From the start, there were (or should have been) questions about that conclusion, as there were no abrasions on Woolmer's neck. If he were strangled one would have expected that there would have been some marks on his neck. Questions were also raised as to how a man of almost 250 pounds could have been subdued and strangled by an attacker without him raising an alarm. It is very embarrassing from a Jamaican and regional perspective for the local reports to have been so erroneous that foreign pathology reports were needed to established the truth.
DCP Shields, as the officer in charge of crime in the island, led the investigation from the start and will be the one who gets most of the blame. For the uninitiated, Shields is a former Scotland Yard officer who joined the Jamaica Constabulary Force in early 2005. He advocated and led community policing efforts in the volatile communities of Kingston and has been largely credited with a drop in the island's murder rate in 2006. However there is another side to Shields. Since he came to the fore of world attention in the days and weeks after Woolmer died, the spotlight of the international media has shone on Shields' love for the social life, and the access he has to the island's "high society". With the embarrasing u-turn in the Woolmer case, much of his credibility will be in ruin now, locally and internationally. Despite calls from some, notably Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams, for him to resign, Shield's good work in the past will probably save his job. Adams, who has led the call for Shields' resignation, is very controversial in Jamaica, having been tried and acquitted last year for the alleged execution style killings of some suspects. Indian born pathologist Seshaiah, is unlikely to be as fortunate as Shields and will almost certainly be fired due to his erroneous report and the fact that this is an election year in Jamaica. Someone will have to take the fall and Seshaiah is the easiest scapegoat.
The investigation resulted in over 400 statements being taken, including from Woolmer's Pakistan cricket team, who were fingerprinted before they were allowed to leave Jamaica. Notably the police did not apologise to the Pakistanis during yesterday's press conference. Doing so not only might be the decent thing to do, but also might be pretty prudent as former Pakistani cricket great Imran Khan and current star Mohammad Yousuf have called for the Pakistan Cricket Board to sue the Jamaican Police.
The Jamaican Police will undoubtedly be deservedly criticised by the international press for rushing to judgment. After all, as CP Thomas noted yesterday, the cause of death of the high profile Anna Nicole Smith was not announced until after 7 weeks of toxicology tests and pathology reports. It took the Jamaican Police 4 days to conclude that Woolmer was murdered. The press also rushed to their own conclusions, and played a big part in the circus that followed Woolmer's death. "News" reports gave motives that ranged from nefarious - that Woolmer's death had to do with match-fixing; to the down-right stupid - that snake venom was used to paralyze Woolmer before he was strangled.
Now that the investigation has finally been concluded after 2 and a half months, Woolmer's family can finally start to have some closure over the death of their loved one. Woolmer's family has often been overlooked in the media circus that thirsted for sensationalism, but now hopefully they can be at peace with Bob's passing. Rest in peace Bob Woolmer, you were well loved in the cricket world.
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