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Hotel staff also give evidence on first day

Pathologist testifies at Woolmer inquest

AFP

October 17, 2007

The inquest is to find out when, how, and by what means Bob Woolmer died

The British pathologist Nathaniel Cary was one of three witnesses who testified as the inquest into the death of Bob Woolmer began in Jamaica on Tuesday. On March 18, Woolmer was found unconscious in his room at the Pegasus Hotel after Pakistan were embarrassed the day before by Ireland in the World Cup.

In his opening statement at the Jamaican Conference Centre, the Kingston coroner Patrick Murphy said the inquest was to find out "when, how, and by what means Robert 'Bob' Woolmer came to his death". Other witnesses who testified included Imogene Douglas, the waitress who served Woolmer three days prior to his death, and Bernice Robinson, the hotel maid who told the court she noticed a chair was overturned when she entered the room on the morning Woolmer was found.

Robinson said alarm bells went off inside her head when she first entered the room on the morning of March 18 because she noticed a chair was overturned. She told the court she saw blood on a pillow and then caught the smell of alcohol and vomit. It was after this she said she saw a man's leg sticking out of a bathroom door and tried to open it without success so she called for help.

However, it was the testimony of Cary that took the longest and he spent approximately three hours answering questions from Ken Pantry, Jamaica's director of public prosecution. He agreed there could have been a third party in Woolmer's room leading up to the time he was found unconscious, but was quick to point out that the government pathologist, Ere Sheshiah, who conducted the first post-mortem, was in a better position to conclude how Woolmer died.

After Sheshiah's post-mortem, two days after the death of Woolmer, the Jamaican police first reported it was inclusive, and then suspicious, before saying it was murder. As the investigation continued, the Jamaican police turned to Scotland Yard for help. The case took another twist when London's Metropolitan Police reached the conclusion, after studying work of a visiting pathologist from Britain's Home Office, that Woolmer was not murdered, but died of heart failure.

Quizzed by Pantry about the overall conclusion, Cary, who will return to the stand on Wednesday, said he could not conclusively state the cause of death. The inquest is set to determine the cause of Woolmer's death and whether anyone bears any responsibility. More than 50 witnesses, including the chief investigating officer, the deputy superintendent of police Colin Pinnock, will testify.

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The Woolmer case brought out deep-rooted prejudices and biases
The witchhunt has ended

'When Shields informed a stunned press gallery that Woolmer had been killed he let loose a thousand speculations and accusations'

Pakistan cricket is owed an apology. Not even Inspector Clouseau could have made a bigger bungle of the Woolmer enquiry than did the detectives responsible for concluding that murder most foul had been committed by person or persons unknown. Nor were the local gendarmerie entirely to blame. Constable Shields (as he will soon hereafter be called) learnt the ropes at Scotland Yard and presumably brought with him the hardness of the mean streets.

Unfortunately the main investigator, upon whose judgement the world was entitled to rely, made a fool of himself and thereby lets loose the dogs of guesswork and innuendo. Anyone announcing in the middle of a World Cup that a senior coach had been eliminated had better be right. Of course the same applied to K K Paul, the Indian raincoat responsible for naming and shaming Hansie Cronje. When Paul called the press conference that turned a game upon its head he was dismissed as a dimwit. Colleagues told a different tale, describing him as a ruthless and clinical investigator who kept his cards close to his chest. And so it proved.

When Shields informed a stunned press gallery that Woolmer had been killed he let loose a thousand speculations and accusations. Uncertainty over the cause of death did not deter him. One minute the burly coach had been strangled, the next he had been poisoned. Finally he had been both asphyxiated and poisoned, with nobbled champagne sent by one of the chief suspects. Meanwhile a vast horde of reporters filled front pages with the latest rumours, a pack of wolves feeding upon a carcass.

Nor did the cricketing community distinguish itself as the search for the killer continued. Since there was no sign of forced entry, everyone rapidly assumed that it had been an inside job. Accordingly security in the hotel was condemned, inquiries revealing that the corridors had been poorly patrolled, leaving people free to come and go as they pleased. Considering the weight of security imposed on the tournament by the spoilsports it did seem to be an oversight.

Much worse was to come. Within 48 hours the Cup was overwhelmed by the arrival of news reporters, cameras, shutterbugs, columnists, none of them covering the cricket. Suddenly everyone was Sherlock Holmes. Despite the presence of the greatest cricketers on the planet, identifying the killers became the most exciting game in town.

At first most fingers were pointed at the bookies. Although match-fixing has been reduced in the aftermath of the scandals that exposed so many international captains as greedy humbugs, it cannot entirely have been suppressed. After all it had been going on since the 1970's and a lot of money had been made. Moreover a bowler need only deliver a wide first ball to make a packet.

