Woolmer's killer may have used hotel towel to kill him: Police

KIngston/London, Mar 30 (UNI) In another twist to the Bob Woolmer murder case, Jamaica police now suspect that the late coach's assailants could have used a towel or a piece of cloth to strangle him to death.

One of the mysteries of Woolmer's death, which the Jamaican government pathologist said was caused by manual strangulation, was that there were no external marks on his neck, a fact that had led to speculation that he could have died of natural causes. But, British media quoted Deputy Commissioner of police Mark Shields as stating that the killer or killers might have used a cloth or a fabric instead of hands.

''There are no physical marks on the neck of the victim, therefore there may have been something between the hands of the assailant and the neck of the victim. That is as far as I will go,'' The Times reported Shields as saying.

According to the daily, Shields confirmed that ''there were towels nearby and in the room'' when Woolmer's naked body was found in his room at the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston on March 18, a day after Pakistan lost to Ireland and were ousted from the World Cup.

The former Scotland Yard detective said police now have video grabs or images of every person who entered Woolmer's 12th floor hotel corridor on the night he was killed and revealed that the slain coach had sent an e-mail between 8pm and 9pm (local time) and ordered room service during that hour.

Shields said police were trying to determine the exact time that Woolmer was attacked by focusing on the door key-card data.

''Until I establish an exact time of death it is very difficult to tie down when we should be looking at the tape,'' he said.

Shields said police would now zero in on the killer by piecing together four leads -- witness statements, in which players and guests were asked to account for their movements, the CCTV images, data from room key cards, and room-service orders.

The Pakistani team were all interviewed, fingerprinted and gave DNA samples before they left Jamaica.

Shields said that he wanted to do the same for approximately a thousand players, guests and fans in and around the Pegasus on the night of the killing.

Shields also spoke for the first time about the hotel maid who discovered Woolmer's body.

''The chambermaid has been traumatised and she's going to need a lot of support,'' he said.

He also confirmed that she had been taken back to the murder scene to ''refresh her memory''.

Meanwhile, local media reported that the police have sent a report to the Kingston coroner Patrick Murphy who had reportedly sent out summons to potential jurors to start the inquest proceedings.

UNI