Former president of the Appeal Court, Justice Ian Forte, is to lead a review of the investigations and surrounding circumstances into the death of former Pakistani Cricket Coach Bob Woolmer on March 18 this year.

National Security Minister Dr Peter Phillips, who made the announcement yesterday during his contribution to the 2007-08 Sectoral Debate at Gordon House in Kingston, said an assessment would be done on “the appropriateness of the techniques and the standards of professionalism employed by the police investigators, as well as the medical and other professional personnel”.

Phillips said while he would not comment on the conclusions nor show “prejudice to any action which might be taken by the coroner; given the high degree of public interest which the case generated at home and abroad and the circumstances surrounding the case”, he “considered it desirable to commission a review of the investigations”.

The national security minister said the exercise was to be completed within six weeks and a report submitted no later than July 31, 2007.

The body of the late cricket coach was discovered by a female member of staff of the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel on March 18, the day after his team suffered a phenomenal three-wicket loss to new-comers Ireland at Sabina Park in the premier round of the Cricket World Cup.

Commissioner of Police Lucius Thomas on Wednesday, in presenting the conclusions of their investigations into the case which has sparked much controversy, said the death was due to natural causes.

Two days after Woolmer’s death, the police had said a post-mortem had revealed that Woolmer died from asphyxiation as a result of manual strangulation.

Meanwhile, the national security minister said the “circumstances of the case had brought into focus the need for the most up-to-date forensic capabilities and the construction of a new public morgue”.

He said despite delays in concluding the transfer of land from the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation, the design and specifications for a new public morgue were now completed and consultations were underway with the Corporation and the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) to speed up the approval process.

“We expect to be issuing invitations for tenders by the end of July, with work to commence before the end of this calendar year,” Phillips told the House.