On Friday, the police dug up the church cemeteries to exhume the bodies of six members of an extended family who were found dead over a period of 2002-2016, downing the curtains on a case of gory family dispute. Jolly Thomas, wife of Roy Thomas who died in 2011 at Koodathayi in Kerala's Kozhikode district, admitted to the murders of retired educational department officer P. Tom Thomas (66) his wife Annamma (57) son Roy Thomas (40) wife of Tom Thomas's brother's son Shaju Skaria, Sily Shaju (44) her two-year-old daughter Alphine, and Annamma's brother Mathew Manjadiyil (68).
Background of the case
The news hit headlines after eerie similarities between all the six deaths, in a span of 14 years, came to the fore. In all the cases, traces of cyanide had been found and it had been a case of slow poisoning, police said. "We found that the Roy's death had occurred due to cyanide, while the wife had claimed he had died of cardiac arrest." Kozhikode rural superintendent of police K.G. Simon told reporters that Jolly was arrested in connection with the murder of her husband Roy, with whom she did not have a good relationship. The accused admitted to the police that she poisoned her husband. Each of the murders had different motives. Police said the first victim Annamma Thomas, who was the power centre of the family, was killed to claim her money, while it is suspected that Tom Thomas, the retired government employee, was murdered to get more share of the property.
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On August 22, 2002, retired schoolteacher Annamma collapsed after consuming mutton soup. She had foam coming out of her mouth, and died before reaching the hospital. On August 26, 2008, after consuming mashed tapioca, Tom Thomas vomited and collapsed. His son Roy's wife Jolly was the only person present in the house at the time. On September 9, 2011, Roy Thomas had food soon after returning home and rushed to the washroom, where he vomited and collapsed. His wife Jolly and daughter were the only ones with him in the house at the time. On February 24, 2014, Mathew Manjadiyil was alone at his home when he collapsed and died. Jolly, who stayed nearby, alerted neighbours who found Mathew lying on the floor with foam coming out of his mouth. On May 3, 2014, Alphine Shaju consumed meat and bread on the day of her brother's first holy communion and lost consciousness. On January 11, 2016, Sily Shaju, mother of late Alphine Shaju, had reached Thamarasserry along with Jolly after attending a relative's marriage. She collapsed on to her lap with foam coming out of her mouth. One year after his first wife Sily’s death, on February 6, 2017, Shaju, now an accused, married Jolly despite opposition from family.
Latest updates
Kattappana native Jolly married Roy 22 years before, after meeting him at the residence of her relative Mathew Manjadiyil (also dead). Tiffs are assumed to have erupted in the family life of the duo. Jolly has been running a beauty parlour and a private educational institution. As the police questioning progressed, she, according to the police, admitted to the murders while also name two co-conspirators—M.S Mathew and Praju Kumar. Reportedly, it was a co-accused, employed with a jeweller, who procured the cyanide. Goldsmiths use cyanide to extract the yellow metal.
But, slip-ups happened. Jolly advertised that she was an entry-level lecturer in NIT Calicut, even in the cards used as invitations for ceremonies related to the passing of her husband Roy. This was a bland-faced lie, according to the investigators, who were stunned that even her husband and close family had no idea of the falsehood. Then, during questioning, the police discovered that Jolly was following their investigation closely as well, which raised alarm bells. "She is a brilliant criminal," said Simon. The investigating officer said that two main things indicated Jolly's involvement in the series of crimes. One, Jolly lied that she was a lecturer at the National Institute of Technology (NIT). Two, she faked the documents to procure the family property.
As investigation progressed, other peculiarities came to the spotlight. Jolly, who was engaged in a wealth dispute with her husband Roy's brother Rojo, asked the latter to withdraw a case expressing suspicion of foul play in the deaths of his family members, in return for her stepping away from financial claims. Over 200 were questioned in relation with the case. Jolly refused to cooperate with either a narco or a polygraph test.
Tom Thomas and his wife Annamma Thomas, who were retired government employees, had the habit of writing a diary, which has since gone missing. Roy was engaged in several business ventures at Mukkom and Thamarassery but none of them was successful. It is presumed that Annamma used to fund her son’s businesses. Moreover, when Tom Thomas died, the balance in his bank account was a mere Rs 22,000. According to the Crime Branch, it was strange that a couple who were both former government staff had such a small amount of their savings left. The police are also planning to trace the money received as pension benefits.
-Inputs from Onmanorama