K. Prasannan, forensic surgeon and former head of the Department of Forensics at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, testified in the Kozhikode Special Additional Sessions Court (Marad cases) on Monday (July 28) that cyanide was present in the body of Roy Thomas, one of the six victims in the Koodathayi serial murder case.
The surgeon’s statement turned out to be a significant development to strengthen the prosecution’s case, which hinges on proving that the deaths were not accidental but the end of a planned series of murders allegedly orchestrated by the prime accused, Jolly Joseph, for financial gains.
Dr. Prasannan, who is also the 251st witness in the case, testified before judge K. Suresh Kumar that the post-mortem was conducted by Dr. R. Sonu, a former lecturer in the Forensic department, who later died. He also said that the viscera report detailing the examination of internal organs, determining the cause of death in 2011, was received by him.
The next trial in the case will be held on August 6. Special prosecutor N.K. Unnikrishnan, additional special prosecutor E. Subhash, and advocate Saheer Ahammed appeared for the prosecution.
It was between 2002 and 2016 that the chain of suspected murders took place in Koodathayi village of Kozhikode. Roy Thomas was the third victim and the first husband of the accused. Jolly was arrested by a special investigation team on October 5, 2019, in connection with a series of alleged murders.
Published – July 28, 2025 07:47 pm IST
