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| Bob Woolmer. | |
LONDON, England, April 20, 2007 - A new theory based on toxicology tests in the Bob Woolmer case surfacing this morning is that he was never strangled but poisoned by an ancient "Harry Potter" drug. It comes as the Jamaican Justice Ministry announced a postponement in the Coroner's Inquest to allow police to chase up "recent and significant developments". Thursday, Ireland's team was also swabbed for DNA in Grenada.
Toxicology Report
Jamaica police confirmed last week that the toxicology report from the post mortem had been received but they were "not going to go public with it right now" adding that more tests were needed.
Mike Sullivan, the Crime Editor of the British tabloid, The Sun, is reporting this morning that the toxicology report showed that Woolmer was poisoned by the "Harry Potter" drug aconite as "significant" traces were found in the coach's body.
"The tests were ordered following an anonymous tip to Jamaican police - eight days after Woolmer died - that aconite had been used," The Sun reported.
"Aconite, which paralyses the nerves, normally takes only 30 minutes to kill. Victims suffer vomiting and diarrhoea before collapsing unable to breathe, to die in agony. Experts say the drug causes a sensation like ants crawling over the body. A neck injury - which caused police to say Woolmer had been strangled - is now thought to have followed a fall when he collapsed. Detectives believe the drug, in the form of white powder, could have been tipped into whisky Woolmer was drinking in his room - or sprinkled over sleeping tablets and diabetes pills he was taking," the newspaper report added.
The Sun quoted an unnamed "senior police source" as saying: "The toxicology tests show that he had significant traces of aconite. We are now entirely convinced he was poisoned. The fact that aconite has also previously been used in Pakistan may also be highly relevant. This murder proves that truth can sometimes be stranger than fiction. It is now an international inquiry and could ultimately involve high-level diplomatic discussions."
Wolfsbane is mentioned in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, when the schoolboy wizard is quizzed on it by Professor Snape.
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Wolfsbane (Aconitum napellus)
Aconite is also known as "wolfsbane" the common name of a deadly plant indigenous to the Alps and Pyrenees and other mountainous areas in the Northern hemisphere. The toxic effects of poisoning with wolfsbane are due to Aconite and a fatal dose can range from 1 to 6.5 grams.
As it is a fast acting drug, it is not considered an ideal homicidal poison according to literature by the University of Edinburgh Faculty of Medicine.
"On accidental ingestion of aconite by two medical students, they experienced a sharp slightly bitter taste, and a rapidly developing sense of warmth and tingling in the tongue. This sensation intensified and spread to the whole mouth and throat, leading to numbness, tightness and constriction, as well as a feeling of nausea. After half an hour, one student experienced a spreading of the tingling to his fingers and then gradually all over, he also had great tiredness and actual muscle weakness, though he felt restless at the same time. Because of its rapid and striking local effects, aconite is not an ideal homicidal poison, and its use as such has rarely been identified in this country. It has, however, been suggested that because of the effects on the heart, coupled with the peripheral effects in the arms and hands, along with sickness upper abdominal discomfort and a rapid fatal outcome, homicidal poisoning may be overlooked and attributed to coronary artery disease. The 1800s saw a few examples of aconite poisoning, Regina vs. McConkey in 1841, where powdered wolfsbane root was mixed with pepper and sprinkled over the victims dinner, and Lamson 1881-2 who administered the alkaloid aconitine to his invalid brother in law," a website of the faculty reported.
It added: "The symptoms of poisoning with wolfsbane include chest pain, extreme anxiety, hypotensive, irregular heart beat, loss of speech control, nausea, pinpoint pupils, throat hands and mouth numb, ventricular fibrillation in 1-7 hours, vomiting, death due to respiratory arrest. The patient should be given activated charcoal to stop absorption, and atropine to prevent slowing of the heart. They should be kept warm and quiet, supine with elevated feet, and given CPR if required." |
Indquest Postponed
Meantime in Jamaica, the Justice Ministry revealed that the Coroner's Inquest scheduled to start on Monday has been postponed. No new date has yet been set.
"The coroner has been advised that there are recent and significant developments concerning the death of Mr Robert Woolmer," the Jamaican Justice Ministry said in a statement.
"The coroner wishes that these new and significant developments be pursued with the utmost urgency, taking into account that the officer in charge has advised that these new developments are critical to the progress and the eventual results of the investigations themselves. If it becomes necessary for an inquest to be held after the new and material developments have been investigated, then another date for the holding of the inquest will be appointed."
Over in Grenada, DNA samples were taken from members of the Irish cricket team Thursday. The team statement said that the members were cooperating with the Jamaican police in order to eliminate them from the investigation, adding that at the time of Woolmer's death the team was not at the hotel.
"We can confirm that the Ireland squad have supplied statements, fingerprints and DNA samples as part of the ongoing police investigation into the murder of Bob Woolmer," said a statement issued by team officials on Thursday. "These were carried out today at the team hotel in Grenada. The Ireland management and players have co-operated fully with the police, and are happy to assist them in any way we can during the course of their investigation. These tests were carried out with a view to eliminating the Ireland squad from their enquiries."
Jamaican police had previously said that everyone staying at the hotel at the time would be similarly tested as part of the investigation. There has been no indication that any member of the Irish team was a suspect.
The statement added: "We would like to stress that on the evening of the Woolmer murder, no member of the Irish squad were actually in the hotel, as they were attending a celebration St Patrick's Day party in Ocho Rios, some 50 miles away. The team didn't return until the late evening of Sunday, March 18."
Woolmer was found unconscious in his hotel room in Jamaica on March 18, just a day after Pakistan's sudden exit from the World Cup, and was pronounced dead after being rushed to hospital. The post mortem, conducted by a government pathologist, stated that the death occurred due to asphyxia from manual strangulation.
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