The Thamarassery First Class Judicial Magistrate court extended the police custody of alleged Kerala serial killer Jolly Amma Joseph by two more days. Jolly was produced before the court on Wednesday, along with co-accused MS Mathew and Praji Kumar, after their six-day custody secured by the police came to an end.
The extension was granted after the prosecution argued that the accused persons will have to be taken to Coimbatore for evidence collection on the alleged cyanide killings. According to the investigating officers, the deaths, allegedly due to cyanide, have a link with Coimbatore. One of the accused, Praji Kumar, is believed to have procured the poison from a chemical factory in the city in Tamil Nadu.
The eight-day police remand will end on Friday when the court will consider the bail applications of the three accused.
Forty-seven-year-old Jolly Amma Joseph is the prime suspect in the mysterious deaths of six persons in her family in Kozhikode’s Koodathayi town. She is believed to have murdered them by adding cyanide to their food. Jolly, along with jewellery store owner Mathew and goldsmith Praji Kumar, were arrested earlier this month after the case was reopened for investigation.
It was Rojo Thomas, the brother of Jolly's first husband Roy Thomas, who filed a fresh complaint demanding an inquiry into the deaths in his family. Rojo’s earlier complaint asking for a probe into Roy’s death was closed stating suicide as the cause of his sibling’s death.
In order to investigate the deaths, the police exhumed the bodies of the six deceased from their graves. Several forensic tests will be conducted on the mortal remains of the deceased in order to trace the presence of cyanide or other lethal poison in their bodies to establish the murders.
On Tuesday, Rojo Thomas, who had landed from the US for questioning, his sister Renju and Jolly’s two sons arrived at the Kozhikode Rural SP office in Vadakara to give their statements in the case. Meanwhile, Jolly’s current husband Shaju - whose first wife Cily and 2-year-old daughter Alphine are also suspected to have been murdered by Jolly - was questioned for 10 hours on Monday. Shaju was summoned to the station along with this father Zacharias, who is the brother of Tom Thomas - Jolly’s former father-in-law who is also suspected to have been murdered by her.
Following evidence collection, the investigating officials also secured a small bottle with a white substance from Jolly’s house in Koodathayi, where three of the alleged murders took place. The powder will now be tested for the presence of cyanide.