Who was Jolly Joseph?
One of the three involved in the Koodathayi Cyanide Killings, Jolly Joseph is accused of killing her husband, her in-laws and 3 other members of her husband’s family for unclear reasons. After an elaborate affair with Roy Thomas, Jolly married Roy, despite the disapproval of the Thomas family patriarch.
Years later, after the birth of her first child Remo, Jolly faces issues with her mother-in-law, Annamma Thomas. It is believed that the root of these problems lay in Jolly’s fake Master in Commerce degrees which she illegally procured to marry Thomas.
Later revelations reveal that Jolly had also lied about being employed at the National Institute of Technology, Calicut – Kerala, India. Jolly is accused of committing six murders in total, three of which were her immediate family members and three other members of her extended family, including an innocent 2-year-old toddler.
Jolly Joseph’s Victims
Kozhikode Police are investigating a total of six known murders committed by Jolly Joseph, all by cyanide poisoning. The alleged crimes of Jolly were investigated in late 2019, 17 years after the initial murder. Jolly’s crimes were committed in the Thomas-Shaju family over the span of 14 years.
Annamma Thomas
Jolly’s first alleged victim was Annamma Thomas, who died in 2002 after drinking a glass of water following her regular walk. It has been revealed that Annamma started palpitating and Renji Thomas (Annamma’s daughter) reveals how her mother’s face had gone red. Annamma was taken to the hospital where she later died of what the doctors suspected was a heart attack.
Neither the doctors nor the police asked for an autopsy as Annamma was already severely ill. Annamma was buried in the Thomas family grave. 17 years later, after Jolly’s arrest, Annamma’s remains were exhumed which did not show any sign of cyanide poisoning. It is suspected that the remains did not show poisoning due to the long gap between Annamma’s passing and the autopsy.
Tom Thomas
Six years following Annamma’s death, Tom Thomas passed away in 2008 after consuming a mushroom capsule. It was revealed that the capsule was one that he often used for anxiety and depression. Relatives claim that Jolly handed Tom the glass of watch to consume the tablet which eventually caused him to swoon and faint, foaming at the mouth.
Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas, Jolly’s first husband, died in 2011, 3 years after Tom’s death due to cyanide poisoning. Roy’s autopsy reports reveal that his last consumed meal was rice and curry, which contained traces of cyanide. Roy’s maternal uncle Mathew Manjayadil was suspicious of Jolly’s actions and had called for a post-mortem analysis of the cause of Roy’s death.
Roy’s sudden interest in the Thomas family’s wealth raised suspicions in the minds of Rojo and Renji (Roy’s siblings). Renji reveals that Jolly had forced Roy to use a fake power of attorney signed by late Tom to try and gain ownership of the family home. Years after Roy’s death, Renji reveals to have read her brother’s autopsy with quite detail which revealed more of Jolly’s lies. These lies helped Renji and the others involved build a case against Jolly.
Mathew Manjayadil
Despite his doubts about Jolly, Mathew Manjayadil, Annamma’s brother had a friendly relationship with Jolly. Renji and Rojo reveal that Uncle Mathew had been in touch with Jolly even after Roy’s death. However, 3 years after Roy’s death, as of 2014, Mathew was found dead after consuming poison-laden whisky which Jolly allegedly offered to him.
Alphine Shaju
Roy’s paternal cousin, Shaju Zachariah, was revealed to be a man Jolly had an interest in. Family members and eyewitnesses reveal that Jolly and her sons attended the First Holy Communion celebration of Shaju’s son.
At the 2014 event, Jolly was seen feeding Shaju and his wife -Sily (Cily)’s 2-year-old daughter, Alphine Shaju. Remo Roy (Jolly’s son) reveals that the toddler started convulsing after “choking on food” which eventually led to her death.
Sily Shaju (Cily Shaju)
Following Alphine’s death, Jolly befriended Shaju’s wife Sily (Cily). Witness revelations claim that Jolly had offered the same mushroom capsule as Tom Thomas. The capsule was consumed at a dental clinic in the presence of her husband, Shaju Zachariah. Sily (Cily) was rushed to the hospital soon after but could not be saved. Autopsy reports of Sily (Cily)’s remains after she was exhumed reveal that these also had traces of Cyanide on them.
Where is Jolly Joseph now?
After Sily (Cily)’s death, Jolly Joseph married Shaju Zachariah in 2016. Following this, the six murders from the Thomas-Shaju family came to light from an investigation in late 2019.
Rojo Thomas, Roy’s brother, complained to the police about the six unnatural deaths whose investigation all point towards Jolly Joseph. Jolly eventually confessed to using cyanide to kill the six which she obtained with the help of her relative/lover, M. S. Mathew, and his colleague Praji Kumar, a jewellery shop employee.
Jolly and M. S. Mathew are in remand at the district prison in Kozhikode – Kerala, India.
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