Open verdict in Woolmer inquest

A Jamaican inquest into the death of Bob Woolmer has failed to determine what killed the Pakistan cricket coach.

Mr Woolmer, 58, died after being found unconscious in his hotel room in March, after his team's early World Cup exit.

The inquest was expected to deliver a definite conclusion but, after hearing evidence for five weeks, the 11-man jury handed down an open verdict.

They found insufficient evidence of either a criminal act or of a death by natural causes.

Coroner Patrick Murphy, who presided over the inquiry, said the cause of death would now be left up to the Caribbean country's chief prosecutor.

He added that another inquest was not possible.

"You've done your job, thank you very much. The inquest is now over and you are excused," Murphy told the jury.

Mr Woolmer was found unconscious in his hotel in Jamaica on 18 March after Pakistan were beaten in the cricket World Cup first round by Ireland. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Days after the discovery of Mr Woolmer's body, Mark Shields - Jamaica's deputy police commissioner - announced at a news conference they were treating the death as murder.

There were suggestions he had been murdered by an angry fan or by an illegal betting syndicate. There was also speculation members of the Pakistan team may have been involved.

Every member of the team was fingerprinted before returning home, but the investigation found no evidence of impropriety by players, match officials or management.

In June, Jamaican police said they accepted the three pathologists' reports concluding that the original finding of death by manual asphyxiation was wrong.

Source: BBC Sport