Yahoo News Netflix's Ice Cold: Murder, Coffee and Jessica Wongso: Where is Jessica Wongso now?
On 28 September, Netflix is set to drop yet another true crime documentary to the streaming platform: Ice Cold: Murder, Coffee and Jessica Wongso. This time, the new doc explores the 2016 murder of Mirna Salihin, who - aged just 27 - died after drinking a Vietnamese iced coffee at an Indonesian shopping centre that was suspected to be laced with cyanide.
After being pronounced dead before reaching the hospital in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital, eyes were quickly cast to her best friend, Jessica Wongso, who police believed to be the prime suspect.
Due to the nature of the crime, the case became Indonesia's most famous and heavily publicised murder, with the ruling even being televised and watched by millions of Indonesians across the country.
But in terms of Wongso, who actually is she, was she found guilty and where is she now?
Who is Jessica Wongso?
Jessica Wongso is an Indonesian-born permanent Australian resident who was found guilty of the premeditated murder of her best friend, Mirna Salihin. Wongso and Salihin had studied together at Sydney's design college, Billy Blue, for several years, and according to the victim's father, businessman, Edi Darmawan Salihin, the pair had been very close.
Upon finishing their studies, Wongso remained in Australia for seven years and worked as a graphic designer at Ambulance NSW, while Salihin returned to Indonesia.
According to reports given to the Indonesian authorities by the Australian Federal Police, Wongso had a complex mental health history. This included four suicide attempts that resulted in hospitalisation, a road accident fuelled by alcohol, displaying threatening behaviour towards her colleagues, plus an Apprehended Violence Order taken out against her by an ex-boyfriend.
Why did Jessica Wongso kill Mirna Salihin?
During the trial, the prosecution alleged that Wongso and Salihin had a disagreement regarding a man Wongso was dating in Australia. Apparently, Salihin objected to her friend's new partner and suggested she "break up with her boyfriend who was often rough and a drug user," as per prosecutor Ardito Muwardi, who disclosed this information on the first day of trial.
After breaking the relationship off, prosecutors claim Wongso was angry and upset with Salihin. This, they asserted, was the catalyst that set Wongso's murder plans into motion. Plus, that she was jealous of Salihin's happy marriage, and had not been invited to her wedding the previous year.
What happened at Jessica Wongso's trial?
After a four-month, highly publicised trial, Wongso was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the poisoning of Salihin. The judges accepted the prosecutors' claims that Wongso - who had arrived at the Olivier Cafe early after arranging to meet Salihin and a mutual friend - had ordered the drinks before her friends arrived and put a dose of cyanide in Salhin's. The prosecution alleged that Wongso placed her three shopping bags on the table to cover the drinks and block the view of the CCTV cameras, which was when she 'laced' the iced coffee.
The trial was deemed highly controversial, due to the fact it consisted mostly of expert witnesses, and no direct evidence of her guilt actually exists. "There is no evidence that Jessica put the cyanide into the glass and no one saw her put in the poison," Wongso's lawyer, Yudi Wibowo told ABC during the trial.
From limited CCTV footage to the toxicology test conducted 70 minutes after Salihin's death, which revealed no traces of cyanide in her urine, liver, gastric fluid or bile - it was only several days after her death that small traces of cyanide were found in her stomach fluid. Which, Jaya Surya Atmaja, the University of Indonesia's forensic pathologist suggested could be from the embalming chemicals.
Due to Wongso's permanent Australian residency status, she was also exempt from the death penalty, which is Indonesia's punishment for premeditated murder.
Where is Jessica Wongso now?
Wongso remains in prison in Indonesia and has currently served seven years of her two-decade sentence. It was revealed that throughout the trial, she showed little emotion, and a recorded video even captured her smiling and laughing when denying poisoning Salihin.
Following the guilty verdict, Wongso raised a lengthy appeal that was rejected at both The Jakarta High Court and the Supreme Court. "[We] reject the cessation," the Supreme Court spokesman said at the time.
Ice Cold: Murder, Coffee and Jessica Wongso will be released on Netflix on Thursday 28 September.
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