Autopsy on Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer shows that he was strangled

The Jamaican government pathologist maintained that Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer was strangled.

Photo: Autopsy on Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer shows that he was strangled

Dr. Ere Sheshiah reiterated that he believed the 58-year-old coach died of asphyxia and pesticide poisoning, despite foreign pathologists testifying that the Jamaican doctor's techniques did not meet international standards or that he misinterpreted his findings.

"It's quite unusual and an unacceptable procedure" for Jamaica to call upon those international experts, Sheshiah testified at an inquest to determine what caused Woolmer's death. "I'm in a better position since I was the one who dissected the body."

Woolmer was found unconscious in his Kingston hotel room March 18, following his Pakistan team's upset loss in the Cricket World Cup. Four days later, Jamaican police announced he had been strangled - setting off a media frenzy and an international murder investigation.

During Wednesday's testimony, Sheshiah said a toxicology report in June also revealed fatal levels of the pesticide cypermethrin in Woolmer's system.

Sheshiah, 65, who has been the Caribbean nation's pathologist for 18 years and recently suffered a mild stroke, said Thursday there is a "real possibility" a bone in Woolmer's neck was not broken, as he had ruled previously. But he maintained the coach was strangled.

Sheshiah said he considers himself an expert on strangulation because he oversaw many such cases while working in his native India.

The Woolmer murder probe was called off in June after international pathologists criticized Sheshiah's findings and concluded the coach died from natural causes, most likely heart disease.

The inquest into Woolmer's death is expected to end Nov. 9 after roughly 50 witnesses appear before the 11-member jury.