Between 2002 and 2016, six members of a single family in Kerala's Koodathayi, a quiet village in Kozhikode district, died under circumstances that were initially written off as natural or accidental - heart attacks, suicide, choking, sudden collapse, etc. However, an year later, in 2019, investigators would allege that these deaths were not coincidences, but carefully staged killings involving cyanide. The woman at the centre of it all was Jolly Joseph, who married into the family in 1997. And what stunned Kerala was not just the number of deaths, but the method, and the mind behind it.

2002 - Annamma Thomas dies:In 2002, 57-year-old Annamma Thomas returned from a walk and had a glass of water at her home. However, she soon felt dizzy, collapsed and died. Doctors said it was a heart attack.

2008 - Annamma's husband Tom Thomas dies:Six years after Annamma's death, her husband Tom Thomas collapsed and died. In both cases, the presence of Jolly around the deceased was noticed. However, no alarm bells rang. The deaths were mourned - and buried.

2011 - Jolly's husband Roy Thomas dies:In 2011, Jolly's husband Roy Thomas was found dead inside a bathroom that was locked from inside. The death was initially ruled a suicide by consuming poison, and linked to financial stress. However, years later, inconsistencies surfaced after details of the post-mortem report became available. Family friend Mohammad Bawa recalled. "When he (referring to Roy's brother Rojo Thomas) read the post-mortem report, he found out that what Jolly told us was wrong. Jolly told us Roy had food at 3.30 pm and hadn't had food after that. But it was clear in the post-mortem report that he had rice and Bengal gram curry at 8.30 pm."

Jolly Joseph with her husband Roy Thomas

Medical experts later stated how unusual the toxicology findings were. Dr VV Pillay, head of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, explained: "Acute cyanide poisoning can result in death in a matter of seconds. Cyanide does not accumulate in the body and so it is rare to encounter it in slow death cases."

That statement would later become crucial in understanding the alleged pattern.

2014 - Roy's maternal uncle Mathew Manjayadil dies:Mathew reportedly died after consuming whisky that was laced with poison.

2014 - Roy's niece Alphine Shaju dies:That same year, two-year-old Alphine Shaju, daughter of Roy's cousin Shaju Zachariah, died after "choking on food".

2016 - Alphine's mother, Sily Shaju, dies:Sily Shaju, wife of Shaju Zachariah, died after she consumed a mushroom capsule that Jolly gave her, allegedly telling her that it would help her with energy and depression.

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