100 Murder Cases

Cyanide Soup and 6 Deaths Point to a Serial Killer

KOODATHAYAI, India — She was a pillar of her small community, respected by her neighbors as a distinguished professor, a solemn widow and a churchgoer whose religious devotion only seemed to grow, despite a string of personal tragedies.

The police now say she is one of India's most cunning serial killers, with cyanide her weapon of choice, served up in soups, snacks and ayurvedic beverages.

Her name is Jolly Joseph, and the authorities say she has confessed to killing six family members over the span of 14 years, including her husband, his parents and a 2-year-old niece. Officials, who say she will be charged with six counts of premeditated murder, accuse her of trying to inherit valuable property and other assets held by the family she married into.

That Ms. Joseph, 47, might have killed with such abandon has scandalized Koodathayai, a small town in the southern state of Kerala where she was an active member of the Roman Catholic community, seen as a model citizen.

Ms. Joseph drew a large crowd at her first court appearance earlier this month, emerging handcuffed from a police vehicle to a burst of jeers and catcalls, schoolchildren in matching uniforms struggling to catch a glimpse of her through the crowd.

Though she has confessed, her lawyer says there is still not enough evidence to convict her — and under Indian law, a confession to the police is not enough.

Also accused are a jewelry store clerk who the police said helped Ms. Joseph carry out some of her killings, as well as the goldsmith from a neighboring town, who is alleged to have provided the cyanide. Goldsmiths are legally allowed to buy cyanide, which is used to extract gold and polish it, but it is illegal for them to sell it. Both men say they are innocent.

The graveyard of Lourd Matha Church in Koodathayai has now been upturned. Freshly placed candles adorn the Thomas family crypt, where the remains of Ms. Joseph's in-laws were recently exhumed for forensic testing.

"I just pray that we can bring my family members justice. You don't know what it does to me as a daughter, as a sister, to see my loved ones' remains after so long, taken from their graves," said Renji Thomas. She is the sister of Roy Thomas, the husband Ms. Joseph stands accused of poisoning.

Now, neighbors and relatives — including Ms. Joseph's two sons with Mr. Thomas — have been left to wonder if anything they thought they knew about her was true.

Once admiringly called "Jolly Teacher" by her neighbors, Ms. Joseph used to proudly display her identification as a professor at the National Institute of Technology in the coastal city of Calicut, bearing the school's motto: "From darkness, lead us into light."

That identification was forged, and Ms. Joseph never worked at the university, the police now say. But for 17 years, she embarked on a daily, hourlong commute to Calicut, also known as Kozhikode. Where she actually went in the city is now a matter of intense police interest and town gossip.

Ms. Joseph and Mr. Thomas met at a housewarming party and quickly fell in love, family members say. He was drawn to her easy smile, her smarts, her university degree and her willingness to help those in need.

When the couple wed in 1997, Ms. Joseph entered the tight-knit Thomas family, moving into her in-laws' home in Koodathayai.

Despite her long work days, she always found time to help around the house. She cooked, led a prayer group and went to church every Sunday, usually arriving early enough to snag one of the front pews.

"My mother always wanted me to be more like her," Renji Thomas said of Ms. Joseph. "She was so loved, and she became like a sister to me."

Ms. Joseph's mother in-law, Annamma Thomas, a former schoolteacher, kept the house buzzing, tutoring children and hosting big dinners for family and friends, as well as an annual Christmas party that was the biggest in town.