Accused in Koodathayi case opposes re-examination of body samples

Prosecution trying to prolong trial through the request, says counsel

The counsel for the accused in the Koodathayi case has opposed the request of the prosecution for forensic re-examination of the samples of the bodies. The defendant had submitted a counter affidavit stating that the prosecution was trying to prolong the trial through this request. The case related to Jolly, 47, allegedly eliminating two branches of the Ponnamattom ancestral family after giving them poison or cyanide-laced food or drink over a period of 14 years. It was on October 4, 2019, that the police had to open the family tombs to examine the reasons behind the mysterious deaths of six persons from a family. The prosecution had submitted an affidavit in the Kozhikode Sessions Court earlier this month, seeking permission to send samples of the bodies of Jolly’s father-in-law Tom Thomas, her mother-in-law Annamma Thomas, Annamma’s brother Mathew Manjadiyil, and Jolly’s second husband Shaju’s daughter Alphine to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Hyderabad.

Among the six who died in mysterious circumstances, the post mortem examination was conducted only on the body of Jolly’s first husband, Roy Thomas. The autopsy had revealed poisoning as the cause of death. The samples of the bodies of the five others were examined at the Kozhikode regional chemical examiner’s laboratory in January 2020. However, the presence of cyanide was found only in the body sample of Sily, wife of Shaju.

Subsequently, the prosecution filed an application for re-examining the samples of the bodies of four others in detail at the CFSL. The case will be considered on February 23.