content links, even just “how you doing?” notes to build a relationship.
CLICK HERE https://jumboleadmagnet.com to discover what Talk With Web Visitor can do for your business.
The difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus a half-hour means you could be converting up to 100X more leads today!
Try Talk With Web Visitor and get more leads now.
Eric
PS: The studies show 7 out of 10 visitors don’t hang around – you can’t afford to lose them!
Talk With Web Visitor offers a FREE 14 days trial – and it even includes International Long Distance Calling.
You have customers waiting to talk with you right now… don’t keep them waiting.
CLICK HERE https://jumboleadmagnet.com to try Talk With Web Visitor now.
If you’d like to unsubscribe click here http://jumboleadmagnet.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=murdercoffeeco.com
Hey, my name’s Eric and for just a second, imagine this…
- Someone does a search and winds up at murdercoffeeco.com.
- They hang out for a minute to check it out. “I’m interested… but… maybe…”
- And then they hit the back button and check out the other search results instead.
- Bottom line – you got an eyeball, but nothing else to show for it.
- There they go.
This isn’t really your fault – it happens a LOT – studies show 7 out of 10 visitors to any site disappear without leaving a trace.
But you CAN fix that.
Talk With Web Visitor is a software widget that’s works on your site, ready to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It lets you know right then and there – enabling you to call that lead while they’re literally looking over your site.
CLICK HERE https://jumboleadmagnet.com to try out a Live Demo with Talk With Web Visitor now to see exactly how it works.
Time is money when it comes to connecting with leads – the difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus 30 minutes later can be huge – like 100 times better!
Plus, now that you have their phone number, with our new SMS Text With Lead feature you can automatically start a text (SMS) conversation… so even if you don’t close a deal then, you can follow up with text messages for new offers, content links, even just “how you doing?” notes to build a relationship.
Strong stuff.
CLICK HERE https://jumboleadmagnet.com to discover what Talk With Web Visitor can do for your business.
You could be converting up to 100X more leads today!
Eric
PS: Talk With Web Visitor offers a FREE 14 days trial – and it even includes International Long Distance Calling.
You have customers waiting to talk with you right now… don’t keep them waiting.
CLICK HERE https://jumboleadmagnet.com to try Talk With Web Visitor now.
If you’d like to unsubscribe click here http://jumboleadmagnet.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=murdercoffeeco.com
Hey there, I just found your site, quick question…
My name’s Eric, I found murdercoffeeco.com after doing a quick search – you showed up near the top of the rankings, so whatever you’re doing for SEO, looks like it’s working well.
So here’s my question – what happens AFTER someone lands on your site? Anything?
Research tells us at least 70% of the people who find your site, after a quick once-over, they disappear… forever.
That means that all the work and effort you put into getting them to show up, goes down the tubes.
Why would you want all that good work – and the great site you’ve built – go to waste?
Because the odds are they’ll just skip over calling or even grabbing their phone, leaving you high and dry.
But here’s a thought… what if you could make it super-simple for someone to raise their hand, say, “okay, let’s talk” without requiring them to even pull their cell phone from their pocket?
You can – thanks to revolutionary new software that can literally make that first call happen NOW.
Talk With Web Visitor is a software widget that sits on your site, ready and waiting to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It lets you know IMMEDIATELY – so that you can talk to that lead while they’re still there at your site.
You know, strike when the iron’s hot!
CLICK HERE https://jumboleadmagnet.com to try out a Live Demo with Talk With Web Visitor now to see exactly how it works.
When targeting leads, you HAVE to act fast – the difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus 30 minutes later is huge – like 100 times better!
That’s why you should check out our new SMS Text With Lead feature as well… once you’ve captured the phone number of the website visitor, you can automatically kick off a text message (SMS) conversation with them.
Imagine how powerful this could be – even if they don’t take you up on your offer immediately, you can stay in touch with them using text messages to make new offers, provide links to great content, and build your credibility.
Just this alone could be a game changer to make your website even more effective.
Strike when the iron’s hot!
CLICK HERE https://jumboleadmagnet.com to learn more about everything Talk With Web Visitor can do for your business – you’ll be amazed.
Thanks and keep up the great work!
Eric
PS: Talk With Web Visitor offers a FREE 14 days trial – you could be converting up to 100x more leads immediately!
It even includes International Long Distance Calling.
Stop wasting money chasing eyeballs that don’t turn into paying customers.
CLICK HERE https://jumboleadmagnet.com to try Talk With Web Visitor now.
If you’d like to unsubscribe click here http://jumboleadmagnet.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=murdercoffeeco.com
My name’s Eric and I just found your site murdercoffeeco.com.
It’s got a lot going for it, but here’s an idea to make it even MORE effective.
Talk With Web Visitor – CLICK HERE https://jumboleadmagnet.com for a live demo now.
Talk With Web Visitor is a software widget that’s works on your site, ready to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It signals you the moment they let you know they’re interested – so that you can talk to that lead while they’re literally looking over your site.
And once you’ve captured their phone number, with our new SMS Text With Lead feature, you can automatically start a text (SMS) conversation… and if they don’t take you up on your offer then, you can follow up with text messages for new offers, content links, even just “how you doing?” notes to build a relationship.
CLICK HERE https://jumboleadmagnet.com to discover what Talk With Web Visitor can do for your business.
The difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus a half-hour means you could be converting up to 100X more leads today!
Eric
PS: Studies show that 70% of a site’s visitors disappear and are gone forever after just a moment. Don’t keep losing them.
Talk With Web Visitor offers a FREE 14 days trial – and it even includes International Long Distance Calling.
You have customers waiting to talk with you right now… don’t keep them waiting.
CLICK HERE https://jumboleadmagnet.com to try Talk With Web Visitor now.
If you’d like to unsubscribe click here http://jumboleadmagnet.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=murdercoffeeco.com