News

Janitor saw Woolmer with bundle of notes

A janitorial supervisor in the Pakistan dressing room during the World Cup testified at the inquest into Bob Woolmer's death that she saw him counting a bundle of notes in the presence of another man she claimed looked Indian

Cricinfo staff
31-Oct-2007
A janitorial supervisor in the Pakistan dressing room during the World Cup testified at the inquest into Bob Woolmer's death that she saw him counting a bundle of notes in the presence of another man she claimed looked Indian. Patricia Baker-Sinclair, who walked into the dressing room a day before the inaugural match of the tournament between Pakistan and West Indies, told the jury she identified the notes as US dollars.
However, she was unable to reveal any details of their conversation as they spoke in a language she did not understand. "I knocked on the door of the Pakistan changing room and was asked to identify myself, which I did," Baker-Sinclair told the inquest. "I was then told to enter. On entering, I recalled Woolmer checking a thick coil of US currency in front of the Indian man, who was in a jacket suit.
"He was putting it into one of the big blue and black cricket bags that the cricketers carry their bats in." Woolmer was found unconscious in his hotel room a few days later, after Pakistan were eliminated from the World Cup, although the cause of the death remains uncertain.
The inquest continued on Tuesday with the forensic scientists Michael Best, Cheryl Corbin and Marcia Dunbar giving evidence. Corbin and Best, who conducted tests on DNA samples taken from Woolmer's body, revealed the presence of the pesticide cypermethrin. Corbin said she cross-checked her findings by comparing it with the pure form of the chemical from the company which manufactures the spray.