Jamaica Gleaner Newspaper Reports That Pakistan Coach Bob Woolmer Was Strangled

Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer may have been murdered, according to reports today.

The Jamaica Gleaner revealed that an unnamed "high-ranking police officer" had confirmed that fresh evidence has surfaced suggesting that Woolmer was strangled in his room at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel on Saturday night or Sunday morning.

The police officer claimed that Woolmer was found half naked in his room, partially wrapped in a towel. "A bone in the neck, near the glands, was broken, and this suggests that somebody might have put some pressure on it," said the policeman. "We are now treating this as a homicide."

The Jamaica Observer also quoted unnamed sources as saying that bones in the lower part of Woolmer's face were broken, suggesting he had been strangled to death, while Channel 4 News reported another source in the Jamaican police force as saying: "We're having to be very careful to avoid looking silly, but we will soon announce that there is to be a murder investigation and there will be an appeal for witnesses."

Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner Paul Stephenson said Scotland Yard had not yet been asked for specific help but "stood ready to assist" if asked. The force has a senior detective in Jamaica, liaising with the island's authorities.

The Jamaican Police had revealed on Tuesday that they were treating the former England batsman's death in Jamaica at the weekend as "suspicious" but stopped short of saying that he had been murdered. Earlier today, Woolmer's widow, Gill, refused to rule out the possibility that her husband had been murdered.

Speaking to Sky Sports Gill Woolmer said: "I mean some of the cricketing fraternity, fans are extremely volatile and passionate about the game and what happens in the game ... so I suppose there is always the possibility that it could be that (murder)."

Deputy police commissioner Mark Shields said in a radio interview late on Wednesday that police had been questioning the Pakistan cricketers. He could not say if the questioning would be finished by Saturday, when the team was supposed to leave Jamaica, and declined to elaborate on what the police have learned.