2nd husband of cyanide killer files for divorce

The second husband of the alleged serial killer Jolly Joseph, Shaju Zacharia, on Monday filed divorce papers in a court in Kozhikode (north Kerala) citing her criminal past and mindless cruelty. In the petition he said was not aware of her past and that he could no longer live with someone accused of murdering six people of her (and his) family, including his first wife and child. She is believed to killed them all over a span of 14 years by giving them food laced with cyanide.

Jolly married Zacharia, her first husband’s cousin in 2017 after allegedly killing his wife and daughter. She is currently in jail and Zacharia, a school teacher, is the main witness in two of the murders of which she is accused. Two years ago Jolly, 49 slit her wrists in jail but this was noticed by jail officials who rushed her to the hospital.

Jolly was arrested with three others in 2019 for allegedly killing six of her family . The special investigation team (SIT) that probed the sensational case filed charge sheets in six murder cases last year.

The SIT arrested her on charges of killings six members of the Ponnamatam family in Koodathai (Kozhikkode district) in a span of 14 years. These killings which took place between 2002 and 2016 were planned and carried out with clinical precision. The other accused are her accomplices M Mathew, Prachi

Kumar and K Manoj, a former CPI(M) leader, who was expelled from the party in 2019.

The first victim was Anamma Thomas, a retired teacher in 2002. Then came her husband Tom Thomas, also a retired teacher, in 2008. Their son Roy Thomas (the first husband of Jolly) died in 2011 and another relative Mathew, the brother of Anamma, died in 2014. In 2016 Cily, Zacharia’s first wife and their one-year-old child died under mysterious circumstances. Zacharia was Roy Thomas’ cousin and Cily and Jolly were close friends.

All deaths were believed to be natural until 2018 when Roy Thomas’ brother Rojo Thomas insisted on an investigation based on the post mortem reports of Roy Thomas’ death (it showed death by cyanide poisoning) and documents provided by Jolly to the revenue department authorizing transfer of the family’s property in her name.

The six bodies were exhumed and traces of poison were recovered two of them after an intense forensic examination.

Among the witnesses are her two children whose statements were recorded before a magistrate. She was charged with murder, conspiracy, destroying of evidence and forgery.