A senior Jamaican police official expressed confidence Wednesday
that Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer was murdered, but said
"every shred" of evidence must be gathered in order to rule out
other possible causes of death.
Deputy Police Commissioner Mark Shields on Wednesday denied
media reports a second autopsy was planned amid doubts about the
cause of death, saying the facts collected so far indicate Woolmer
was strangled in his hotel room.
"I'm pretty confident based on the information that is in front
of me, but nothing in this line of work is 100 percent," Deputy
Police Commissioner Mark Shields told The Associated Press in an
interview. "It's very clear from the pathologist's report that
we're dealing with a murder investigation. But ... I'll always keep
an open mind because we do not know until (we have) every shred of
evidence."
Woolmer, 58, was found unconscious in his Kingston hotel room
March 18 and pronounced dead at a hospital, the morning after his
team's surprising elimination from the cricket World Cup in a loss
to Ireland on St. Patrick's Day.
A pathologist who conducted Woolmer's autopsy initially ruled
his death was "inconclusive" but four days later announced he was
strangled to death. Police have not identified suspects but say
they are investigating if international match-fixing was a
motive.
Police are reviewing closed-circuit security video from the
hotel to see if the recordings captured Woolmer's killer or
killers. Shields said police can identify some people entering and
leaving the hotel floors but told the AP other recordings aren't as
clear and need to be enhanced.
Meanwhile, Pakistani cricketers returned home from the West
Indies to a hostile reception Wednesday. One group of players that
flew to the southern port city of Karachi was angrily heckled by a
crowd of about 100 people as they emerged from the plane and later
requested police escorts for their safety, Pakistan's Geo
television reported.
Captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and other members of the squad arrived
separately in the eastern city of Lahore where they were whisked
out of the airport before fans could vent their anger.
The Pakistani players arrived via Dubai and London, where they
waited for two days before continuing the journey from Jamaica.
Pakistani officials have stressed that the team members and
management are not under particular suspicion as the inquiry
continues.
According to resigned Pakistani Cricket Board Chairman Ashraf,
who temporarily remains at his post, Woolmer told him in an email
after the defeat by the Irish that he would retire to his adopted
home in South Africa.
He had been "stung by personal attacks on him," Ashraf said.
The Briton became the Pakistani coach in 2004 after a
distinguished cricketing career in which he played 19 test matches
and six one-day internationals for England.
(Xinhua News Agency via Agencies March 29, 2007)