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Woman Who Poisoned Friend's Coffee Was 'Triggered' By Her Happy Relationship

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Jessica Kumala Wongso, 28, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for slipping a fatal dose of cyanide into her friend's coffee in a crowded Indonesian restaurant on January 6 of this year.

Harrowing surveillance footage of the exact moment her friend, Wayan Mirna Salihin, drank the poisoned coffee was released by the police and used to convict Wongso.

The two women became friends while studying at Billy Blue College of Design in Sydney, Australia.

As the Guardian reports, the judges who handed down Wongso's conviction found that she didn't show any remorse or guilt for murdering her friend.

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Judge Binsar Gultom claimed it seemed clear that Wongso moved back to Indonesia from Australia – where she was a resident – because of personal problems.

Because of the defendant's personal problems in Australia which were so horrifying... [Wongso] decided to come back to Indonesia.

As for motive, it was argued Wongso had gone through a difficult breakup in 2014, and she was unable to move past it.

She and Salihin had lost touch, but according to ABC, they reconnected online and agreed to meet up.

But when they finally saw each other, Salihin was there with her husband. This happy, successful relationship allegedly "triggered" Wongso's rage and grief from her own breakup.

It was argued it was after this meeting that Wongso began planning her friend's murder.

ABC

Nearly 300 mg of cyanide was found in Salihin's body during the autopsy: nearly double the lethal dose.

The Australian Federal Police gave the Indonesian government documents they had on Wongso, which reportedly showed that Wongso had become unstable in the year before the murder, and was suffering from mental health problems.

Wongso remained impassive as they read her sentence.

After the decision was made, Wongso only had this to say:

I don't accept this decision because for me, it's not fair and very one-sided.