Weedkiller Found In Bob Woolmer's

Weedkiller Found In Bob Woolmer's Champagne Glass

CRICKET coach Bob Woolmer swallowed WEEDKILLER before he died, the News of the World can reveal. Traces of 2,4-D, which makes up 50 per cent of the infamous Agent Orange herbicide, showed up in a toxicology test on his body.
Forensic tests confirmed traces of the chemical were found on a champagne glass in his hotel room. We can also reveal the champagne came from one of two bottles he received as a gift.
Although tiny amounts the chemical are not normally fatal, it is thought they could have made Woolmer violently ill, causing a seizure.
Police believe he was vomiting into the bath and had diarrhoea before he died.
The former England player, who was 6ft 1in and 18st, suffered from diabetes, heart problems and breathing difficulties.
Further tests are being carried out to find out just how much weedkiller was in his body. If they show a high concentration, suspicions surrounding his death will increase.
But it now seems less likely that the 58-year-old Pakistan coach was killed by assassins linked to match-fixing, as early theories suggested.
We reported three weeks ago that police believed he may not have been murdered. Experts say the 2,4-D could have come from unwashed salad or fruit.
But detectives have not ruled out that it could have come from grass on the cricket pitch where Woolmer devoted so much of his life.
Colleagues described him as a "hands on" coach who spent hours out on the cricket field with his team.
Police are probing whether the weedkiller may have transferred from grass onto his hands and lips which then left traces in the champagne.
The unopened bottle did not contain weedkiller but it is not yet known whether the opened bottle was contaminated.
2,4-D is one of the world's most common herbicides and is used to control weeds in crops, lawns and other turf.
Toxicology expert Dr John Hoskins said: "2,4-D is half of what makes up Agent Orange. We know, because it was sprayed over Vietnam by the Americans, that there is no lethal toxicity from it.
"If it was neat, if they ingested a substantial dose of 2,4-D, it could burn a hole in your stomach. If it was a small dose it would be very unlikely that a normal healthy person taking it would die.
"People with other chronic illnesses, like heart problems or diabetes, would be much more likely to die from overdoses.
"If you did swallow some of it you would throw up and would quite likely have diarrhoea."
Woolmer was found dead by a chambermaid at the Pegasus Hotel in Jamaica the day after Pakistan lost to minnows Ireland, knocking them out of the World Cup.
A Jamaican source said: "If you follow the theory that he was poisoned by champagne spiked with the herbicide, how could the killer know which bottle he would open and drink?

"There is still no obvious motive for his murder and the evidence is stacking up against the conspiracy theories."
A police source on the Caribbean island said: "We have to consider that because of Mr Woolmer's size, diabetes, breathing and heart problems that he could in fact have died from a seizure after the chemical made him violently ill.
"We are now pursuing lines of inquiry around who gifted the champagne to Mr Woolmer, but are also paying close attention to what he had eaten.
"We have to consider whether the herbicide could have come from the grass on the pitch. We will not rule out murder until we have satisfactory answers to these lines of inquiry."



Source - News of The World