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Toxicologist assures that cyanide killed Mirna
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Defendant in a murder case, Jessica Kumala Wongso, stands trial at the Central Jakarta District Court on July 27. She was accused of murdering Wayan Mirna Salihin on Jan. 6. (Antara Foto/Yudhi mahatma)
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orensic toxicologist I Made Agus Gelgel Wirasuta testified in a trial against defendant Jessica Kumala Wongso on Thursday, assuring that Wayan Mirna Salihin died because of cyanide poisoning.
"Cyanide will have an irritative and corrosive effect. It will also have a burning taste," Gelgel told the judges at the Central Jakarta District Court, adding that according to his examination, Mirna might have consumed 12.8 milligram to 27.2 milligram of cyanide.
Previously, Boon Juwita, alias Hani, and Olivier café manager Devi Siagian claimed to have had tasted Mirna's coffee leftovers where a burning sensation was felt on their tongues.
Meanwhile, according to police's forensic laboratory, Mirna's gastric pH was 5.5 or almost neutral. Normally, human pH levels range from 1 to 3. Her stomach was also found to be irritated and had been eroded from the corrosive substance.
Gelgel said cyanide dissolved easily, almost leaving no traces as initially the case with Mirna as she was not examined directly after her death. Cyanide could dissolve into gas, acid, and carbon monoxide, which was why in her liver, doctors in the beginning could not find thiocyanate or other substances that indicated Mirna had been poisoned.
He also assured that cyanide had killed Mirna after she drank the Vietnamese coffee. “If she was poisoned before coming to the cafe, she likely would not have made it to the cafe, at all,” Gelgel said.
However, Jessica's lawyer Otto Hasibuan stressed that Gelgel did not know for sure that Mirna passed away from cyanide poisoning as his examination was based on police reports. Mirna's blood was also not examined. (bbn)
