By: Leah
Edited by: Harith Syafiee
In the small Indian town of Koodathayi, the lives of an entire family would change forever. All because of one woman. Her name is Jolly Joseph. Before we delve into this wild case, let’s start at the very beginning (a very good place to start). Jolly Joseph was born in Kerala in 1972. She was raised with a strong sense of community and had a very modest upbringing. This would soon change when she meets Roy Thomas. He was the son of two retired teachers and lived quite comfortably. While his lifestyle wasn’t exactly lavish, it was appealing to Jolly. The couple wed in 1997, and Jolly would move to Koodathayi into the Thomas house, where she lived with her husband, brother and sister-in-law, and parents-in-law. The couple would go on to have two sons.
For many years, Jolly’s mother-in-law, Annamma, had asked her to find a job, as she was supposedly well-educated. You see, Jolly had claimed to have a bachelor’s and master's degree in commerce. So naturally, Annamma encouraged Jolly to find a job as she was essentially a sitting duck at home. However, it would later be revealed that Jolly was merely a high school graduate who had forged her certifications. In 2002, Annamma died suddenly from what was believed to be heart failure. As it was a supposedly natural death, no autopsy was performed on the deceased. This would begin a series of mysterious deaths, all revolving around the Thomas house, also dubbed ‘The Pink House’.
The second death occurred six years later, in 2008. Jolly’s father-in-law, Tom Thomas, was a senior clerk in the Department of Education and owned the land on which the Pink House was built. Jolly feared that the land would be given to Rojo, her brother-in-law. Tom flew back to Koodathayi when Jolly claimed to be pregnant. Jolly then gave her father-in-law a capsule that was once used for his medication. That same day, he died of a supposed cardiac arrest. Shortly after his death, Jolly presented Roy’s siblings, Renji and Rojo, with a forged will, stating that the house would be passed down to Roy and Jolly.
Three years later, Roy Thomas, Jolly’s husband, unexpectedly died. He was found hunched over in the bathroom and passed away on the way to the hospital. This raised some suspicions with Roy’s uncle, Matthew, who requested that an autopsy be done. The autopsy revealed that there was cyanide in Roy’s body. However, Jolly managed to convince the family and police that Roy had committed suicide due to the burden of debt he was under. Most family members accepted this as a fact, save for the few who knew that Roy would not leave his family to deal with his burdens alone. Several of the family members had spoken out, saying that despite Jolly’s claims of loan sharks and debt, no one ever came to the house asking for the remaining money following Roy’s death. It was later revealed that Jolly was having an affair at the time, and her husband confronted her, leading her to put cyanide in his food.
As a quick sidebar, I’d like to tell you about a specific detail in Roy’s death that caught my attention. During Jolly’s reiteration of the night Roy died, she stated that when he came home from work, he refused dinner and immediately went upstairs, where he was later found in the bathroom. However, in the autopsy, cyanide, rice, and curry were all found in his stomach, meaning that he did in fact eat very shortly before his death.
The next death was three years later, in 2014. Roy’s uncle Matthew had always been suspicious of Jolly. From the time his nephew had died, Matthew had always kept a close eye on Jolly’s movements in the Thomas home. Matthew had discovered that Jolly was in a relationship with a man named MS Mathew, the same man that Roy had accused Jolly of having an affair with. Jolly wanted to ensure that Matthew was unable to expose her to the family. To do so, Jolly decides to mix cyanide into his drink. He died shortly before arriving at the hospital.
In the same year, a child would become Jolly’s next victim. This little girl’s name was Alphine Shaju. She was the daughter of Roy’s first cousin, who, at the time of her death, was only two years old. At a family Holy Communion, Alphine began choking on some food and later passed away. It was later revealed that Jolly had given food laced with cyanide to the toddler. You see, Jolly and Alphine’s father, Shaju, were having an affair. Many have speculated that this was Jolly’s way of removing any ‘obstacles’ in the way of her desire to court Shaju. However, the true motive remains unclear.
Two years later, the final death would take place. This was the wife of Shaju, named Sili. After the death of Alphine, Jolly became closer to Sili. She had advised Sili to take mushroom capsules (the same ones that her father-in-law had used for his depression). One day, Jolly advised Sili to take one of the capsules, which were filled with cyanide at this point. She would die a few hours later from respiratory failure. Less than a year after the death of Sili, Jolly would marry her widower.
Some of you may be wondering: how did she get away with these murders, and how did she finally get caught? Well, Roy’s brother, Rojo, had gotten suspicious of these deaths and how eerily similar they were. Rojo went to the authorities to report his suspicions of Jolly’s involvement. Renji discovers that Roy’s autopsy report reveals that he died due to cyanide ingestion. This had been a secret for many years since the report was handed over to Jolly. Rojo’s decision was not met with fanfare by the town, as Jolly was a well-known person with a good reputation. However, his decision would ultimately lead to the arrest of Jolly in 2019, and she confessed to all six murders. Her first affair partner, Matthew, was also arrested, as he was the one providing Jolly with the cyanide.
As a final remark, I’d like to say that I am merely a reteller of a gruesome crime. I try to ensure that all the victims’ final moments are captured accurately and respectfully. For further information, I urge you to look here and here, and also to watch this Netflix documentary regarding the case.
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