Koodathayi murders: Netflix show sets dangerous trend, says expert

Thiruvananthapuram: After the release of Netflix’s true-crime documentary ‘Curry and Cyanide’, which is made on the basis of serial killings in Koodathayi in Kerala’s Kozhikode district, a forensic expert took it to Facebook, opining that the production is wrong since it is establishing guilt before the court convicts the accused. He also said that such productions, particularly one by a renowned platform, are setting a dangerous trend.

Krishnan Rajendran, a senior forensic surgeon at the Department of Forensic Medicine in Government T D Medical College of Alappuzha, writes that the accused in the case Jolly Joseph is an under-trial, and the film raises concerns because it is not a cinematic adaptation but a documentary which features actual witnesses, who are appearing before the court, as well as pictures real places. It films real persons, including relatives of the accused, as well as six deceased people.

He asks to suppose a person who gets accused of a severe crime, named in the case, gets arrested, remanded but can’t get bail, and the case is under trial, but the person is not guilty for sure. However, a media production like Netflix’s release asserts that the person is guilty before even the court convicts him or acquits him.

“If you don’t see any problem with real people associated with a case (including forensic experts) appearing in a documentary to create a public perception about the accused who is currently facing trial, I think you people need to wake up,” he wrote.

He asked to let the accused in the case be convicted if guilty or acquitted if not. He reminded that building a specific narrative and using it to sway public perception is a dangerous trend, adding that many people in “our land” know that trick.

Koodathayi cases feature a series of murders in a family where six people were allegedly killed by the accused Jolly Joseph- a family member herself- over the span of 14 years, from 2002 to 2016. Those who died include Jolly’s in-laws, husband, husband’s uncle, a relative and her child. The Netflix movie features Jolly’s son Remo, her sister-law Renji, investigating officer KG Simon, Dr V V Pillay, who is the head of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences in Kochi, and Jolly’s lawyer BA Aloor. Renji is the complainant in the case. The case is under trial at the Kozhikode Additional Sessions court.

Earlier, Spotify had aired a podcast on the case named ‘Death, Lies and Cyanide.’