KOODATHAYAI - She was a pillar of her small community, respected by her neighbours as a distinguished professor, a solemn widow and a churchgoer whose religious devotion only seemed to grow, despite a string of personal tragedies.
That Joseph, 47, might have killed with such abandon has scandalised 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. 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.
Once admiringly called"Jolly Teacher" by her neighbours, 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."But for 17 years, she embarked on a daily, hour-long 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.
"My mother always wanted me to be more like her," Renji Thomas said of Joseph."She was so loved, and she became like a sister to me." The Christmas parties grew smaller and eventually stopped. Friends and family stopped coming by, feeling the house had grown cold under its new matriarch, Joseph, said Mohammed Bava, a neighbour who lives across the street."He became very sad and silent, and increasingly came under Jolly's control. He stopped interacting with all of us," said Bava, who grew up playing in the Thomas household.
A year later, in 2012, a second will for Tom Thomas turned up, naming Roy and Joseph as the chief inheritors. It was signed by witnesses no one in the family had heard of. Now that Roy was dead, Joseph stood to inherit the entire family fortune.After resisting, Joseph finally buckled under family pressure. The cause of death was listed as cyanide poisoning, doctors said.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: The Straits Times - 🏆 8. / 63 Read more »
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »
Source: TODAYonline - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »
Source: The Straits Times - 🏆 8. / 63 Read more »
Source: The Straits Times - 🏆 8. / 63 Read more »
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »