JAMAICAN police are examining a lap-top computer hard drive in their investigation into the murder of former Kent cricketer and Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer.

Investigators hope Mr Woolmer’s e-mail account may unearth a motive as to why the former England all-rounder was strangled in his hotel bedroom after Pakistan’s shock World Cup defeat to Ireland on Saturday, March 17.

They are also reviewing CCTV video footage of the reception of the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston and the 12th floor corridor leading to the room where 58-year-old Mr Woolmer was discovered by hotel staff.

The Pakistan team were finger-printed and DNA tested before being allowed to return home, but Deputy Police Commissioner Mark Shields has since rejected a Pakistan press release suggesting the team had been ruled out of police inquiries.

Mr Shields said: “Nobody at this stage has been ruled out of the inquiry.”

In urging potential witnesses and other hotel guests who may well have returned home to come forward, Mr Shields added: “What I need to do is identify everybody in the hotel from Friday through to Sunday when Bob’s body was found, in an effort to establish everybody’s movements in that period of time.”

Allegations that Mr Woolmer’s death could be linked to illegal betting by Asian syndicates increased when officers from the International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption landed in Jamaica to assist an investigation that Mr Shields admits may well be a lengthy one.

He added: “I’m not concerned about the passage of time here. I think it could take months. But my hope is that there will be some form of breakthrough to shorten the process.”