Woolmer

Kingston: A Jamaican inquest into the death of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer failed on Wednesday to determine his cause of death, leaving a mystery that gripped the international cricket world unresolved.

An 11-member jury said it had not seen enough evidence in the month-long inquest to decide whether Woolmer was murdered or died of natural causes in March during the World Cup in the Caribbean, a day after his team suffered a humiliating defeat to Ireland.

The death stunned cricket aficionados, especially after Jamaican police launched a murder investigation. Suspicions immediately fell on illegal betting cartels or irate fans.

But three months later, Jamaican police abandoned the murder probe when three overseas pathologists determined the former England international had been very sick and died of natural causes.

The official inquest had been expected to deliver the definitive conclusion. Instead, the jury said it had reached an “open verdict.”

“The evidence presented was weak,” said the foreman of the jury, who asked not to be identified.

“There were too many ifs and buts and ‘what ifs’. It just was not conclusive. We were insisting that we come to a unanimous verdict and we deliberated among ourselves and arrived at what we think was the right verdict.”

The cause of death now legally lies in the hands of Jamaica’s director of public prosecutions, Kent Pantry. He has yet to say whether he will make a determination.

Coroner Patrick Murphy, who presided over the inquiry, said that another inquest was not possible.

“You’ve done your job, thank you very much. The inquest is now over and you are excused,” Murphy told the jury. (REUTERS)