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Woman arrested for ‘spiking friend’s coffee with cyanide’

They were two teenage girls who became fast friends when they met at Sydney’s Billy Blue College of Design. Now one is dead and the other has been arrested for her alleged murder.

Wayan Mirna Salihin, 27, died in Jakarta, Indonesia, last month after taking just one sip of an iced coffee ordered by old school friend Jessica Kumala.

The Jakarta Post claims Mirna, a newlywed pictured above with her husband, complained the drink tasted odd before collapsing. She was taken to hospital but died a short time later.

She was later found to have cyanide in her stomach and police believe the coffee she consumed was laced with the deadly poison.

Jessica insists she had nothing to do with her friend’s death, but detectives say she arrived at the café early to order a cocktail for herself and a Vietnamese iced coffee for Mirna.

Yesterday, police arrested Jessica over Mirna’s alleged Mirna, with Chief Detective Krishna Murti saying police had gathered 20 witness statements over the past few weeks.

“Jessica’s statement is highly inconsistent with the facts we have gathered,” Mr Murti told reporters. “We will confirm whether her statement as a suspect is still consistent with her one as a witness or if she will give another statement.”

Jessica’s family have insisted she is innocent, claiming the coffee didn’t kill Mirna as another friend had taken a sip and was fine, and that rumours of a love triangle between Jessica, Mirna and Mirna’s new husband were untrue.

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