What were Jolly Joseph’s crimes?
The six murders from the Koodathayi Cyanide Killings were all linked to the Thomas-Shaju family. Almost 5 years following the sixth and final murder, Jolly Joseph was revealed to the be mastermind behind the deaths. Netflix’s documentary, Curry & Cyanide, revolves around the life and crimes of Jolly Joseph, the prime accused in the case who was confronted by her oldest son, Remo Roy.
Jolly Joseph is accused of having killed her mother-in-law, father-in-law, husband, husband’s maternal uncle, as well as the wife and daughter of her husband’s paternal cousin. The six murders linked to Jolly Joseph had gone unnoticed until Jolly’s son, Remo, confronted her about the murders.
Who is M.S. Mathew?
After her first alleged murder by cyanide poisoning, Jolly’s case was closely observed by her sister-in-law, Renji Thomas. Renji is also the one who eventually found details in her late brother Roy’s autopsy reports that finally had Jolly arrested. During her mother and Jolly’s first alleged victim, Annamma Thomas’ funeral, Renji notices Jolly being around her distant relative and suspected lover, M.S. Mathew.
After his arrest, the police revealed that M. S. Mathew was a jewellery shop employee. Mathew was a distant relative of Jolly who helped her procure the cyanide that she allegedly used to kill her six victims. Claims from Mathew state that Jolly has asked him for cyanide to kill a rat in her house as it was used in jewellery businesses. Mathew reportedly told the police that he procured the cyanide from his colleague, Praji Kumar, after giving him two bottles of alcohol and ₹5,000.
Who is Praji Kumar?
A goldsmith by profession, Praji Kumar was arrested along with M. S. Mathew for providing cyanide to Jolly which eventually led to the murders of six members of the Thomas-Shaju family. Praji Kumar was eventually let go after he stated that he had no knowledge of Mathew or Jolly’s intentions and only assumed the poison was being bought to kill a rat.
Where is M. S. Mathew now?
The documentary on Netflix reveals that Jolly’s alleged accomplice was seen being close to her at Annamma’s funeral. Renji reveals that Jolly had revealed that she was talking to her relative about money matters. The interaction was therefore dismissed which led to Jolly committing more murders by poisoning members of her family.
Jolly Joseph is in remand at the district prison in Kozhikode – Kerala, India. Suspected to be Jolly’s accomplice in the murders, M. S. Mathew is also in police custody.
What do you think of Jolly Joseph’s case? Let us know in the comments below.
My frank opinion is that she has a psychiatric problem that has driven her to do this. Her facial expression and body language in her photos post imprisonment is a dead giveaway!