KOCHI: Kerala has seen many a serial killer right from ripper Chandran of the 1980s, who sent shivers down the state’s spine by committing 14 murders, to Panickar Kunjumon alias Xavier, 42, a Thevara-based worker, nabbed in March 2016 for the cold-blooded killing of nine rough sleepers.
But female serial killers are a rare breed: Only two prominent cases have been reported from Kerala so far -- Soumya case at Pinarayi in Kannur and the latest case of Jollyamma Joseph at Koodathayi in Kozhikode. The common line running through both these mass murderers is they are allegedly silent killers and had executed the murders in an extremely professional manner which helped them evade timely detection.
The mental make-up of Jolly, 47, is already the subject matter of public discourse. While one theory propounds Jolly as a psychopath, who derived pleasure from plotting and committing the murders, there is another view which says Jolly is a sociopath who committed the crime with the ulterior motive of usurping property and lead a hedonistic life. Whatever that might be, it’s an established fact that every serial murderer has a goal and desire that prompt them to commit the heinous deed of finishing off persons with hardly any compunction.
However, some of the experts are convinced that not all serial killers suffer from psychological problems since they are well aware of the consequences of their actions. And it is due to this they destroy evidence and pretend to be normal.
Though comparing Jolly to other psychopath killers is premature at this stage, findings made by the police indicate the murders allegedly committed by Jolly were all done in cold blood -- meticulously planned and executed to perfection -- to achieve a few goals. Money power, lust and selfishness are the primary motives which prompted the killings. Psychiatrist C J John said compared to male serial killers, who are more aggressive and derive sadistic pleasure from mutilating bodies of their victims, female serial killers are less sadistic and they do not mutilate the bodies.
“Female serial killers generally use non-aggressive ways like poisoning to commit the murders. In both Pinarayi and Koodathai, the accused women used poison to kill their victims,” he said, adding, serial killers like Chandran and Jayanandan were real psychopaths, who used to enjoy the act of murdering a person. Chandran’s case was truly horrifying as he preyed mostly on women. After murdering them, he used to rape the victims before fleeing the scene with gold and money. Former state police chief Jacob Punnoose says every psychopath/ serial killer has a motive and they commit murder without any hesitation.
“They just commit the crime and move on to execute the next. In the case of Jolly, she might have repeated the crime as she became more and more brazen after she got away with her first murder. She found out that murdering those who came in her way is the easiest option. If the death of Annamma -- mother-in-law of Jolly in 2002 -- who was purportedly Jolly’s first victim -- had been probed in detail, she would not have committed the other murders. It’s the case with everyone who commits a murder,” Punnoose said. “If he or she manages to get away with a murder, they gain confidence and will commit murder again if the situation warrants,” he said.
Psychologist Jesna Sivsankar said, “People who commit multiple murders think and act differently. Each person has a unique way of reacting to a circumstance and it depends on the person’s innate intelligence which he or she acquires right from the days inside the mother’s womb to the adolescent period.”
Jesna said a person decides to commit a murder as a reaction to a situation when they feel their desires and aspirations are threatened. “In Jolly’s case too, an analysis of her personality traits will reveal her motive,” she said.
Scott Bonn says in his write-up in Psychology Today, “It is important to remember that regardless of specific motive(s), serial killers are compelled to commit murder, ie. they do it because they want to and need to.”