Koodathayi killer Jolly driven by a craving for money, power and status

"People held her in-laws Tom Thomas and wife Annamma in high esteem as both are teachers and all their family members well educated. This could have given Jolly a complex," said a close family source
Police exhuming bodies of the family members who died under mysterious circumstance, from their graves at Koodathayi. (Photo | EPS)
Police exhuming bodies of the family members who died under mysterious circumstance, from their graves at Koodathayi. (Photo | EPS)

KOZHIKODE: It is tough to sketch the real character of Jollyamma alias Jolly from the umpteen stories that are floating around. Neither relatives nor neighbours had the slightest knowledge about the killer in her. Except, that is, for her sister-in-law Renji Thomas, who began to get suspicious towards the end.

So, who was Jolly? From the words of her kin, neighbours and acquaintances, what TNIE gathered is that the 47-year-old, charged with murdering ex-husband Roy Thomas and accused in five other murders, definitely had a craving for money, power and status.

"Even before marriage, Jolly told Roy's parents that she was an M.Ed. degree holder, which she is not. After the marriage, what she had seen at the Ponnamattam house in Koodathayi might have given her an inferiority complex. People held her in-laws Tom Thomas and wife Annamma in high esteem as both are teachers and all their family members well educated. This could have given Jolly, who is from an agrarian background in Kattappana, a complex," said a close family source, who requested anonymity.

Jolly wanted to replace Annamma

Jolly walked into a house that everyone in Koodathayi frequented. Tom and Annamma were consulted before the future of kids in the village were decided. In the evenings, there would be teachers at the Ponnamattam house who came seeking Tom's help to sort out their PF and DA issues.

Annamma Thomas, meanwhile, ran the family and made the decision on expenses. With her around, the highly ambitious Jolly was pushed into a corner. Annamma used to ask Jolly why she was sitting idle at home despite being an M.Ed. holder.

"To hush up the truth, she might have come with the fabricated story of being an NIT teacher to earn respect within and outside the family," said a family source.

Jolly's rise as a capable woman in the family came after the death of Annamma in 2002. An unsuspecting father-in-law Tom Thomas backed Jolly. He insisted she learn driving. Jolly was only happy to oblige and soon her to and fro daily journey to NIT was in a Honda City.

Affinity towards wealth

Jolly and her father-in-law shared good relations and Tom trusted Jolly more than even his son Roy. Roy, who was said to be working in Hyderabad at the time of his marriage, stopped working afterwards.  

An argumentative man who was a foodie, Roy used to borrow money from his parents to do business. Tom had sold his property at Manimunda and transferred Rs 18 lakh into Jolly's account.

Roy first ran a sub-agency distributing engine oil in Wayanad, Adivaram areas, but it was a loss-making proposition. Then, he took a share in a textile business at Mukkam but that too failed. Lakhs of rupees were lost. A year before his death, Roy became a regular drunkard with a devil-may-care attitude. This caused friction in the Roy-Jolly relationship. Roy also used to wear 'Thakidu' and 'Raksha' as per the advice of astrologers.

Tom soon became disillusioned with his son and after giving another Rs 18 lakh to Roy and Jolly, he told them they had no further claim on the rest of the property. This invited Jolly's wrath towards her father-in-law.

Introvert Shaju

Her sore relationship with her first husband might have attracted Jolly towards an introvert Shaju, a high school teacher, said to be a bookworm. The easygoing Shaju was someone who Jolly might have thought would prove easy to handle. To become the wife of Shaju, she might have killed Roy, Shaju's wife Sily and daughter Alphine.

"Jolly was very active, friendly and respected by people in high positions as well as those from lower strata. She was the Parent Teachers Association president (from the mother's side) for two terms at the well-known CBSE school at Thamarasserry where her younger son is studying. But at the same time, she had no time for charity or for the poor. She loved spending money on herself," a neighbour said.

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