Bob Woolmer Death Still a
mysteryMurder, Marijuana, Bookie,Natural and what not? -FBI may be called to assist!
By Raj Subramanian
FBI may be called into service in the investigation on the death in Jamaica of Mr.Bob Woolmer, a U.K.Citizen and Pakistan Cricket Coach,. There are more questions about involvement of a wider-net work.
. A report in 'The Sun' Indian Newspaper claimed a Pakistan-based bookie was thrown out of Woolmer's room after an altercation with the coach. The media report linked his murder to Dawood Ibrahim and Al Qaeda.The daily quoted sources claiming that the bookie, who had vanished after Woolmer's death on March 18, is an associate of Dawood Ibrahim,an underworld who is wanted over funding of Al Qaeda and also for the 1993 Mumbai blasts.
The World Cup Cricket has moved
out of Jamaica till 24th. But
the wound Bob Woolmer death inflicted from here is still hot subject world
over. Jamaica is a beautiful island with tourists arrivals year-round. One
more thing they talk about Caribbean is about international marijuana gangs and
killings. But, Bobs death is not talked
about along with them. That is
unique. A sudden death of a coach
followed by major upset defeat of one of the teams which is in the thick of
controversy over match fixing, left Jamaican Police force think hard. Initially his family also was given the
impression that it was natural death. But where did it change? A pathologist
Dr.Ere Seshaiah who undertook autopsy at 9.35 a.m. and concluded by noon said
it was Asphyxiation by manual strangulation. But he delayed the report to the
utter confusion of everybody. This delay and slowly emerging news made many
people think there were many inconsistencies in the Pathologists report.
There were all kinds of arguments going on in Asian circles that it could be just a natural death. If it were not Mr. Bob Woolmer, Caribbean Police would not exclude Marijuana Syndicate, in their suspicions.
On 30th March Jamaican police Commissioner Mr. Mark Shields clarified that he is not going for a second post mortem and he was in possession of evidence from crime scene showing it was a murder.
Analysts said, second post mortem would have nullified allegations privately leveled by former Test players in the Caribbean and Officials of ICC that Woolmer was not murdered but died of natural causes.
But there is a twist to the method of killing. Police later in March suspect that the murder was by a towel, which was in the bathroom.
Before, One of the mysteries of Woolmers death which the Kingston coroner said was caused by manual strangulation, was that there was no external marks on his neck, a fact that had led to speculation that he could have died of natural causes.
In the initial days Mr. Shields, a former Scotland Yard detective said it was categorically a murder investigation and revealed what strangulation technique police suspect was used. Bob was a large man. It would have taken some significant force to subdue him," he said, adding that police were ruling nothing out and had "lots of lines of inquiry". "I have to say at this stage that it looks as if it may be somebody who's somehow linked to him, because clearly he let somebody into his hotel room and it may be that he knew who that person was," Mr Shields told the BBC.
Its some form of manual strangulation and there are no physical marks on the neck of the victim, therefore there may have been something between the hands of the assailant and the neck of the victim, which points out to the towels which were in the bathroom.
That is called ligature strangulation and not manual strangulation. If the post mortem and first police statements are confirming manual strangulation now this ligature strangulation is a different breed altogether. Initially Police talked about ONE OR TWO KILLERS as manually strangling of such a strong person requires more than one person. Suicide by manual strangulation is almost impossible. But accidents causing manual strangulation are possible. But when it is ligature strangulation, a whole new possibility of the likes of
1) One killer may have done the job
2) Suicide, etc. arises
3) But for suicide the constriction around the neck is held even after loss of consciousness. Police have to clarify whether the towel or any ligature is found near him. Still we dont know whether it is partial or full circumferencing neck.
The main question is about the authenticity of post mortem If it states manual strangulation and if the police think it is ligature strangulation then Court would not believe the pathologists report. The effects of manual strangulation and ligature strangulation on the body are different. Wikipedia says, there are distinctions between manual strangling and ligature strangling in the effects to the body.
There are different systems of murder investigations, some countries use coroner systems and some have medical examiner systems. In this case there were confusing reports about Coroner and Pathologist.
The latest conflicting statement from the same Police is that they are studying the possibility that poison was used to incapacitate the former Pakistan coach before he was strangled, Mark Shields, the Jamaica police deputy commissioner, has said.
"I have said from the beginning that if he was manually strangled, there are certain aspects that don't quite add up," Sheilds told AFP. "There is a possibility that something was used to incapacitate Bob that could have enabled somebody to go into his room and kill him quietly. But I emphasize once more that we are keeping all lines of enquiry open."
Shields's comments followed a report in Britain's Sunday Mirror that police had received a tip that aconite, a cyanide-like poison, had been used to kill Woolmer. Aconite causes internal organ failure and forces the victim's breathing to slow until it finally stops. Death is usually by asphyxiation within 30 minutes, the report said.
Shields did not directly comment on the report but acknowledged that the police had received information about a possible substance used to knock out Woolmer. "In the course of our enquiries we have received information about possible poisons that may have been used," he said. "But until we receive the toxicology reports it is pointless to speculate on what that substance might be."
Four police officers from Scotland Yard are due to arrive in Kingston on Tuesday to review the course of the investigation and Shields said their arrival should not be interpreted as an indicator that the local investigation was floundering. "This is an entirely standard procedure in any major investigation," he said. "Once you get past the first seven to 14 days of the inquiry it is normal to retrace your steps and make sure nothing has been overlooked."
Shields added that detectives continued to treat the investigation as murder after press reports in England cast doubt on the pathologist's findings, which said Woolmer, had been "manually strangled."
After weeks of investigation, the Jamaican Police have called for A
BRITISH forensic expert who specializes in DNA analysis, a police spokesman
confirmed on 4th April
"I can confirm that Dr Susan Hitchen arrived here late
last night (Monday) to assist the Jamaica police force with the Bob Woolmer
case," said Jamaican police spokesman Karl Angell.
"She flew in from the headquarters of Interpol in Lyon, France and she
will help us specifically with the analysis of DNA samples."
Apart from examining DNA samples collected so far, Hitchen will also review the
pathologist's report.
Mr.Shields said that he was also considering bringing the FBI into the investigation, possibly by sending forensic evidence to an expert at the bureau's headquarters in Quantico, Virginia. Another report about a bloodstained pillow found in the former Pakistan coach's hotel room has reportedly become a key piece of evidence.
The pillow was soaked with blood at both ends; the Jamaican newspaper The Gleaner reported 3-4-2007.
Mark Shields, refused on 3-4-2007, to say what items were recovered from Woolmer's room at the Pegasus Hotel, where he was allegedly strangled to death more than a fortnight ago.
Shields would not confirm the report, declaring certain details about the crime scene needed to remain a secret for the benefit of investigators.
This latest claim about bloodstained pillow comes after Shields contradicting earlier statement that there had been no signs of a struggle in Woolmer's room, although there had been vomit on the floor and walls in the bathroom where he died.
In the light of failing theories everyday, dont be surprised if news come out to say that they missed out natural or accidental causes of death before concluding it as murder with apologies for your inconvenience, Or a news about arrest of a large AlQaeda network or even Bookie network, not to specially mention about bunch of cricketers.