Woolmer case cop's holiday may leave him open to criticism

Jamaican Police Deputy Commissioner Mark Shields decision to take a week's break from the probe of the Bob Woolmer murder case, and head home to Britain, may leave him open to criticism from various quarters.

According to the Daily Mail, Shields has decided to relinquish hands-on control of the controversial case to fly back home for a holiday this week.he officer will fly home to visit his son and daughter, who live in a three-storeyed, 650,000-pound house in the Suffolk countryside with his ex-wife Julia.

Shields has said that he cannot change his holiday plans, even as crack Scotland Yard detectives arrive in Jamaica to try to rescue his floundering investigation.

His decision to go on leave is taking place amid fears that evidence relating to the Woolmer murder may have been missed or misinterpreted - and that the Pakistan cricket coach might even have died of natural causes, leaving him open to criticism.

His holiday is already being compared to the break taken by Cambridge Chief Constable Tom Lloyd, who went to France during the Soham investigation while a huge hunt was under way for the two missing girls.

Shields is scheduled to make the nine-hour journey to London on Thursday. This will give him just two clear days to liaise with Detective Superintendent John Sweeney and his three-man team from Scotland Yard's Specialist Crime Directorate, who are due to arrive late today.

Sweeney has been directed to review every aspect of the inquiry, including forensic and CCTV evidence, witness statements and the pathology report stating the cricket coach died from asphyxiation after being 'manually strangled'.

Shields has said from the outset that he might need outside help.

Sweeney is expected to adopt a low-key approach to the investigation, in contrast to that of the garrulous, camera-loving Shields, 48.

The second-in-command of Jamaica's police enjoys a celebrity lifestyle, living in an exclusive gated community and rubbing shoulders with politicians, business chiefs and media stars.

Five days before Woolmer died, the highly influential Gleaner newspaper ran a photograph of Shields lazing on the grass at a cricket match, beer in hand. The caption then read: "Here is Mark Shields fighting crime - one cricket match at a time."

However, he has won the respect of colleagues for his dedication and courage.

Explaining his trip home, he said: "Don't read anything into it. I had always planned to see my kids over the Easter holidays, and that is set in stone. I won't change it for anything."

There are suggestions that Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller may be losing patience with the lack of progress in the investigation. The case has heaped embarrassment on the country, at the very time when the island had hoped to boost its image - and tourism revenue - as one of the nations hosting the World Cup. (ANI)

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