MARK SHIELDS, the deputy commissioner of police who led local investigations into the death of Bob Woolmer, said yesterday that he was satisfied the Pakistan cricket coach was not murdered.

DCP Shields was testifying for the third straight day at the coroner's inquest into Woolmer's death, at the Jamaica Conference Centre.

"Having considered all of the evidence, and having consulted my colleagues here, and taking into account the review of every aspect of (the) investigation by the Metropolitan Police Murder Review team, I formed the view that Mr. Woolmer was not manually asphyxiated," Shields told the court.

Government pathologist Dr. Ere Seshaiah had initially given asphyxia caused by manual strangulation as Woolmer's cause of death. But during his testimony at the inquest, the Indian-born Seshaiah changed his analysis to asphyxia caused by manual strangulation associated with cypermethrin poisoning.

Analysis changed

Dr. Seshaiah said he changed his analysis after first seeing traces of the pesticide in Woolmer's system in the toxicology report on June 21.

DCP Shields, under questioning from Jermaine Spence, attorney for the International Cricket Council, dismissed the theory that other persons were in Woolmer's room at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel on the evening of March 17 or the morning of March 18.

"In terms of interpretation of the room, no third-party involvement was apparent," DCP Shields said.

Early in his testimony yesterday, DCP Shields told Dirk Harrison of the prosecution team that the performance of the Government Forensic Science Laboratory in Kingston was not up to par.

"I had a lack of confidence in the forensic lab in relation to this investigation. The standards of equipment, procedure and security are not anywhere near the level I'd like to see," he said.

The 58-year-old Woolmer was a former England Test cricketer. His nude body was found in the bathroom of his room at The Jamaica Pegasus on the morning of March 18, one day after Pakistan were knocked out of the Cricket World Cup by Ireland.

He was pronounced dead at the University Hospital of the West Indies later that day.