Woolmer was poisoned and then strangled: reports

LONDON/KINGSTON: The long-awaited toxicology report in Bob Woolmer's murder case has indicated that the Pakistan cricket coach was poisoned before being strangled in his hotel room.

According to a source close to the Jamaican police, the investigators probing in Woolmer's mysterious death believe the South African was poisoned to incapacitate him before murdering him in his Jamaica Pegasus hotel room around one month ago, London daily 'The Sunday Times' reported.

But Mark Shields, the Deputy Police Commissioner leading the inquiry, refused to confirm poison was found and said the toxicology samples and postmortem report would be sent to Britain for further analysis.

"If he was manually strangled and asphyxiated, why didn't he put up a fight? I've always said there was a possibility he was incapacitated by something else. If I tell you they (the results) have come back and we are conducting further tests, I suggest you draw your own conclusions," he said at a press conference in Kingston On Saturday.

Shields described the toxicology results as "encouraging" but said the probe could take a "long haul".

"There are three possibilities. One is that someone could give themselves up. Two, there could be a massive breakthrough or, three, we are here for the long haul.

"At the moment we are certainly in category three. We would love to move to one but I think that is unlikely at this stage," Shield said.

He quashed the speculation that it was the drug aconite, which causes asphyxia.