Now, Jamaican Police says Bob Woolmer died of natural causes

In a humiliating turnaround, Jamaican Police are to announce that former Pakistan cricket coach died of natural causes, rather than being murdered.

London, June 2 : In a humiliating turnaround, Jamaican Police are to announce that former Pakistan cricket coach died of natural causes, rather than being murdered.

Police officers believe Woolmer died of heart failure brought on by chronic ill-health and possibly diabetes. This sensational twist in the case is based on an extensive review of the evidence provided by a senior Scotland Yard murder squad detective.

The news is likely to invite global ridicule, not to speak of the anger likely to emanate from Woolmer's family, who are based in Cape Town, South Africa.

Woolmer, 58, was found dead on March 18 in his suite at the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, Jamaica, hours after Pakistan was defeated by rank outsiders Ireland in the 2007 World Cup.

Within days Mark Shields, the flamboyant former Scotland Yard detective and number two in the Jamaican Police force, stunned reporters by announcing unequivocally that Woolmer had died from asphyxiation after being throttled in his room.

He later stated that he was "100 per cent certain" that Woolmer had been murdered.

The bombshell comments effectively wrecked the tournament and prompted a torrent of conspiracy theories, including claims that Woolmer was killed by a "match-fixing mafia", strangled by radical Muslims or assassinated by a professional hitman. There were also extraordinary claims that he was killed with an ancient form of poison called aconite or was fed snake venom by Yardies.

Now, following the Metropolitan Police review, Jamaican officers privately agree that no third party was involved in Woolmer's death.

Sources said Woolmer was desperately ill at the time of his death and that he probably died of heart failure. He had an enlarged heart, possibly caused by heavy drinking or being overweight, and suffered from diabetes. Because of a snoring problem, he used a machine to help him breathe more easily at night. Following Pakistan's shock defeat, he was also under acute stress. The conclusion that he died of natural causes will be revealed at a press conference in Kingston next week.

"Mr. Woolmer was not a well man. It is now accepted that he died of natural causes," the Daily Mail quoted a source close to the inquiry, as saying.

Woolmer's widow Gill will be officially informed of the latest developments.

Mark Shields, 48, now faces an uncertain future.

A colleague said: "The knives are out for Mark. It's enormously embarrassing . . . there's blood on the carpet in the Jamaican Police.

"With hindsight, he should have ensured a second post mortem was carried out. Instead of saying the death was suspicious, he rushed out a statement saying it was murder. He is going to be a laughing stock," he added.

The second-in-command of Jamaica's police has enjoyed a celebrity lifestyle, living in an exclusive gated community and rubbing shoulders with politicians, business chiefs and media stars.

However, colleagues loyal to Shields say pathologist Dr. Ere Seshaiah, who examined Woolmer's body, should share the blame for the bungled inquiry.

Dr Seshaiah, an Indian who moved to Jamaica 12 years ago, said after his initial autopsy that the cause of death was inconclusive. It was only when he re-examined the body that he found the suspicious evidence, and said that Woolmer may have been strangled.

The Jamaican police changed their opinion after the post-mortem examination file and photographs were sent to a senior Home Office pathologist, Dr Nat Carey, who dismissed the strangulation theory. Toxicology tests showed the heavydrinking coach was not poisoned either. Recent speculation that he was intoxicated by high levels of herbicide have been dismissed.

The original examination in Jamaica concluded that strangulation was possible because a bone in Woolmer's neck had been broken. Sources now say the bone may have been chipped when Woolmer collapsed.

ANI