JAKARTA, Indonesia (4th UPDATE) – An Indonesian court on Thursday, October 27, found Jessica Wongso guilty of murder in a trial that has swept the nation. The court sentenced her to 20 years in prison.

(IN PHOTOS: Indonesia’s biggest murder trial ends in guilty verdict for Jessica Wongso)

Wongso was accused of putting a fatal dose of cyanide on her friend Mirna Salihin’s coffee on January 6, 2016. The two were university friends in Sydney.

Salihin, 27, died just minutes after sipping her Vietnamese iced coffee. Police say the coffee was laced with cyanide, which they allege Wongso placed in the cup.

Wongso denied the charges. (READ: What you need to know about Indonesia’s biggest murder trial)

When the verdict was read, the courtroom erupted in cheers. Wongso’s face remained stoic, while Salihin’s family, who was wearing shirts that read, “Justice for Mirna,” was seen celebrating. Salihin’s twin sister Sandy was emotional and sobbing.

The defense plans to appeal the sentence.

After her verdict was announced, Wongso then stood up and said, “I do not accept this verdict because it was so one-sided.”

She then approached her lawyer Otto Hasibuan, and was seen on camera asking him, “I don’t understand what happened. So I can’t go home?”. Hasibuan hugged her in response.

Hasibuan vowed to appeal the decision, accusing the judges of “acting like prosecutors.” Wongso remained calm and unemotional. She gave the cameras a smile before leaving the courtroom.

Her other lawyer, Yudi Wibowo and Wongso’s cousin, called the verdict “the death of law in Indonesia.”

Guilty verdict

Salihin’s family said they expected the verdict.

The victim’s husband, Arief Sumarko, thanked supporters but said, “No matter how long the sentence is, we will never be satisfied because it will never bring Mirna back.”

Salihin’s father Edi Dermawan said the sentence was well-deserved. 

“Today we found out who killed Mirna. The judge has done the right thing, deciding on a heavy sentence for Jessica.”

His wife added, “the judges have done their jobs.”

During the trial, which started at 1pm and ended at just before 5pm, the judges recapped the case but even early on, appeared to side with the prosecution.

The judge, Partahi Tulus Hutapea, maintained that Wongso’s motive to kill Salihin was due to Salihin insulting her ex-boyfriend and that “Jessica felt hurt.”

The judge said it was Wongso who had asked to meet at Cafe Olivier, where Salihin died. He also cited the suspicious early arrival of Wongso in the cafe and her insistence to order Salihin’s Vietnamese iced coffee.

He also said it could have only been Wongso who put cyanide in Salihin’s coffee. The defense has highlighted the fact that no cyanide was ever found on Salihin, nor has the prosecution been able to explain where or how she may have procured cyanide.

“The person with the highest chance to add cyanide in her coffee is Jessica, because no one else sat with Jessica,” the judge said.

Another judge pointed out that Wongso refused to take a sip of the coffee when asked by Salihin shortly after tasting it, but their other friend who was there, Hani, did. 

The second judge, Judge Binsar Gultom Panjaitan said, “If the defendant did not know the contents of the coffee, she should have been willing to taste the coffee.”

Wongso’s inaction when Salihin collapsed and convulsed before her death was yet another indication of her guilt, said the judge.

Judges also denied the defense’s argument that cyanide could not have been the definitive cause of death for certain, unless an autopsy were performed. Salihin’s family has denied an autopsy on grounds of religious beliefs.

Finally, the judges implied that Wongso’s tears during her defense were fake and that she did not regret her actions.

“The defendant’s act was deplorable and sadistic because it was committed against her own friend,” said presiding judge Kisworo. – Rappler.com