Speculation grew that Woolmer was about to tell his tale. Since he had coached three teams - South Africa, Warwickshire and Pakistan - immersed in scandals of various sorts, it was assumed that he knew the location of numerous skeletons. To protect their empires and investments the bookies had needed to silence him. Or so it was said. But the theory lacked plausibility. When did bookmakers start drawing attention to themselves by murdering famous people in plush hotels with the world's media a bar stool away?

If it was not the bookies perhaps Bin Laden was to blame? Perhaps the terrorists had been enraged by the way an infidel had led their precious and mostly faithful team to defeat at the hands of a minnow, and a white minnow at that. A devastating defeat against Ireland formed the backdrop to the death. Had it not been a humiliation for a nation and a religion? Most of the players prayed regularly, and the captain dedicated every success that came his side's way to his god. Now terrible and public defeat had been suffered. Maybe Al Qaeda had executed the coach.

But let us not allow one man to carry the can. Although it was reasonable to accept the experts' initial verdict that Woolmer had been strangled, too many of us were too easily prepared to believe that Pakistani players or at any rate supporters were the culprits

Next the shadow of unvoiced accusation fell upon senior Pakistani cricketers. After the defeat against Ireland, Woolmer had apparently berated the players in the rooms and on the coach trip back to the hotel. The coach driver denied that hot words had been exchanged but was ignored. Rumours spread that players past and present had sat in their rooms all night, whisky fuelling their resentment. Supposedly they had decided to confront their coach as the sun rose. Whether they had gone to his room to talk to him or to kill him was widely debated behind the scenes. Supposedly they had been inflamed by his remarks sufficiently to strangle him. Admittedly this did not explain the champagne sent by one of the suspects but then maybe that had been one of those red herrings favoured by Agatha Christie.

For a time this theory held sway. Indeed arrests were hourly expected. Several Pakistani players were "interrogated" and fingerprints taken. The team manager insisted that the questions had been routine but he would say that wouldn't he? The players interviewed were the very ones mentioned in the gossip. They had beards and bad consciences, or so it was claimed. Although it seemed genuine from a distance, perhaps the match against Ireland had been thrown. Perhaps Woolmer knew it. The world was filling up with "perhaps". That old rogue Sarfraz Nawaz added fuel to the flames by saying he was certain it was murder. But then he could find a conspiracy in a bowl of tomato soup.

And then the case began to drift, and every passing day brought doubt. Sanity returned. Newspapers started wondering whether a distressed and unfit coach might have suffered a heart-attack. A second autopsy was requested and competent detectives were asked to re-examine the evidence. Presently confirmation came that Woolmer had died of natural causes. Shields must have died of embarrassment.

But let us not allow one man to carry the can. Although it was reasonable to accept the experts' initial verdict that Woolmer had been strangled, too many of us were too easily prepared to believe that Pakistani players or at any rate supporters were the culprits. In our own way we were as guilty as those involved in the burning of the witches in Salem or the rounding up of supposed American communists in the 1950's. Few emerged from the debacle with their reputation enhanced. Some observers called for the abandonment of the tournament. Happily the ICC kept its head and said the game must go on, a decision whose wisdom has not been acknowledged.

At such times we must be thankful for due process, that a man may be condemned only by fact and not prejudice. And we must pray that eventually the principle becomes universal, reaching across the Limpopo, into the Burmese jungle and even Guantanamo Bay, and takes root wherever hysteria arises or the powerful become entrenched.

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Strangulation unlikely, says pathologist

Pollanen testifies toxin detected in Woolmer's body

Cricinfo staff

October 23, 2007

Michael Pollanen, the Canadian pathologist who in June had concurred with a finding by a British forensics expert that Bob Woolmer died of natural causes, has told the inquest that he was aware that a toxin had been detected in Woolmer's body.

When Pollanen was asked by Kent Pantry, the director of public prosecutions, during cross examination, whether he was informed that poison had been found in Woolmer's stomach, Pollanen replied: "No, I am aware that there is a positive toxicological finding, but I am not aware of the details. A foreign substance or toxin was detected."

Earlier British pathologist Nathaniel Cary had testified that he could not conclusively state the cause of death.

However Pollanen said on Monday that strangulation was unlikely to have caused Woolmer's death. "If the hyoid bone [in the neck] was broken, it would be a good evidence of injury to the neck," he said. "It was not broken in this case.''


Pollanen was then asked if he was aware of a substance called cypermethrin. He replied that it was an insecticide and though he couldn't state the symptoms cypermethrin would induce in a person, he said "it could weaken the body movement."

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Back into murder theory!?? http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/woolmer/co...ory/317083.html

Bob Woolmer inquest
Third party involved in Woolmer's death, says pathologist

Cricinfo staff
October 26, 2007

Ere Sheshiah, the pathologist who conducted the autopsy of the Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer, claimed that cell-phone pictures showed that a third party was behind Woolmer's death. On the first day of his testimony to an inquest in Jamaica, Sheshiah had maintained that Woolmer had died because of poisoning and strangulation.

