Home » News » Curry and Cyanide on Netflix: Everything you need to know about the infamous Jolly Joseph case
Curry and Cyanide on Netflix: Everything you need to know about the infamous Jolly Joseph case
Before you stream Curry and Cyanide by Malayali filmmaker Christo Tomy, here's a primer of what to expect from this true-crime documentary.
Dec 18, 2023
Curry & Cyanide, Jolly Joseph (right) | Photo: Youtube/ Screengrab
Curry and Cyanide- The Jolly Joseph Case, an upcoming true crime documentary on Netflix, tells the story of an infamous murder case that shocked Kerala in 2019. The documentary, which delves into the investigation into the unexplained deaths of six members of the same family who lived in Koodathayi, Kozhikode, will be accessible on the OTT platform starting on December 22.
The spine-tingling details that emerged years after murders are shown in a glimpse in the trailer of Curry and Cyanide, which was out on December 13. The documentary will be available in Malayalam, English, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu.
Before you stream Curry and Cyanide by Malayali filmmaker Christo Tomy, here's a primer of what to expect from this true-crime documentary.
The renowned Koodathayi case
Six members of a family residing in Koodathayi, situated in northern Kerala, mysteriously died between 2002 and 2016. The victims are Annamma Thomas (2002), her husband Tom Thomas (2008), their son Roy Thomas (2011), Annamma's brother Matthew Manjadiyil (2014), Alphine Shaju (daughter of Roy’s cousin Shaju Zachariah, 2014), and Alphine's mother, Sily Shaju (2016).
To the disbelief of all, Annamma’s daughter-in-law, Jolly Joseph, a seemingly well-mannered, friendly, and devout housewife to her neighbours, was taken into custody in this case in 2019. She was the only person with the victims when they passed away, so suspicions were raised about her. Even though Jolly has been successful in eluding the doubts of police and others after each death earlier, the truth was eventually revealed in 2019 when the bodies were exhumed and tests were conducted to determine the cause of death.
How did the accused commit the crime?
The police released information to the public regarding the unexplained deaths after two months of investigation. Jolly admitted to the police that she had given cyanide poisoning to six of her family members. She disclosed that she mixed the poison into the food given to each of the deceased, getting it from a goldsmith named Praji Kumar and a close friend named M S Mathew.
Why such a gruesome act?
The police say that Jolly killed her mother-in-law because she was starting to get too controlling of the former’s activities and the rest so that she could inherit the family's assets and marry Shaju Zachariah.
Earlier adaptations
The incident served as the basis for the 2020 Flowers TV serial, Koodathayi, which starred actress Muktha, Mallika Sukumaran, and Kollam Thulasi in lead roles. In order to circumvent the legal ramifications of adapting a case whose trial was underway, fictional elements were also incorporated into the serial. The case was featured in three episodes of SET India’s Crime Patrol Satark, season 2. The episodes are available on YouTube and SonyLiv.
An original podcast, Death, Lies, and Cyanide, was also launched by Spotify in 2020. Journalist Sashi Kumar narrated the 10-episode podcast.
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