A key witness in the Bob Woolmer murder case who stunned the courtroom saying the Pakistan World Cup coach was counting ‘’coils of US dollars’’ in the presence of an Indian origin man a day before the World Cup was to start, has refused to give any further testimony in the case fearing telephonic threats.
Despite being warned of a fine by coroner Patrick Murphy, Patricia Baker-Sinclair, who works as a senior superintendent with Manpower Maintenance Services, insisted that she would give no further testimony in the high profile case as she had been receiving threatening telephone calls soon after her name and place of employment appeared in the newspapers after her revelation.
‘’She was told that Indians can be dangerous and they could burn her house,’’ coroner Patrick Murphy quoted Baker-Sinclair as saying in a letter which was submitted in the courtroom in Wednesday’s morning session.
However, she did finally appear in person at the afternoon session after being warned of a possible fine for not testifying.
‘’I will not be answering questions,’’ she told lawyer Jermaine Spence, who is representing the International Cricket Council (ICC) at the inquest.
Coroner Murphy then interrupted in between and asked the reason behind her decision and warned her that this could force him to impose a fine on her.
‘’I wish to advise you that when you are sworn and refuse to answer, then the law allows for a fine. I don’t want to impose a fine on you,’’ Murphy was quoted by The Jamaica Observer as saying.
Totally unmoved
But the lady was so terrified that she seemed totally unmoved, only saying, ‘’Your honour, as I said this morning I don’t want to talk anymore about it.’’
‘’It is serious times and anything can happen,’’ the witness added.
Meanwhile, forensic scientist Cheryl Corbin, who conducted tests on DNA samples taken from Woolmer’s body, revealed the presence of a pesticide ‘Cypermethrin’.
Corbin, director of Forensic Sciences Centre in Barbados, said she cross-checked her findings by comparing it with the pure form of the chemical from the company which manufactures the spray.
The inquest will continue with Corbin and other forensic scientists, Michael Best and Marcia Dunbar, to give further evidence.
