Woolmer was strangled 'by a towel'

Mar 30 2007

POLICE believe that Pakistan and former Warwickshire cricket coach Bob Woolmer may have been strangled with a towel.

A post-mortem examination found Woolmer died as a result of strangulation and Jamaica's Deputy Police Commissioner Mark Shields said the absence of marks on Woolmer's neck suggest the killer did not strangle him with his or her bare hands.

Mr Shields said: "Therefore there may have been something between the hands of the assailant and the neck of the victim."

Reports today suggested that a hotel towel may have been used to strangle Woolmer.

The lack of marks on Woolmer's neck led to speculation that the murder inquiry was unwarranted, especially as the first pathology report said the cause of death was inconclusive.

But Mr Shields has said he remained convinced Woolmer was murdered although he has not dismissed other possibilities.

He said: "It's very clear from the pathologist's report that we're dealing with a murder investigation."

Woolmer, aged 58, was found unconscious in his Kingston hotel room on March 18 and pronounced dead at hospital.

His death came the morning after his team's elimination from the cricket World Cup due to a humiliating defeat to Ireland.

On Wednesday, police handed a preliminary report to Kingston coroner Patrick Murphy who will hold his own investigation.

Woolmer's body will remain in Jamaica pending the coroner's investigation.

Police are still waiting for the results of toxicology and blood tests. Officers have also been examining the hotel's CCTV footage and speaking to the maid who discovered Woolmer.