Latest twist in Woolmer saga.

TWIST IN WOOLMER DEATH PROBE
By Vicky Shaw, PA


Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer was poisoned before being strangled, apparently rendering him unable to fight back, according to Panorama.


Preliminary tests revealed a drug in Woolmer's system that would have incapacitated him, according to the BBC programme.


Programme makers said it now seems certain that as 6ft 2in tall Woolmer was being strangled, he had already been rendered helpless, explaining how he could have been overpowered.
The final results of the toxicology tests are due to be handed back to Jamaican police next week, but are expected to confirm the preliminary findings, the investigative programme said.
The 58-year-old was found unconscious in the Pakistan team's hotel in March, a day after his side lost to Ireland in a humiliating defeat which knocked them out of the World Cup.
Details of the poison could hold a significant clue to finding his killer.
The BBC1 show said investigating officer Mark Shields felt it would be difficult to strangle a man of Woolmer's size.
He told the BBC: "It's difficult and it's rare. A lot of force would be needed to do that.
"Bob Woolmer was a large man and that's why one could argue that it was an extremely strong person, or maybe more than one person, but equally the lack of external injuries suggests that there might be some other factors and that's what we're looking into at the moment.''
Shields, the chief investigator in the murder, said last week that the "huge and complex'' inquiry needed more time before naming any suspects.
The officer took the programme's reporter Adam Parsons to the 12th floor of the hotel.
A suspected heart attack was the first suggested cause of death but initial post-mortem results were inconclusive and the rumour mill went into overdrive.
Theories surrounding the mystery of his death ranged from potential links to match-fixing allegations to a fan with a grudge.
Panorama examined whether religious beliefs could have a bearing on the case.
The team's former media manager, PJ Mir, said that Woolmer agreed with Mir's view that senior members of the squad, some members of the strict Muslim movement Tablighi Jamaat, were more focused on religion than cricket.
Mir told the programme: "I mean Bob had his reservations that the boys, rather than focusing on the religious aspect, they ought to be focusing more on cricket.
"He wasn't particularly pleased when players were going out to say their prayers in the middle of the game...and a substitute was coming in. This continued. He was totally against it.''
Mir told the programme that a Fatwah has been issued against him, forcing him to flee the country - and believes Woolmer might have faced a similar level of anger.
He added: "Let's put it this way - if Bob had said what I'd said I think there would have been a Fatwah on him as well -there's no question of that.''
After the team's World Cup defeat by rank outsiders Ireland, a rumour circulated that a huge row erupted on the bus back to the hotel.
But Panorama said bus driver Bertram Carr claimed there was no row - and indeed very little communication at all.
Woolmer's wife, Gill, told programme makers she wanted answers.
She said: "Well just that we find out who, what and when and why. That would put my mind at rest.''
Panorama also broadcast final images of Woolmer taken before he died - CCTV footage from the Pegasus hotel as he headed back to his room on the 12th floor.



His remains have reportedly been returned to his home in South Africa for a private funeral.