T

he police are either reluctant to name a suspect in the recent death of Wayan Mirna Salihin, or looking into the possibility of a '€œmurder mastermind'€ other than the two friends who were with Mirna at the time of her death, according to University of Indonesia crime expert Eko Haryanto.

Eko applauded the police for their responsive measures, particularly in identifying the chemical used to kill Mirna, but noted that the investigation seemed protracted for such an apparently simple case.

'€œI think they'€™re worried about fingering the wrong suspect. Moreover, the police may be dealing with important persons in the case,'€ Eko said.

Mirna came from an affluent family, as do her friends Hani and Jessica Kumala Wongso, who were with her when she died.

The city has abounded with rumors that Jessica is the killer; she has been questioned five times by police, and Hani twice.

The case was not complex, Eko said, as it involved only a handful of figures present at the restaurant, but would become more difficult to unravel if the existence emerged of a plotter not present at the time, and who had '€œspecial access to cyanide'€.

'€œChemists don'€™t tend to stock cyanide [..] Jessica might have access to it, but did she kill Mirna? We don'€™t yet know,'€ Eko said

On Tuesday, wartakotalive.com reported that Jessica worked as a graphic designer in the chemical division of a private company.

However, Eko urged the public not to jump to conclusions.

He emphasized that Jessica, along with Hani, might only be a witness with important information regarding the case.

Three weeks into the investigation, the police have yet to name any suspects in the case, which saw Mirna die after drinking coffee at an eatery at a Central Jakarta mall. The police have revealed that they found traces of cyanide in the coffee Mirna drank, as well as in her stomach. Hani also tasted the coffee after Mirna complained of its strange taste.

Jakarta Police general crimes director Sr. Comr. Krishna Murti said on Tuesday that the police were waiting for testimony from experts before moving to name a suspect.

However, Krishna declined to elaborate on the testimony the force needed. '€œWe need more testimony. We'€™re looking to summon two or three experts,'€ he said.

The police would spend two days consulting with the experts in question, he added.

The police, he went on, had decided to not rush into naming a suspect following an '€œextraordinary recommendation'€ from the Jakarta Prosecutor'€™s Office advising investigators to collect more expert testimony.

Earlier in the day, investigators from the Jakarta Police met with Jakarta prosecutors for a closed case expose on Mirna'€™s death.

Jakarta Prosecutor'€™s Office general crimes assistant Mochammad Nasrun explained that after the five-hour meeting, the prosecutors had concluded that the police had conducted a well-structured and proper investigation.