Kerala Police Crime Branch solved the case of serial deaths in a Catholic family in Kozhikode district between 2002 and 2016.<br /><br />As part of the probe, the police had opened family tombs on October 4 to examine the reasons behind the deaths of six persons from a family who died under mysterious circumstances.<br /><br />Tragedy hit Ponnamattom family one after another over 14 years. Kerala Police detained the family’s daughter-in-law Jolly, her second husband Shaju and another relative who supplied cyanide to carry out the murders.<br /><br />"The accused made meticulous planning and charted the safe mode to conceal the murders. It was a challenging case, a police official told India Today.<br /><br />When retired teacher Annamma Thomas (57) collapsed and died in 2002, the family treated it as a natural death. After six years, her husband Tom Thomas (66) died of heart failure.<br /><br />In 2011, their son, Roy Thomas (40), died in a similar manner. The autopsy report revealed poisoning before death. In 2014, Annamma’s brother, Mathew Manjadiyil (67), died similarly.<br /><br />All four were buried in the cemetery of Lourde Matha Chuch Koodathai under the Thamarssery eparchy of Syro-Malabar Church. In 2016, their relative’s daughter, Alphonsa (2), died of a heart attack and within months her mother, Sili (27), also died.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Roy’s widow, Jolly, married Sili’s widower Shaju and claimed ownership of the family property with the support of the last will prepared by her father-in-law Tom.<br /><br />Tom’s younger son Mojo, an NRI based in the US, challenged the transfer of ownership of family property and lodged complaints with the Crime Branch regarding the serial deaths.<br /><br />Kerala is shocked by the murders carried out by a housewife in a reputed family who concealed it for 17 years.<br /><br />"The accused made meticulous plans and charted a safe mode to conceal the murders. We have collected call detail records and are waiting for scientific evidences and exhumed the bodies of the deceased. It was a challenging case, a police official told INDIA TODAY.<br /><br />The police interrogated Jolly and Shaju eight times and found discrepancies in their statements.<br /><br />The police investigation found that Jolly was present in the locations when all six persons died. When the police asked Jolly to undergo polygraph tests, she refused on health grounds.<br /><br />Police said Jolly, who was a commerce graduate, had claimed she was an engineering graduate and was working as a lecturer at the National Institute of Technology (NIT).<br /><br />While verifying call details, police found that Jolly and Shaju were in constant touch during odd hours. When the dead bodies were exhumed, forensic experts found the presence of cyanide.<br /><br />In all the cases, traces of cyanide had been found and it had been a case of slow poisoning, police said.<br /><br />Crime,Kerala,Annamma Thomas,Jolly,Kozhikode,serial deaths,Catholic family,daughter-in-law Jolly,deaths of six persons from a family
