Jolly’s Mind: An analysis of Koodathai killings (2024)

Jolly incubated murder in her mind, believe the police and a large number of the general public. Otherwise, how could she commit six well-planned crimes in fourteen years in the same family? Every thinking human raises this complex question to have a basic understanding of the mind of Jolly, who was married to the eldest son of the family of victims. The interactions within a joint family are multifaceted, and it may not be easy to grasp the sensibilities of each person in particular situations. Jolly’s mind did not act in tandem with that of others in the family, as she was different. The factors that separated Jolly from others need to be analysed, even though the influence of the authoritarian insolences of her mother in law, the incestuous exploits of her father in law towards her and the carefree alcoholic behavioural patterns of her husband might have deeply influenced Jolly’s actions.

The mind of a person is not a static iceberg. It is dynamic, ever active, eternally expanding, consistently sensitive, and an unceasingly inquiring phenomenon. The mind is nothing but the totality of human consciousness which has its foundation in the brain. The sentient and insentient process of this organism influenced and directed Jolly in her everyday activities and long-term planning. Her thoughts, feelings, and desires were the creation of her nature and nurture and constituted an integral part of her mind. Thus, Jolly formed her egocentric tendencies and rational capacities like any other human being, which were natural. But the value systems she evolved during this process was different from others in the family, community and broader society due to certain inherent deficiencies of her mind.

When the egocentric tendencies became unsuccessful, Jolly showed defensiveness, irritability, anger, depression, resentment, indifference, alienation, apathy and arrogance. She defended her identity, dignity and status fervently, as she realised that the other members of her family were well educated and employed. As a result, she discovered for herself a new status as a teacher in the prestigious National Institute of Technology. Thus, Jolly could assume a higher position in comparison with others in the family. Her enviable place as an assistant professor provided her much respect in her parish and community and she more equal than others. The incestuous relationship with her father in law also might have elevated Jolly’s self-worth comparable to that of her mother in law, and after her death, Jolly’s position in the family was unquestionable, and Jolly might have enjoyed her closeness with her father in law.

The criminal mind

Jolly’s moral codes, ethical views, day to day thought-patterns, ostensibly decisive actions and sensuous intentions are complex issues to decipher and unravel the magnitudes of the intricacies of her mind. Studies have found that a person with a criminal mind has some particular traits mainly of biological and psychological that are linked to the crime. The amygdala, a part of the brain involved in fear, aggression, and social interactions is related to violent crimes, found researchers.

A neuroimaging study conducted by Dustin Pardini, University of Pittsburgh found that persons with lower amygdala volume were more than three times more likely to be aggressive, violent and showed psychopathic traits compared to persons of the same background who were non-criminals (Biological Psychiatry, 2013). Andrea Glenn, University of Alabama, found that those with psychopathic tendencies had lower amygdala functioning (Molecular Psychiatry, 2009). According to Adrian Raine, Department of Criminology, University of Pennsylvania, fear conditioning in a person is positively correlated to amygdala functioning. (The American Journal of Psychiatry, 2010). For the court, it is essential to order for a detailed study on the volume, size and functioning of Jolly’s amygdala to evaluate her behaviour leading to six murders in her family in Koodathai. Such an investigation may provide a logical, methodical, and empirical understanding of Jolly and her response, instead just believing in the interpretations given by the police or the general public.

Convicted murderers with the lower anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) had a higher tendency in repeating murders, found Kent Kiehl of University of New Mexico. It has been proved that specific brain characteristics might influence violence, especially murder. If there is no brain, there is no mind. As the brain is the seat of the mind, the functionality of the mind is intricately related to the brain, as the human behaviour originates from the brain. The unravelling of the mind of Jolly could provide an explanation of the origin of her crimes and other factors leading to her actions.

Jolly a psychopath?

Psychopathy is not a sickness like schizophrenia or paranoia, but a brain disorder, and a sign of mental deficiency. Psychopaths make up around one per cent of the general population, and many studies have found that “a significant number end up rising to the top of high powered professions”, and their number in religious hierarchies and politics is higher than that of the general population, the most notorious being Hitler, Bokaso, Idi Amin, Stalin, Pol Pot, et al. In his book The Men Who Stare at Goats, published by Simon & Shuster, 2004, the British Journalist Jon Ronson writes: “about four per cent of the people at the top of the corporate ladder are psychopaths.”

