Agencies

London, May 1: The last CCTV footage of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer shows that he was with two other persons in the Jamaican hotel lobby on the night of his murder. The burly 6 ft 2” former England player was found dead in his hotel room on March 18, a day after Pakistan’s shocking exit from the World Cup and his murder still remains unresolved.

According to the last CCTV footage to be aired by BBC, Woolmer standing at some distance from two men pointing with his right hand at one of them. One man is dressed in a white shirt and black trousers and the other is in a black dress.
   According to the BBC, results of the toxicology tests have shown that there was a drug in his body that would have incapacitated him. The results of toxicology tests mean that it now seems certain that Woolmer was rendered helpless before being strangled, the BBC’s ‘Panorama’ programme says.

"Those tests will show there was a drug in his system that would have incapacitated Woolmer,” Panorama’s Adam Parsons said. “It now seems certain that as he was being strangled, he’d already been rendered helpless — leaving him unable to fight back. The specific details of that poison are now very likely to offer a significant lead to finding his murderer,” he added. Deputy commissioner of Jamaica police, Mark Shields, who is heading the investigation, told Panorama it was “difficult and it’s rare” for one man to strangle another

IANS

London, Apr 30: Former Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer, found dead in his hotel room during the World Cup, was poisoned before being strangulated to death, says a BBC report.

The results of the toxicology tests, to be officially submitted to the Jamaican Police this week, have revealed that Woolmer was rendered helpless by poison before being strangled to death, according to the BBC report to be aired on Monday.

The 58-year-old Englishman was found murdered in his hotel room March 18, a day after Pakistan lost to debutants Ireland in the World Cup. The loss turned out to be costly for Pakistan as they were eliminated after the first round of the tournament.

A post-mortem examination said he had been strangled.

Woolmer's remains were flown back to his home in Cape Town in South Africa Sunday. The casket, sealed in a large wooden crate, arrived on board a commercial flight from Jamaica.

On April 20, the inquest into the death was postponed because the coroner in Jamaica was advised there had been "recent and significant developments".
 
The BBC investigation learnt that the toxicology tests on Woolmer's body show that there was a drug in his body that would have incapacitated him.

"It now seems certain that as he was being strangled, he'd already been rendered helpless - leaving him unable to fight back. The specific details of that poison are very likely to offer a significant lead to finding his murderer," BBC said.

Mark Shields, deputy commissioner of Jamaican police who heads the probe, told the news broadcaster that it was "difficult and it's rare" for one man to strangle another.

"A lot of force would be needed to do that. Bob Woolmer was a large man and that's why one could argue that it was an extremely strong person or maybe more than one person," he said.

"But the lack of external injuries suggests that there might be some other factors and that's what we're looking into at the moment."