"After viewing the cellular phone pictures taken by Dr [Asher] Cooper [the first doctor to attend to Woolmer], I think definitely that there was a third party [involved]," Sheshiah said.

He criticised the three pathologists - Nathaniel Cary of England, Michael Pollanen of Canada and Lorna Martin of South Africa - who had pointed out flaws in his post-mortem procedure and testified that Woolmer died due to natural causes. Sheshiah said that the review procedure was "unusual and unacceptable", Cary's opinion was not final, and that Martin gave her findings without seeing the histology and toxicology reports.

Sheshiah also said that Woolmer was found with his head under the toilet bowl. "In my opinion, it is not possible for the disease to put him in such a position. This definitely speaks of a third party."

The fact that other pathologists had disagreed with his conclusion that the hyoid bone in Woolmer's neck was broken, was also addressed by Sheshiah, who stood by his findings despite admitting that an x-ray showed it might not have been broken.

Woolmer was found unconscious in his room at the Pegasus Hotel on March 18, a day after Pakistan's shock defeat to Ireland in the World Cup. The police had initially backed Sheshaiah's finding that Woolmer was murdered and released a statement in that effect, but after a review by Cary, Pollanen, and Martin, confirmed that Woolmer died of natural causes.

The inquest, presided over by coroner Patrick Murphy and 11 jurors, is expected to end on November 9.

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Bob Woolmer inquest
Five witnesses testify on 13th day

Cricinfo staff
November 2, 2007

Five witnesses testified into the death of former Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer on the 13th day of the coroner's inquest at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston.

Detective sergeant Devon Harris was on the stand the longest. Harris, who is assigned to the Scene of Crime Unit of the Jamaica constabulary force, was questioned for over three hours by director of public prosecutions Kent Pantry.

Harris' testimony was based around his collecting evidence from Room 374 at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel, where Woolmer was found unconscious on March 18. Woolmer, 58, was pronounced dead later that day at the University Hospital of the West Indies.

Harris said he took stomach and blood samples from Woolmer's body, a champagne bottle and two glasses to toxicologist Sharon Brydson at the Government Forensics Laboratory. He told the court that he found fingerprints on the smaller of the two glasses, but did not say if they belonged to Woolmer.

Government pathologist Ere Seshaiah, said Woolmer died from asphyxia due to manual strangulation associated with cypermethrin poisoning. This has been disputed by three overseas pathologists, who said Woolmer died from natural causes.

The boss of janitor Patricia Baker-Sinclair, who testified on Tuesday that she saw Woolmer and two men counting money in a changing room at Sabina Park on March 12, also took the stand. Baker-Sinclair went to the police after speaking with her boss, the inquest was told.

British forensics scientist, John Slaughter, André Miller, a duty manager at the Jamaica Pegasus, and Judine Murphy, an employee of Atlas Security Limited, also took the stand. Both were on duty on the day Woolmer's body was found. The inquest resumes on Monday.

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Case Closed - Verdict Deliberated.

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Insufficient evidence for murder or natural death
Woolmer jury delivers open verdict

Cricinfo staff

November 28, 2007

A jury in Jamaica has recorded an open verdict on the death of the former Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer, after deciding that there was insufficient evidence of either a criminal act or natural causes. The 11-member jury, which began considering a verdict last week after five weeks of evidence, received more instructions from the coroner Patrick Murphy before agreeing they were unable to decide.

Murphy originally told jurors about possible outcomes a week ago as they began to consider whether Woolmer's death occurred by natural causes, accidental death, suicide, murder and involuntary or voluntary manslaughter. The verdict came after 26 days of testimony from 57 witnesses and the local police have closed their case.

"We do not intend to go any further with these investigations," said the Jamaican deputy police commissioner Mark Shields said. He explained the police had already "conducted a thorough and one of the largest investigations in recent years and had always been confident that Woolmer died of natural causes". They interviewed more than 400 people, collected statements from 250 witnesses and pursued 500 lines of inquiry.

Murphy, who presided over the inquiry, said the cause of death would now be left up to Jamaica's chief prosecutor, adding that another inquest was not possible. "You've done your job, thank you very much," he told the jury. "The inquest is now over and you are excused."

The ICC, in its reaction to the verdict, noted that extensive investigations by the Jamaican Constabulary Force and the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit found no evidence of match-fixing or corruption of any kind in this case.

Woolmer was found in his room at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel on March 18, one day after Pakistan crashed out of the World Cup. He was later pronounced dead at the University Hospital of the West Indies.

A post mortem conducted by the government pathologist Ere Sheshiah led him to conclude that Woolmer was killed by asphyxiation due to manual strangulation. Jamaican police decided they had a murder on their hands but later abandoned the investigations after consulting with other experts who determined Woolmer's death was due to natural causes. Sheshiah and those who found no evidence of wrongdoing each made their case over the past two months before the jury's verdict.

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