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Still No Suspects in Woolmer’s Murder – Shields

March 24, 2007

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There are still no suspects in the murder of Pakistani Cricket Coach, Robert ‘Bob’ Woolmer, some seven days after his death on March 18, a day after the country was eliminated from the ICC Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007. Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of crime, Mark Shields, told journalists at a press conference at the Jamaica Pegasus on March 24 that so far, the investigation into the crime had yielded no clear suspects.
“We will just keep on working diligently, going through the information that we have and see where that takes us,” he said.
The Deputy Commissioner pointed out that many persons have been questioned by the investigation team, which has had the difficult task of having to locate and trace as many people as possible to ask them “some basic questions” about anything suspicious they saw at the time of Coach Woolmer’s murder. “It [Jamaica Pegasus] is a seventeen-storey hotel. It was packed [at the time of Mr. Woolmer’s death] and there were many other guests there, including officials and staff and so the process is going to take some time, but we will get there eventually and will speak to everyone we possibly can,” Mr. Shields informed.
“The added complication in this case is that many of the guests will be leaving the country and that is why it is important that we keep working as hard and as diligently as we possibly can,” he added.
As part of the process, all guests would be fingerprinted and DNA swabs taken but, the Deputy Commissioner explained that this would be voluntary, and so far in relation to the Pakistan team, every player volunteered DNA swabs and fingerprints.
“We cannot insist on people doing that, but in the interest of having a thorough forensic examination investigation, it is in our interest of course to get those voluntary samples in order that people can be eliminated from the inquiry,” he noted.
Responding to the issue of match fixing, Mr. Shields said that it would remain as one of the lines of the inquiry. “The important thing is that we keep an open mind and we do not go diving down one particular route with this investigation at the risk of finding out who Bob’s killers are,” he stressed.
“What we need to do is look at all of the options and all the suspicions that people have. I welcome the fact that people have been calling in and providing us with information and I would ask them to continue to do that,” Mr. Shields said.
The police have also commenced reviewing footage from floor cameras seized as part of the investigation into the murder. “As with everything, we are not going to rush it, we will see were that takes us,” he said.
On the matter of the completion of the toxicology and histology report, Mr. Shields said that he expected it soon, but said he would not rush the experts with their work.
“They have to deal with it in a professional manner and as soon as those results are available, they will inform me.I am not going to put them under any undue pressure, because we already have a cause of death and anything to that will be secondary,” he said. Mr. Woolmer, who was 58 years old, was declared dead at the University Hospital of the West Indies after being found unconscious in his room at the Jamaica Pegasus. A pathologist report showed that death was due to asphyxia, as a result of manual strangulation.

Last Updated: March 24, 2007

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