Bob Woolmer, Ninja Assassination ?

"If it walks like a Ninja and Quacks like a Ninja then it is a Ninja"

Spaceman Jack Dee

Book of Dee Chp. 3 Vs. 8

It has now been more than a week since the death of Bob Woolmer, former international cricket coach in the Pegasus Hotel Jamaica.
He was a man who I never met and was never likely to.
The world of international sports holds little fascination for me and the small part of that world which international Cricket occupies holds even less.
I was vaguely aware of the fact there must have been a coach of the Pakistani international cricket team, but I had no idea who that person might have been.
For me the most fascinating part of Bob Woolmer’s life was how it ended.
After initially confused reports about natural causes some facts are now clear, Bob Woolmer was murdered by manual asphyxiation in his hotel room and nobody has been arrested for this crime.
It's quite startling that a guest should be murdered in their suite in a hotel, where the security must have been high enough to meet the demands of a sporting event where nations such as India and Pakistan are present. But now the perpetrator ( singular or plural ) has disappeared and the witnesses and suspects continue to disperse around the globe.
In the hope of nothing other than stirring debate I will now put forth my opinions on the likely scenario that led to the Coach’s demise.
The use of strangulation is an interesting choice for murder, few people have the desire or confidence to attack a grown man with their bare hands ( even though Woolmer was 58 and corpulent he looked capable of defending himself ), that is if their motive was murder.
Tensions must have been running high after the team’s shock defeat to Ireland. After a few drinks a confrontation with fisticuffs would not have been out of the question. But if the attacker had fatal intentions they surely would have gone to the trouble with arming themselves with some sort of weapon, even if only a bludgeon.
The lack of a clear suspect, that is some body who freely admits to being in Woolmer’s room that evening and accosting him lead me to deduce that it was a premeditated attack.
But that leaves us with the premeditated of an international figure, in a high security zone, by an unarmed and unknown assailant who has (so far) eluded detection, identification and capture,
namely

A Ninja

All the element are there for a classic assassination with a carefully planned and executed assassination. With the correct disguise a team or staff uniform a trained Ninja could infiltrate the hotel and enter the coaches room. A good looking woman would have little difficulty enter the hotel even late at night, although this may be a little too high profile, pretty girls are easily remembered.
Then its just a matter of the precise details of the death.
Was it an ambush or did the assassin talk to him before the fatal moment ( pretty girl ) ? crucial to my theory is the exact method of "Manual Strangulation" as that rather judicious term used by the Police can mean a lot of slightly different things.
The classic "Japanese Sleeper Hold" compresses the arteries either side of the neck to produce first unconsciousness, then if the pressure is held for too long, Death.
If Hyoid bone of the neck are broken then this would tend to count against the Ninja explanation as this shows a degree of force applied to the front of the neck. But if there is no damage or only some bruising to the larynx then the theory fits.

I would not be too difficult for a trained Ninja to administer this "Big Sleeper Hold" especially if the coach was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Without any other clues to the contrary it could appear like natural causes. Which is exactly how it was first reported. Only later more detailed examination revealed foul play.
As for Motive there appears to be no shortage. There are hundreds millions of dollars in dirty money flowing around the world of sports gambling, with a few very dirty customers attached to it. Examine the case of the late Hansie Cronjie. That loss to Ireland a few hours previous would have meant millions won or lost.
Did he betray his partners ? was he betrayed by them ?, I cannot say but I can say this much
Before this cases is cracked I am sure that a lot of very interesting facts and dark secrets will emerge from the world of International cricket and the unfortunate Bob Woolmer may not be its only victim.

Links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Woolmer