Kozhikode: Prime accused in the Koodathayi serial killings, Jolly Joseph, had tried to kill more people, the police have said.

Kozhikode rural SP K G Simon said that the police have received complaints even from other districts after Jolly's role in killing the six members of the Ponnamattom family at Koodathayi in Kerala's Kozhikode district was revealed. However, the cops are currently giving priority to the six murders and not at the alleged murder attempts.

Shadow of suspicion

The cops were suspicious about Jolly from the very beginning. And the suspicion strengthened after her claim to be an assistant professor at the NIT Calicut was proved wrong. The probe was extended to include her after the cops noted Jolly's presence at the time of each death, the similarity in the deaths and the contradictions in her statements.

Jolly had said that heart attack was the reason for the death of most of the victims. However, the police noted that the symptoms shown by the victims were akin to those who would have consumed cyanide.

Jolly was arrested over the murder of her husband Roy Thomas. She also allegedly confessed that she had given cyanide-laced food or drink to eliminate other five members of the family one after the other from 2002 to 2016.

The police initiated an investigation after Roy’s brother Rojo, who is in the US, filed a complaint. While the investigation was on, Jolly contacted Rojo and offered to settle a property dispute between them. However, she put forth a condition that for this Rojo had to withdraw the complaint on the deaths in the family. Jolly's stand that there was no need to investigate the mystery surrounding her husband's death also prompted the cops to focus their probe on her.

Jolly has dual personality?

The police noted that Jolly had skilfully executed each murder. SP K G Simon said that this was not expertise, rather Jolly suffered from dual personality.

"If not for the murders, Jolly would have been a respected person in her native place. There is no need to doubt whether a woman alone can commit such heinous murders? She was able to deceive her husband and family for 14 years by claiming that she was an assistant professor at the NIT. Such a woman is capable of doing all this," the senior officer said.

"Jolly has no qualms over the murders she committed. However, she is uneasy about the reports in media about her. She is apprehensive whether these would affect her children's studies," the SP said.

Conspiracy to murder

Jolly had plotted the murder of Roy's uncle Mathew Manjadiyil the most. If she had not been arrested now, she would have committed more murders. The time gap between murders had reduced and this pointed at such a possibility, the police said.

The police deduce that Jolly could have used sodium cyanide instead of potassium cyanide, which is more expensive, to commit the murders.

Why no post-mortem for five deaths?

However, questions remain on why no post-mortem was not conducted in the five deaths of the Ponnamattom family? Despite cyanide traces being found, the investigation into Roy's death was stalled for years. Three reasons are given for these:

* Relatives thought that conducting post-mortem and probe for each death would bring disgrace to family

* The police also took advantage of the family's reluctance to hold an investigation.

* Jolly also expertly managed to silence those who raised any suspicions.

Cyanide traces were found in Roy's body, in the post-mortem conducted by additional professor Dr R Sanu of Kozhikode Medical College Hospital in 2011. The doctor could recognise the distinctive odour of cyanide and made his findings clear. However, the results of the chemical tests were available only five years later in 2016. If the police had carried out an effective probe based on the doctor's findings, then the other murders could have been avoided.

However, Jolly insisted that further investigation into Roy’s death could jeopardise the children's future. The police too concluded it to be a case of suicide and even those family members, who raised suspicions, did not voice any objections.

Allegations were also raised that attempts were made at a higher-level to prove that it was a case of suicide. Though the probe team tried to contact Dr Sanu, who conducted the autopsy, the officers could not meet him. The doctor died of kidney ailment two months ago.

Deaths of Sily, Alphine

During the time of her pregnancy, Sily, wife of Roy’s cousin Shaju, had suffered from chicken pox. Rumours were actively spread that the child, Alphine, was also affected then. Alphine was poisoned during the feast of her brother's Holy Communion. She was first taken to a nearby private hospital and then to the private hospital in Kozhikode. She died three days after undergoing treatment at the hospital. Neither Ponnamattom family nor Sily's family had sought for a post-mortem then.

The accused was also able to remove any doubt on Sily's death due to the earlier two murder attempts. Twice before Sily was admitted to the hospital in an unconscious state and both times, the cause for the illness could not be found. Thus, relatives assumed that Sily was suffering from some serious illness, SP K G Simon said. Joly had married Shaju after his wife and daughter died.

Mathew’s death

Jolly was able to easily convince that Roy's elderly parents Tom Thomas and Annamma had died of heart attack. Apart from vomiting, there was no other major symptom shown by the victims. However, Jolly could have been caught for the murder of Mathew Manjadiyil for which she had planned meticulously.

She had mixed cyanide in alcohol to kill Mathew.

Jolly called out to the neighbours after she ensured that Mathew's body had gone still. However, when neighbours shook Mathew, he moved slightly and murmured something. Jolly then backed off to kitchen and did not return to the front portion of the house. Mathew was rushed to the hospital and though people asked for Jolly, she was not to be found anywhere. Still none had any doubts over Jolly.

"Never say no to a post-mortem. That's biggest lesson that Koodathayi case has taught us. Doctors very dutifully carry out the autopsy. It cannot be said how and in what circumstance that the autopsy would prove to be crucial," K G Simon said.