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Woolmer inquest postponed due to new developments

An inquest into the homicide of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer has been postponed indefinitely because of "recent and significant" developments in the case, the Jamaican government said on Thursday.

A statement from Jamaica's Justice Ministry didn't give details as to the exact reason for postponing the coroner's inquest, which had been scheduled to begin on Monday in the capital of Kingston.

"Due to recent and significant events concerning the death of Mr Woolmer, the coroner has been advised that the inquest ... be postponed," the ministry said. "These new developments are critical to the progress and results of the case."

It would be decided whether to hold the inquest after investigating the new developments, the statement said, raising the possibility that the proceeding might not happen.

The postponement comes days after police announced they had received results of toxicology tests but decided not to release the results pending further analysis.

Woolmer was found unconscious in his hotel room on March 18 and pronounced dead at a hospital the morning after his powerhouse Pakistani squad was upset at cricket's World Cup by Ireland.

The pathologist who conducted Woolmer's autopsy initially ruled that the cause of death was inconclusive but four days later determined he had been strangled.

Earlier on Thursday, Deputy Police Commissioner Mark Shields said Pakistani cricket players could be called to testify at the coroner's inquest but declined to say which.

"Some Pakistani players are expected to be called to the inquest, but I'm not prepared to say who they are. That's a matter for the coroner," Shields said in a telephone interview.

Jamaican police initially questioned three Pakistan team members -- including Captain Inzamam-ul Haq -- before allowing the team to return home days later.

Woolmer's death shocked the global cricket fraternity and cast a pall over the World Cup, being played in nine Caribbean countries through April.

Shields, a former Scotland Yard detective, said Jamaican police are in the Caribbean islands of Grenada and Barbados to interview members of the West Indies and Ireland cricket teams, which were staying in the same hotel where the 58-year-old coach was slain.

Ireland team members submitted fingerprint and DNA samples as part of the probe but are not suspects, the Irish Cricket Union said on Thursday. Pakistani players previously submitted samples.
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