Kerala serial murders: Second husband admits to helping Jolly kill his wife, child

In a crucial revelation, Shaju Skaria, second husband of a woman accused of multiple murders at Koodathayi in Kozhikode district of Kerala, on Monday confessed to the police that he had assisted Jolly Joseph to kill his first wife and daughter.

Shaju admitted that he brought his wife Sily to the dental clinic, where Jolly poisoned her. His father, Skaria, also knew about this, he told the police.

Earlier, Shaju had said he kept silent because he feared for his life.

Shaju Skaria, who married Jolly Joseph after the death of his wife and daughter, has been taken into custody by the Crime Branch probing the serial murders within the family.

Jolly Joseph, aged 47, confessed to poisoning her husband, his parents, an uncle as well as Shaju's first wife and his child with her. She was arrested on Saturday.

Two others were also arrested in the case for supplying her with cyanide.

Shaju Skaria, who had insisted that he had no idea about the murders in the family, cracked up during interrogation in the crime branch office at Payyoli on Monday. He has been taken to the office of superintendent of police at Vadakara for further questioning. He confessed he knew about the murders.

Shaju Skaria came under a shadow of doubt after Jolly Joseph's oldest son said his mother could not have carried out the murders alone.

Romo, Jolly Joseph's son from her first marriage, said Shaju Skaria never mourned the death of his first wife and their two-year-old daughter. Romo also said his mother was heard consoling Shaju Skaria that his wife's death was for good. Romo also brushed aside Shaju Skaria's charges that his father was an alcoholic.

Ghastly series

The deaths in the Ponnamthottam family at Koodathayi started on August 22, 2002, when Jolly Joseph's mother-in-law, Annamma, collapsed after she was served mutton soup. Annamma's husband Tom Thomas died under similar circumstances on August 26, 2008. Jolly Joseph's husband Roy Thomas died on September 30, 2011. Though a post-mortem examination found traces of cyanide in his body, the case was closed as suicide.

Roy Thomas's uncle, M.M. Mathew, died in 2014. It was Jolly Joseph who alerted the others about the death of the old man who was alone at home at that time.

Jolly Joseph, in a possible move to marry Skaria, Roy's cousin, poisoned his two-year-old daughter and wife in 2014 and 2016. They got married in 2017.

Jolly Joseph has two sons from her first marriage. The police have exhumed all the bodies and sent the remains for forensic tests.

The police revealed the shocking murder series when they acted on a complaint by Roy Thomas's brother Rojo, who lives in the United States, in July.

Jolly Joseph's attempts to claim a larger share of family property, using a forged will, forced the family to connect the dots.

Probe widens

The probe has been extended to several suspects, including a retired police officer who closed Roy's death as suicide in 2011. Ramanunni, who investigated the mysterious death as a sub inspector at Kodenchery, has been served a summons to appear before the crime branch. He did not bother to trace the origin of the cyanide found in Roy Thomas's remains.

Ramanunni said he received no directions from his superiors when he was probing the case. There were no complaints from the family or the local people to compel him to go ahead with the probe, he said.

The police officer said he had nothing to suspect Jolly Joseph back then. The police are also looking at any support Jolly Joseph received in carrying out the murders. She received cyanide from a goldsmith through a relative, both of who are in custody.

The investigators are also looking at the role of some influential people, including government officers and local political leaders, in connection with the crimes. The team is waiting to interrogate the arrested persons on Wednesday before making any more arrests.