Kriti Mehrotra
It was back in 2002 when everything for the Thomas-Ponnamattam family in Koodathayi, Kerala, India, began crumbling apart as they unexpectedly, unfortunately, lost their loving matriarch. The truth is another five of their relatives then passed in the span of a mere 14 years, as explored in Netflix’s ‘Curry & Cyanide: The Jolly Joseph Case,’ only for their daughter-in-law to have since been deemed responsible. Yet for now, if you simply wish to learn more about the two remaining immediate members of this household — siblings Renji Wilson as well as Rojo Thomas — we’ve got all the details for you.
Who Are Renji Wilson and Rojo Thomas?
As active, hard-working Kozhikode district natives, teacher Annamma and Department of Education executive turned consultant Tom Thomas had truly earned unwavering local respect over the years. It thus comes as no surprise this level of regard was also bestowed upon their three children, Roy Thomas, Rojo Thomas, and Rajni Thomas (now Wilson), but they never really took advantage of it. In fact, according to the aforementioned original documentary, the only individual to do so allegedly came into their lives in 1997 in the form of Roy’s wife, Jolly Joseph — she craved these financial, social comforts.
Though little did anyone know Jolly’s desire to lead a life of niceties would ostensibly eventually go to such an extent that she’d commit six murders through cyanide poisoning without any hesitation. “In our house, [Roy and Jolly’s union was] the first wedding. So, as usual, there was excitement,” Rojo candidly revealed in the production. “We never imagined it would [end in] a disaster like this.” As per Renji, their father did object to this match since the latter was a distant relative, but he didn’t say much once he discovered they’d actually fallen in love and was told she was highly educated.
It later came to light that Jolly’s claims of having a Master’s in Commerce with over 50% marks were a complete lie, and to keep it a secret is possibly why she apparently killed Annamma in 2002. That’s when her demeanor changed too — she not only took on the role of the woman of the house but also began behaving as if she alone owned the place by ordering others around to an extreme. “Jolly was doing all the work systematically,” Renji said. “Be it household or outdoor related, whatever mother used to take care of. So, in such matters, she became the prime person in the family.”
However, for Renji, this obviously didn’t negate the way Jolly subsequently acted as if she was somewhat of an authoritarian, ruling figure — most of which was especially directed toward her. “My mother had written in her diary that she had deposited some money in my name and had left some gold jewelry for me,” she stated. “I had no idea. For some reason, Jolly then told me, ‘Mother had written in her diary that certain things are for you, right? Apart from that, you are not getting anything else from the property here.’… This was not how she would behave with outsiders or with Father. So I used to wonder why she was different to me.
Renji continued, “Like one morning, I had given something to someone, and Jolly gave me a warning. ‘From now on, you must ask me before giving anything to anyone from this house,’ she said. ‘Don’t do anything without asking me.'” Therefore, of course, when her father suddenly passed away in 2008, and she noticed an error in his final will regarding notary signatures, she asked Rojo to keep the copy safe with him. Then, she also requested Roy’s 2011 postmortem report, specifying he’d died from cyanide poisoning, to be kept safe — she had no idea these papers would later help her determine her sister-in-law had killed, but they did.
It was in 2019, long after Jolly had tied the knot with Roy’s cousin Shaju Zacharias upon purportedly slaying his wife in 2016 as well as his 2-year-old daughter in 2014, that Renji took a look at these documents again. She actually connected the dots rather quickly upon realizing her sole motive was comfort, financial gain, plus ownership of their Ponnamattam residence, driving her to finally call the police. Then came the exhumation of all alleged victims and a confession to her son Remo, resulting in her arrest for several murders in October — Renji believes the passed-on souls were guiding her at every step of the way.
Where Are Renji Wilson and Rojo Thomas Now?
From what we can tell, Renji has since willingly taken Jolly and Roy’s two now-adult sons into her care in Columbo, Sri Lanka, where she resides with a family of her own — she’s thus a proud married mother and aunt these days. It’s also imperative to note that all of them, including Jacksonville, Florida-based Rojo, his wife, plus his two kids, are now vehemently hoping for justice to be served soon because court proceedings concerning this matter are currently ongoing. We should even mention this sibling duo recently decided to renovate the entirety of their ancestral Ponnamattam home in Koodathayi as they not just wish to bring closure to the events to have transpired there but also begin using it again to reconnect with family.
Read More: Where is Shaju Zacharias Now?
