New report suggests Woolmer was not murdered

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In London, Scotland Yard declined to comment on the report in yesterday's Jamaica Gleaner newspaper about Woolmer's death, and said it would not discuss an analysis of toxicology tests conducted on behalf of Jamaican authorities.

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Mystery: Doubts have been cast on the death of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer

"This is an inquiry being conducted by the Jamaican authorities," said a Scotland Yard spokesman. "It's down to them to comment on developments."

The report in the Gleaner, which did not identify its source beyond saying it was in London, was the latest in the line of mixed messages since Woolmer was found unconscious in his Kingston hotel room on March 18 and pronounced dead at a hospital.

The previous day, his team had lost to underdog Ireland, sealing a first-round exit.

Jamaican police later announced Woolmer had been strangled, after initially saying the cause of death was inconclusive.

A barrage of unsourced media reports, especially in the British press, has said Woolmer was first drugged or poisoned before being strangled.

Mark Shields, the lead Jamaican police investigator in the case, has refused to comment on the reports, saying he was awaiting independent verification in a British government-owned lab of toxicology tests that were done in Jamaica.

Shields, a former Scotland Yard veteran, did not immediately respond to calls for comment on the newspaper report.

He travelled to Britain last week and then had been expected to go to South Africa, where Woolmer's family lives.

One of two Pakistani detectives who travelled to Jamaica to assist in the probe said on May 7 that the investigation was so far "inconclusive."

The detective, Mir Zubair Mahmood, said it was unclear whether Woolmer was murdered or had died of natural causes.

A spokesman for the Jamaica Police High Command criticised the report but said no additional disclosures would be made about the investigation at this time.

Karl Angell, a spokesman for the Jamaican Constabulary Force, said: "The speculation made in Sunday's newspapers are part of a series of unhelpful reports that have appeared in the media throughout the duration of this investigation."