All set for inquest to probe death of Woolmer

KINGSTON: Jamaican police have not ruled out the possibility of foul play in the death of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer, which will be the subject of a coroner's inquest scheduled to begin on Tuesday.
   
The inquest in the capital of Kingston aims to determine whether anyone bears responsibility for the death of the 58-year-old coach, who was found unconscious in his hotel room March 18, a day after his heavily favored team was eliminated from the Cricket World Cup.
   
"There was a lot of speculation, and as a result of that speculation we are having the inquest," Sgt. Dwayne Jex of the Jamaica Constabulary Force said on Monday.
   
More than 50 people are expected to testify inside a conference center for the inquest, which Jex estimated would take more than two months.
   
Jamaican authorities initially said a preliminary autopsy was inconclusive, but a few days after Woolmer's death police announced he had been strangled, setting off a globe-spanning homicide probe.
   
Investigators collected dozens of DNA samples and fingerprints from potential witnesses, including members of the Pakistan World Cup squad and other teams.
   
Months later, Jamaica's police commissioner announced authorities had closed their homicide investigation after getting opinions from three independent pathologists from Britain, South Africa and Canada and reviewing a toxicology report.
   
Police said it would be up to Jamaica's coroner to issue the official cause of death after the inquest.