New twist in murder mystery

Bridgetown, Barbados: It may appear that the Jamaican police are close to solving the Bob Woolmer murder mystery. The coroner's inquest into the death of the Pakistan cricket coach, was due to begin on Monday, has all of a sudden been postponed.

It is believed that the inquest has been postponed due to some new developments in the case.

"The coroner has been advised that there are recent and significant developments concerning the death of Mr Bob Woolmer," the Jamaican Justice Ministry said in a statement.

"These new developments are critical to the progress and the eventual result of the investigation."

Woolmer was found unconscious in his Kingston hotel room on March 18 and later pronounced dead at a hospital.

His embalmed body remains under close guard in a funeral home in Jamaica.

Four Scotland Yard detectives and Pakistan police investigator Mir Zubair Mahmoud, who solved the murder of US reporter Daniel Pearl in Karachi, have been assisting the Jamaican police for the past two weeks in the investigation.

Precautionary step

Mark Shields, the deputy commissioner of Police leading the investigation, said: "An inquest at this stage may seriously hinder the progress of the criminal investigation including the potential for the suspect or suspects to be alerted as to the progress of the investigation."

According to information, the police are set to name Woolmer's murderers but may do so only after the semifinals. There is also no news about anyone being arrested.

Meanwhile, the police have taken statements, fingerprints and DNA samples from the Irish squad.

The Irish team management said the players were not at the hotel around the period Woolmer was murdered as they were celebrating St Patrick's Day in Ocho Rios, some 50 miles away.