It gives the impression from the actions of Jolly that she has been suffering from psychopathy. Her superficial charm and manipulations are well known. She was always in need of stimulations and as a result, lying about her background, academic qualifications, career, status, and achievements. She is cunning and manipulative as the police say that she had many secret relationships and dealings. She travelled extensively, to different places, including Coimbatore, Chennai, Bengaluru under dishonest reasons and spent days and nights along with her male collaborators.

Jolly has not yet shown any remorse or guilt. And her emotional responsiveness is superficial. It looks, she is callous, and lacks empathy as she is selfish, self-centred and self-motivated to secure her goals. Manipulation and poisoning with cyanide, where death was certain were her methods to kill. She had no concern for the victims, their family members and relatives. Jolly suffered from severe mental disorders as she was scarce in emotions such as regret and sorrow.

It can be assumed that Jolly is also a product of poor parenting or parenting that emphasised on punishments rather than encouragement and love. There are no data to show whether Jolly was a victim of child sex abuse or substance abuse. Surely, there was an absence of parental involvement in her upbringing and socialisation. Jolly failed to internalise the values and mores that are dear to the society. Jolly knew how to praise others or how to play with the emotions of her near and dear ones. She was obsessed with manipulating the sentiments of those people who were in her cycle. She behaved amazingly charming with those who interacted with her, be it in her neighbourhood, church, or in the premises of the institution where she claimed to be working.

A great storyteller Jolly is. She narrated stories to get the support of people, to attract others and overpower them emotionally. Jolly could all of a sudden, hurt other people without any apparent reasons. She feared none and when situations appeared, expressed her desire to compromise. That was the reason when challenged, she was ready to share the house and landed property with her first husband’s siblings even supposing to possess a WILL executed in her favour by her late father in law. Jolly lacked integrity.

Inferiority complex was Jolly’s constant companion, but she tried eagerly to show superiority. It can be assumed that Jolly was superficially adapted herself with her children, husband, his siblings and parents. The murder of her mother in law, father in law and husband never affected her. As a psychopath, she never expressed any sadness or loss when she encountered her relative dying or when she heard about the death of someone. Jolly craved for unconditional acceptance and love from others, and when that was blocked or rejected, she removed the person from the scene forever. Jolly searched for people all over her neighbourhood, parish and outside who could provide her with affection and care.

Gratefulness is foreign to a psychopath. There is a character called Bhatt in the novel, The Virgin’s Crown (Amazon Kindle), who was a vagabond in tattered clothes and suffered from hunger and poverty. When arrested by the police for shop breaking, an advocate defended him before a judge free of charge. When released, the advocate fed him, gave him new clothes, and helped him to establish a wayside teashop. The eatery flourished, and Bhatt acquired immense wealth and fame. But Bhatt suffered from an infinite inferiority complex as he was aware that the advocate helped him to build a life and knew his wretched background. And Bhatt decided to kill the advocate and killed him cold-bloodedly. Jean-Paul Sartre says in his Being and Nothingness, “you kill the person, who helped you.” It appears that Jolly was ungrateful.

Revenge is a psychopathic trait. A psychopath never forgets the humiliations and oppressions suffered and takes vengeance even after a long time. The retribution would be fatal. Jolly was vindictive to her father in law and husband. Some studies say that psychopaths are born, but a psychopath can distinguish the difference between right and wrong and Jolly could do it. So, she is not schizophrenic, schizoid or paranoid. Although Jolly suffered from mental deficiency, she looked normal, and that was one of the reasons she indulged in probable sexual promiscuity.

Treating persons with a mental disorder

By way of psychopaths have a defective brain, the link between brain structure and psychopathy is correlational, established the foremost expert on psychopathy, Kent Kiehl in his famous research The Psychopath Whisper, Crown: 2014. As the stunted paralimbic system in the brain is present from birth, nothing can be done to correct it under the current knowledge and skill. So, there is no treatment and a cure for psychopathy. Here the question is what to do with Jolly if she had committed all the six murders. It is an ethical problem with human rights ramifications. Can Jolly be punished for the crimes she committed if she had suffered from a brain disorder, which she is not responsible? This is a legal issue arising out of the fundamental rights of a citizen and human dignity. The basic question is: Is Jolly guilty?

(The author is former Professor and Dean, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai; former Principal and Director, MSSISW, Nagpur University, Nagpur. He gained his Certificate of Achievement in Justice from Harvard University, Diploma in Human Rights Law from National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, MA in Social Work, specializing in Criminology and Correctional Administration from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai; MA in Sociology from Shivaji University, Kolhapur; LLB and PhD from Nagpur University. )