A British spy was found dead and stuffed inside a bag. It’s ruled as an accident

The story of Gareth Williams is a true mystery. The incredibly smart mathematician obtained a university degree aged just 17-years-old and by 22 had a PHD. From there he began working for the British intelligence and security organization GCHQ but in 2010 his body was found stuffed in a bag in his London flat.

The circumstances surrounding William’s death have remained a mystery ever since as it cooled into yet another cold case. No evidence of a killer was found, no fingerprints, no sign of forced entry into the flat, nothing. But a super smart British intelligence worker wouldn’t just stuff himself into a bag. So what went down?

What happened to Gareth Williams?

Williams worked at the government’s listening station in Cheltenham and suspicions were first aroused when he didn’t show up to work one day. According to nowthenmagazine.com, a full week went by and eventually a police officer was sent to investigate. 

Upon arrival at the flat everything appeared to be in order. It was neat, tidy, but devoid of life. Entering the en-suite, the officer discovered a padlocked holdall bag in the bath. Upon opening it the officer found the naked body of Gareth Williams.

A complete lack of evidence

William’s DNA was not found on the padlock so it’s incredibly unlikely he locked himself in there, (how would that even work anyways?) However there was no evidence to suggest someone else had been there, while there were trace amounts of DNA belonging to an unidentified individual there was nothing else, not even a sign of a struggle. The heating in the flat had been turned up despite it being summer which is theorized to have been intentional to speed up decomposition.

The coroner’s report concluded that the cause of death was “unnatural and likely to have been criminally mediated” which isn’t exactly a surprise to hear. However, after a three year investigation, the Met police contradicted the coroner by concluding that Williams’ death was an accident and that no-one else was present when he died. 

An independent review was conducted between 2021 and 2023 and found no new evidence to suggest someone else was there according to the BBC.

The theories

As with any mystery, there have been a variety of theories. At the time, tabloids published stories about how the flat was filled with cocaine, gay pornography and S&M paraphernalia, something which detectives refuted. However, the investigation revealed that he had visited bondage sites. Could his death have somehow been related?

Other theories questioned the lack of cooperation from the Met’s SO15 counter-terrorism branch with certain details not being shared with the Secret Intelligence Agency. GCHQ was also suspiciously slow to act on Williams’ absence. Could this have been some sort of cover up?

Frustratingly, we have no answers. Even 15 years later, the circumstances surrounding Gareth Williams’ death remain a mystery and are likely to stay that way.