Kozhikode: Prime suspect in the Koodathayi serial killings, Jolly Joseph, has reportedly said that she killed one of the victims, Mathew Manjadiyil, to cover up the three murders she had committed earlier.

Mathew was the maternal uncle of Jolly's first husband Roy Thomas, another victim. She had owned up to killing Roy and his parents before Mathew. The latter was allegedly targeted by Jolly as he suspected her hand in their deaths.

Jolly had allegedly first killed her mother-in-law Annamma Thomas in 2002, then father-in-law Tom Thomas in 2008. Next, she targeted her husband in 2011.

During the interrogation by the Koyilandi police on Thursday, Jolly confessed that she had killed Mathew by mixing cyanide in alcohol.

"I feared he would be an obstacle in my path. I succeeded in killing him in my very first attempt," she reportedly said as per police sources.

The latest revelation comes as the police probe into the sinister plot in which six members of the Ponnamattom family at Koodathayi in Kerala’s Kozhikode district were eliminated one after the other by her after giving poison-laced food or drink over a period of 14 years from 2002.

Why Mathew??

Soon after Roy's death, his uncle Mathew insisted on getting a post-mortem done. Mathew was in the forefront of getting all formalities done and also got the permission from Roy's brother, Rojo. After the autopsy revealed that Roy died due to consuming cyanide, Mathew's suspicion turned towards Jolly.

That's when I began to plot ways to kill Mathew, Jolly told the cops.

Jolly then consciously made efforts to be friendly with Mathew.

A retired solider, Mathew always had a steady supply of alcohol. He even gifted liquor bottles to Jolly.

She had used the cyanide remaining after using a part to kill Roy to spike Mathew's drink. She picked the day when other relatives had gone for a wedding at Kattappana in Idukki.

Jolly was given the cyanide by co-accused M S Mathew, another kin.

She has reportedly told the cops that she did not even inform him about the murder. And that she alone had plotted and committed the murder.

She further claimed that she planned to get rid of the cyanide after killing Mathew but then stored the poison. She believed that she would be free after Mathew’s murder but ended up killing two more (Sily and her daughter Alphine), Jolly said in her chilling confession.

As was reported earlier Sily was targeted as she wanted to marry her husband Shaju. She succeeded in her mission after these two additional murders and the role of her current husband Shaju too is under a cloud.

As was reported earlier Sily was targeted as Jolly wanted to marry her husband Shaju. She achieved this goal after the two additional murders of Sily and Alphine. The role of Shaju too is under a cloud over their deaths.