Story ProgressBack to home
Hotel maid testifies in Woolmer case
A Jamaican hotel maid described finding Bob Woolmer's body in a disheveled, blood-spattered room as an inquest began on Tuesday.
- Associated Press
- Updated: October 18, 2007 09:17 AM IST
Read Time:2 min
Jamaica:
The maid, Bernice Robinson, told an 11-member jury she noticed a chair was overturned, there was blood on the pillow and there was a smell like a mix of alcohol and vomit when she entered the room to clean it on the morning of March 18.
Then Robinson noticed a man's leg extending out of a bathroom door, which she could not open because the body of the 58-year-old coach was blocking it from the inside. The maid then called for help.
Robinson was the first of about 50 witnesses expected to testify at the inquest, which is expected to last until November 9 and determine the official cause of death.
Jamaican police announced four days after Woolmer died that he had been strangled.
Nearly three months later, following a globe-spanning homicide probe, authorities closed the homicide case after pathologists in Britain, South Africa and Canada concluded the coach died from natural causes.
Dr. Nathaniel Cary, a British pathologist, testified at the inquest that he found no marks of strangulation on Woolmer's neck.
"If I was asked if there was a violent struggle, I would say no," Cary said.
The maid said she knocked on Woolmer's door earlier in the morning but got no response and heard what she thought was snoring. Robinson decided to return later after cleaning other rooms.
The second person on the scene was another maid, who was too afraid to even look into the bathroom, where Robinson said she could see blood in the sink and on the floor. Even together, they could not open the door and had to call for help.
A Jamaican hotel maid described finding Bob Woolmer's body in a disheveled, blood-spattered room as an inquest began on Tuesday into what caused the death of the Pakistan coach during the Cricket World Cup.The maid, Bernice Robinson, told an 11-member jury she noticed a chair was overturned, there was blood on the pillow and there was a smell like a mix of alcohol and vomit when she entered the room to clean it on the morning of March 18.
Then Robinson noticed a man's leg extending out of a bathroom door, which she could not open because the body of the 58-year-old coach was blocking it from the inside. The maid then called for help.
Robinson was the first of about 50 witnesses expected to testify at the inquest, which is expected to last until November 9 and determine the official cause of death.
Jamaican police announced four days after Woolmer died that he had been strangled.
Nearly three months later, following a globe-spanning homicide probe, authorities closed the homicide case after pathologists in Britain, South Africa and Canada concluded the coach died from natural causes.
Dr. Nathaniel Cary, a British pathologist, testified at the inquest that he found no marks of strangulation on Woolmer's neck.
"If I was asked if there was a violent struggle, I would say no," Cary said.
The maid said she knocked on Woolmer's door earlier in the morning but got no response and heard what she thought was snoring. Robinson decided to return later after cleaning other rooms.
The second person on the scene was another maid, who was too afraid to even look into the bathroom, where Robinson said she could see blood in the sink and on the floor. Even together, they could not open the door and had to call for help.
Topics mentioned in this article
Cricket Robert Andrew Woolmer
Get the Latest IPL 2024 Updates, check out IPL 2024 schedules and IPL points table at NDTV Sports.Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for more sports updates. You can also download the NDTV Cricket app for Android or iOS.