Local residents and neighbours were dumbstruck when they learnt of the suspected role of Jolly Shaju in the serial murder of six of her family members at Koodathayi. For them, Jolly was a pious woman who used to participate actively in local prayer gatherings, festivals of the local parish and social meetings.
The 47-year-old had maintained a close bond with the local parish as a member in various laity forums and religiously followed spiritual customs and traditions along with other family members. There were no incidents in which she locked horns with the locals or revealed signs of criminal intentions.
One of her neighbours remembered that Jolly had appeared composed while attending the funerals of murdered family members, including that of her ex-husband. The locals had then considered it a sign of her mature behaviour even in times of adversity, he said.
A higher secondary teacher from Koodathayi said Jolly was a regular at parent-teacher association meetings at the school when her elder son was studying. Teachers and parents would extend a cordial welcome to her, believing her claim that she was working as a lecturer at the National Institute of Technology, Calicut (NIT-C), said the teacher.
Police sources said Jolly had succeeded in convincing people about her educational qualifications by forging a postgraduation course certificate and a certificate for clearing the University Grants Commission test. She had also allegedly managed to dupe her new husband, a higher secondary teacher, with the forged documents.
Another surprising aspect was that she had ensured her physical presence at NIT-C when some of her local friends wanted to meet her on the campus.
Even a local parish priest had reportedly met her at NIT-C for discussing some course details.
In the Crime Branch investigation, it was found that Jolly used to leave her house in the morning to “teach” business administration students at NIT-C. However, instead of going to the institute, she allegedly camped at a beauty parlour at Mukkom. No one in the family was aware of the trickery until it was exposed by the investigation squad.
Sources at the Kozhikode district jail said the woman was found mentally unstable on Saturday and showed symptoms of mental illness.
Medical support would be sought to check whether she had a history of mental illness or medication, they said.
