An inquest into the death of Pakistani cricket coach Bob Woolmer has been postponed indefinitely because of "recent and significant developments" in the case, the Jamaican government said Thursday.

A statement from Jamaica's Justice Ministry did not give details on the developments that led to the postponing of the coroner's inquest, which had been scheduled to begin Monday in the capital of Kingston.

Bob Woolmer was murdered March 18, according to Jamaican police.
(Themba Hadebe/Associated Press)

"The coroner has been advised … that there are recent and significant developments concerning the death of Mr. Robert Woolmer," the ministry said. "These new developments are critical to the progress and the eventual result of the investigation."

Officials will decide whether to hold the inquest after investigating the new developments, the statement said, raising the possibility that the proceeding might not happen.

The postponement comes days after police announced they had received results of toxicology tests but decided not to release the results pending further analysis.

Woolmer was found unconscious in his hotel room March 18 and pronounced dead at a hospital the morning after his powerhouse Pakistani squad was upset at cricket's World Cup by Ireland on St. Patrick's Day.

A pathologist who conducted Woolmer's autopsy initially ruled his that the cause of the death was inconclusive but four days later determined he had been strangled.

Earlier Thursday, Deputy Police Commissioner Mark Shields said Pakistani cricket players could be called to testify at the coroner's inquest but declined to say which.

"Some Pakistani players are expected to be called to the inquest, but I'm not prepared to say who they are. That's a matter for the coroner," Shields told the Associated Press in a phone interview.

Woolmer's death shocked the global cricket fraternity and cast a pall over the World Cup, being played in nine Caribbean countries through late April.