Kozhikode: A woman suspected to have poisoned her husband and five others in a family at Koodathayi in Kerala's Kozhikode district might have swindled huge amounts of money from several businessmen, but none of them want to be seen to have involved with the multiple murder accused.
Jolly Joseph convinced a businessman in Thiruvambadi to part with more than Rs 50 lakh after posing as a real-estate dealer. The businessman had to sell off properties worth Rs 1 crore to settle his liabilities.
Jolly Joseph, who is in police custody for murdering her husband Roy Thomas in 2011, had collected money from several persons for real-estate deals but failed to repay the amount. Many of her creditors have told the investigators that she evaded them and ignored their demands for money but they did not want to press charges against her for fear of the public glare that any involvement in the case is sure to bring in.
Jolly Joseph spent a part of the borrowed money on botched business deals and splurged the rest. The businessman in Thiruvambadi told the police that he asked back his money several times before selling off his house and shops to repay the debts. The investigation team has decided to bring all of Jolly Joseph's financial dealings under scanner even if nobody raises any complaints. A local leader of the CPM is also suspected to have given money to Jolly Joseph.
Jolly Joseph is also suspected to have poisoned her parents-in-law, uncle as well as the wife and child of the man who she would later marry.
The investigation team has approached the court for the custody of the accused in the case related to the unnatural death of Sily, the wife of her current husband Shaju Sakharias, in 2016. She is likely to be produced before the Thamarasseri first class judicial magistrate's court on Tuesday.
The police might also ask for an extension of custody of second accused M S Mathew, who has been listed as second accused in the Sili murder case too. The case would come up before a new judge because the case has been filed by the Thamarasseri police.
Advocates at Thamarasseri are likely to protest the fixing of B A Aloor as Jolly Joseph's counsel after the accused told the media that she was misled into signing the vakalat. She said that she was told her signature was needed to avail of free legal counsel and she would not have given her case to Aloor, who was a reputation of representing accused in sensational murder cases.
Jolly Joseph came under more pressure when Sili's 16-year-old son told the investigators that his mother' lost consciousness after she drank some liquid given to her by Jolly Joseph at the Thamarasseri hospital. Jolly Joseph is also suspected to have killed Sili's younger child earlier. She married Shaju Sakharia after the death of Sili.
Sili's son said that he was a stranger in his own house after his father married Jolly Jospeh. He said that his step mother used to torture him and discriminate against him.
The police also found out that the phone number belonged to Jolly's deceased husband was later used by her friend, Johnson, who might have abused his job with the BSNL to manipulate documents and get hold of the SIM.
