true crime

CCTV footage shows shocking moment woman drinks cyanide-laced coffee.

CCTV video has emerged of the moment a former Australian student drank the cyanide-laced coffee which allegedly led to her painful death.

The footage aired on ABC’s 7.30 program shows Mirna Salihan drinking an iced coffee in an upmarket Jarkarta cafe bought for her by her friend — and alleged murderer — Jessica Wongso.

Mirna begins to show signs of serious discomfort almost immediately after she sips the drink; waving her hand in front of her face and moving her head from side to side.

She then slumps in her chair.

“She’s obviously in pain, several times she waves her hand at her mouth. I heard the drug destroys everything on the way … I heard her stomach was destroyed because [of] the poison,” her husband Arief Soemarko told 7.30.

“I’m devastated about how she felt that day.”

Mirna married her partner Arief shortly before her death. Source: Facebook

Salihan and Wongso first met when they studied together at Billy Blue Design College in Sydney, where the latter continued to live after the pair graduated.

Although they had been friends for nearly seven years, they rarely saw each other, and their coffee date was a rare reunion.

Wongso is currently on trial for murder, but so far the case against her has been largely circumstantial with no evidence linking her to the purchase of cyanide.

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However, an autopsy  found an anomaly in Salihan's stomach caused by a corrosive agent and the amount of cyanide found in the iced coffee was more than enough to kill her, according to Indonesian prosecutors.

A new file provided by the Australian Federal Police also showed Wongso, who is an Australian residence, has a history of mental health problems.

The file, which was seen by 7.30, details four separate suicide attempts, threatening behaviour towards colleagues, a serious road accident caused by drunk driving, and an Apprehended Violence Order taken out against Wongso by an ex-boyfriend.

Salihan's husband, whom she married in November last year, told 7.30 her relationship with Wongso had been strained for some time.

"Every time Mirna wants to meet with Jessica, Mirna always ask me or [another friend] to come with her," he told 7.30.

"She's not comfortable with her alone. She's acting weird.

"We just want justice for Mirna. She was a lovely person taken away so suddenly from us."

The murder trial is one of Indonesia's most notorious and is expected to come to an end shortly — after Wongso finally takes to the stand.

Feature image: ABC