November 13, 2007
An expert witness disputed earlier testimony by telling an inquest that he was unable, during re-tests conducted last week, to find any traces of the deadly pesticide cypermethrin in samples taken from the body of the former Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer."No cypermethrin was found in the adequate samples from the forensic lab," professor Prasad Dasgupta said on Monday. Dasgupta, head of the pesticide research laboratory at the University of West Indies, conducted a series of re-tests on November 6 and 7 on blood samples taken from Woolmer's body.Dasgupta said he re-tested eight samples from a government laboratory and another five from the United Kingdom. Last week, the coroner Patrick Murphy ordered that the samples be re-tested.
Dasgupta's findings support those of the British forensic scientist John Slaughter, who also said he was unable to find cypermethrin in blood samples. But Dasgupta's testimony contrasts that of other witnesses, including Fitzmore Coates, the acting chief forensic officer at the Jamaican federal laboratory, who said there was so much potentially deadly cypermethrin in Woolmer's system that it could have caused his death.Dasgupta said Coates' analysis was flawed. "I found his data very puzzling and his analysis was not proper," Dasgupta said, adding the quality of the samples may have been as good when he conducted his tests compared to the time they were first tested in March. Jamaica's deputy commissioner of police Mark Shields is expected to take the stand on Tuesday.
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