CRICKET:Pakistan's cricket coach Bob Woolmer was poisoned before being strangled, according to preliminary toxicology tests, it is claimed today.
Details of the poison used to subdue Woolmer are likely to offer a significant lead to finding his murderer, according to an investigation by the BBC's Panorama programme.
The drug would have left him incapacitated, which could explain how his assailant managed to overwhelm Woolmer, who was 1.88m tall and heavily built.
The programme will also screen the last recorded image of Woolmer, taken after Pakistan's shock defeat to Ireland on March 17th. A blurred recording from a CCTV camera at the Pegasus Hotel shows the coach heading back to his room on the 12th floor, where his body was found the following morning.
It will also disclose that PJ Mir, the team's former media manager, has fled Pakistan after claiming that a fatwah has been issued against him - and believes that Woolmer could have faced a similar level of anger from fans.
Woolmer's body arrived back in Cape Town yesterday. The Jamaican authorities last week postponed the inquest because of unexplained "significant developments" in the case.
Guardian Service
