Kerala

'Jolly killed Annamma with dog poison': Final chargesheet in Koodathayi murders filed

The 1,061 page chargesheet states that Jolly murdered Annamma to stop her from revealing the former's educational qualifications.

Written by : Sreedevi Jayarajan

The investigations in the sensational Koodathayi serial murders have finally drawn to a close with the Special Investigation Team submitting its sixth and final chargesheet in court on Monday. 

The 1,061 page chargsheet focuses on the murder of 57-year-old Annamma Thomas - the first member of the Ponnamattam family to pass away under mysterious circumstances in 2002. The chargesheet names Jolly Joseph, Annamma's former daughter-in-law and wife of her son Roy Thomas, as the sole accused in the murder. Jolly is the prime accused in all the six murders in the Koodathayi murder saga. 
 
According to the chargsheet, Jolly's prime motive to murder Annamma was the fear that the latter would spill the truth about her educational qualifications. Jolly had married into the family by lying that she had BCom and MCom degrees and that she had even cleared her UGC NET examination. When Annamma, a retired school teacher, persuaded Jolly to find a job, the latter cited several excuses to not work. 
 
"Annamma soon began doubting Jolly's educational status and fearing that she would spill the truth, Jolly murdered her. She used a dog poison called 'Dog Kill' and mixed it with Annamma's mutton soup to kill her," KG Simon, who heads the SIT, told local media on Monday. While her first alleged attempt at poisoning Annamma failed as the quantity of dog poison she added was less, Jolly allegedly mixed the poison in the 57-year-old's soup again on August 22, 2002, murdering her. 
 
The chargesheet also adds that in order to procure the dog poison, Jolly had taken a prescription from a doctor at the Kozhikode district veterinary hospital, citing that there was a dog in her house that needed to be euthanised. She later allegedly used the prescription to purchase the dog poison from a local medical store. The prescription copy is a crucial document among the 75 documents submitted along with the chargesheet. The doctor who allegedly prescribed the poison is also among the 129 witnesses in the case. 
 
Additionally, statements from 10 doctors and 55 official witnesses too have been included in the chargesheet. 
 

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