Woolmer’s Body Not Leaving on March 26

Gill Woolmer, widow of the late Pakistani Cricket Coach, Robert ‘Bob’ Woolmer, has been informed that the body of her husband will not be repatriated on March 26, as was previously announced.
“She is distressed. by the fact that Bob’s body will not be repatriated on Monday, as perhaps was anticipated, but she fully understands that this is Jamaican law and it supersedes the fact that he cannot [return to South Africa] at this stage,” Deputy Commissioner of Police for Crime, Mark Shields has said.
He was speaking at a press conference yesterday (March 24), to introduce two officials from the Pakistani Washington Embassy – Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, First Secretary and Shahid Ahmed, Counsellor – at the Jamaica Pegasus in Kingston.”We do not know when the body will be released. As you know, the Coroner has decided that the body will stay within the jurisdiction of Kingston and I have assured Gill Woolmer that we will deal with it as quickly as we possibly can,” Mr. Shields said.
“It is a matter of law and it is the Coroner’s right to do what he has done and we respect that it is his investigation,” he added.
Mr. Shields told journalists that Mrs. Woolmer has been informed every step of the way of the investigation. In fact, he disclosed that he has communicated with her daily since the death of her husband.
“We have a good relationship over the phone in terms of sharing information,” he said, adding that, “we will continue to give her all the support we can.”
The Jamaican police, he said, had been in contact with their South African counterparts, and this has resulted in a local Liaison Officer also lending support to Mrs. Woolmer as well.
“If she has any questions about police procedure here, then she can speak to him and he can give her some reassurance about the processes,” he said.Commenting on how Mrs. Woolmer was coping with the tragic circumstances of her husband’s death, Mr. Shields said she was holding up well at the moment. “She has been able to help us as much as she can. She has support from her family and friends and that is why it is important [for us to continue] giving her support,” the Deputy Commissioner said at a previous press conference.
Mr. Woolmer was found unconscious in his hotel room at the Jamaica Pegasus on Sunday, March 18 and was pronounced dead at hospital after efforts to resuscitate him failed.
The official post mortem report from the Government pathologist states that Mr. Woolmer’s death, “was due to asphyxia, as a result of manual strangulation.”