SHIELDS. every theory, from weed killer to aconite, has come from the media, not the police

DEPUTY Commissioner Mark Shields, the lead investigator in the Bob Woolmer murder investigation, yesterday pleaded for patience in allowing the police to complete the probe.

"Please give us more time. As I have said from day one, we will be keeping an open mind and looking at all angles," Shields told the Observer from his hotel room in Cape Town, South Africa yesterday.

Shields' plea comes in the midst of allegations that Woolmer died of natural causes and reports that British-based pathologist, Dr Nat Carey, has thrown cold water on a report filed by local pathologist, Dr Ere Seshiah, that Woolmer died of asphyxiation due to manual strangulation.
"I can't comment on that as it would be inappropriate at this time," Shields said.

The Woolmer case has been filled with speculation as to the cause of his death and Shields again asked for restraint.
"Every theory, from weed killer to aconite, has come from the media, not the police. We maintain that this is an ongoing murder investigation and I stick by the statement released by the police on Sunday," Shields said. "I have already spoken to Mrs Woolmer and she has expressed her satisfaction with the way the investigation is proceeding," he added.

Yesterday, Opposition spokesman on national security Derrick Smith called on the security minister, Peter Phillips, to break his silence on the issue.

"The matter has become a global embarrassment for us and the only way we can try to control the damage or seek to clear up any misunderstanding about the professionalism of our police is for the minister to state definitively and probably conclusively, what are the circumstances and available information which have convinced our police that his death was due to foul play," Smith said in a statement yesterday.

Woolmer was pronounced dead at the University Hospital of the West Indies on March 18 after he was found unconscious in room 374 on the 12th floor of the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston.

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