Woolmer murder investigation may go beyond Jamaica

KINGSTON (Jamaica): Investigations into the death of the Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer could follow some of the players, officials and fans to other territories participating in the World Cup as well.

Deputy Police Commissioner Mark Shields said on Monday night that some of his investigators may be travelling to the other territories to interview anyone who was staying at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, the day Woolmer was killed.

Woolmer was murdered by strangulation on March 18, one day after Pakistan lost, unexpectedly, to Ireland and were eliminated from the World Cup.

The coach was declared dead at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Jamaica, after he was rushed there from the hotel. He was discovered lying in an unconscious state in his 12th floor room at the hotel, shortly before noon.

Shields said that members of the West Indies and Irish teams and officials who stayed at the hotel could also be questioned as part of the investigations.


"Everybody who was in the hotel will be DNA tested, not just team members. The focus will be on everybody who was in the hotel, and so we are urging everybody who was in the hotel to come forward between those material times," he said.

Making reference to the arrangements made for functional cooperation in security matters among the nations of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) during the staging of the World Cup, Shields said this had made it much easier 'to reach out to our colleagues in other parts of the Caribbean in order to continue with our investigations'.

Shields said that an intensive investigation is under way and that a key component of the investigation was the detailed examination of closed circuit television (CCTV) footage of the hotel's 12th floor where Woolmer was staying.

"The time that Bob Woolmer went to his room to the time that he was found dead is a significant period of time, so to go through each frame of the CCTV on the 12th floor, we have to be methodical and thorough in identifying every single person who was on that floor between those times," he said.

Denying various 'wild speculations' surrounding the case, the lead investigator said that no suspect had been detained, either in Jamaica or elsewhere, but asserted that every possible angle would be pursued.

One of those angles being looked at, he said, was the possibility of a connection between Woolmer's death and problem of illegal gambling and match fixing in the sport.

He also confirmed that representatives of the ICC's anti-corruption unit were in Jamaica to offer assistance with that aspect of the investigation.

"We are just keeping an open mind because it has been suggested that match fixing may be a reason or motivation for the murder of Bob, therefore the anti-corruption unit are here and they are prepared to give us expert advice and opinion".

The investigators are still awaiting results of histology and toxicology tests done on Woolmer's body. A coroner's inquest is also to be held, but no date has yet been set for the inquest.

Members of the Pakistan team were interviewed, finger printed and DNA tested before their departure from Jamaica last weekend. The Pakistani government has promised to cooperate with Jamaican investigators in any follow-up inquiries they might wish to pursue and has dispatched two senior members of its diplomatic staff from Washington DC to the island.