Police close Woolmer case after open verdict

KINGSTON (Jamaica)—Jamaican police closed their investigation into the shock death of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer in the middle of the World Cup last March after a jury handed down an open verdict in the case.
After a lengthy investigation an 11-member inquest jury Wednesday found insufficient evidence of either murder or a death by natural causes, in effect ruling they were unable to decide an outcome. Their verdict does not rule out the controversial strangulation finding of government pathologist Ere Sheshiah, but also does not force Jamaica police to continue a probe.
“We do not intend to go any further with these investigations,” Jamaican deputy police commissioner Mark Shields told AFP, saying the probe has already been shelved. Shields said the Jamaican police had already “conducted a thorough and one of the largest investigations in recent years and had always been confident that Mr. Woolmer died of natural causes.”
That confidence was grounded upon the depth of the investigation already conducted by Jamaican police, who interviewed more than 400 people, collected statements from 250 witnesses and pursued 500 lines of inquiry in the matter. Wednesday’s verdict came after 26 days of testimony to the jury from 57 witnesses. Barring a shock move by the local director of public prosecution, it was the final wicket for a case that stunned the cricket world.
It began when Woolmer was found in his room at the Pegasus Hotel on March 18, one day after a humbling loss to Ireland ousted Pakistan from cricket’s World Cup. Former England star Woolmer was later pronounced dead at the University of the West Indies Hospital. He was 58. A post mortem conducted by Sheshiah led him to conclude that Woolmer was killed by asphyxiation due to manual strangulation. Jamaican police decided they had a homicide case but later abandoned the investigations after consulting with other experts who determined Woolmer’s death was due to natural causes.
Pathologists Nathaniel Cary of Britain, Michael Pollanen of Canada and South African professor Lorna Jean Martin questioned Sheshiah’s technique and said that Woolmer, a diabetic with an enlarged heart, might have died from a heart attack. An inquest was ordered March 23. Sheshiah maintained that Woolmer was murdered, saying the toxic cypermethrin was used to incapacitate the coach. The jury foreman, who refused to give his name to reporters for safety concerns, said the jury saw no other possible answer because neither side could support their claims.
“We had no choice,” the foreman said. “We came to an open verdict because the evidence was too weak. There were too many what-ifs and loopholes. “There were certain instances that a conclusion wasn’t drawn and we had to speculate and that forced us to come to a conclusion for ourselves.”
Four members of the Pakistan cricket delegation at the World Cup refused to testify at the inquest. Former Pakistan captain Inzamam ul-Haq joined medium-pacer Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, assistant manager Asad Mustafa and former media manager Pervez Mir in refusing to travel to Jamaica for the inquest, which began October 16.—Agencies