da brwin： Bob Woolmer’s autopsy performed on Tuesday morning, almost 48 hours after his passing away, had inconclusive results, and the pathologist has asked for further tests before the cause of death can be pinpointed.
Dileep Premachandran in Jamaica20-Mar-2007
An ambulance is parked the Pakistan team hotel where Bob Woolmer was found unconscious in his hotel room © AFP
Bob Woolmer’s autopsy performed on Tuesday morning, almost 48 hours after his passing away, had inconclusive results, and the pathologist has asked for further testsbefore the cause of death can be pinpointed.The autopsy, performed by Dr Ere Sheshiah, started at 9:35am, and was concluded by noon. Gill Woolmer, Bob’s wife, was officially informed of the findings at 12:35pm, and the Jamaicanpolice then met team officials to inform them of the autopsy findings.With the pathologist unable to ascertain the cause of death, samples takenwere sent for toxicology and histology tests. The results are awaited.The Pakistan team is scheduled to leave Jamaica on Saturday and the Jamaican police are hoping that Woolmer’s body can be flown out with them. Karl Angell, director of communication for the Jamaican Constabulary, asserted that the tests were being fast-tracked so that the matter could be cleared up at the earliest.A press conference was organised by the Pakistan team management and theJamaican police at 3:30 on Tuesday afternoon. Reading from a preparedstatement, Pervez Mir, the team’s media manager, spoke of how MurrayStevenson, the trainer, had gone to officially identify the body at theKingston Public Hospital mortuary.When asked what sort of timeframe we were looking at, Mark Shields, thedeputy commissioner of police, said: “It depends on the results. As ofnow, we don’t know the cause of death.”Shields was then asked if the inconclusive findings suggested thatanything was amiss. “Not necessarily,” he said. “Any sudden death istreated as suspicious till we can say otherwise. At this moment, we’re notruling out anything.”According to Colin Pinnock, the deputy superintendent who is the chiefinvestigating officer, such occurrences were not uncommon. “It happens,”he said. “The pathologist just wants to be absolutely sure. Samples havebeen sent to the forensic lab and the national lab.”The team’s departure could conceivably be affected if the tests take time,and Mir and Talat Ali, the manager, will stay back if that’s the case.”The team is disturbed,” said Mir. “But we must move on.”Shields assured everyone that the investigation would be concluded as soonas possible, but quickly added: “We won’t cut any corners either.” For themoment, Woolmer’s room at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel remains sealed, withthe police not having handed it back to the hotel management.