Scotland Yard finds MI6 agent ‘was doubtless alone when he died’
- Williams was discovered useless in August 2010, eight days after he was final seen alive
- He was a codebreaker working for MI6 in London on secondment from GCHQ
Scotland Yard have concluded that the MI6 agent who was present in a holdall with zips padlocked collectively in his bathtub ‘was doubtless alone when he died.’
Gareth Williams was 31 when he was discovered useless, bare and decomposing in his flat in Pimlico, central London in 2010, eight days after he had final been noticed alive. The code breaker and distinctive mathematician had been working for MI6 on secondment from GCHQ.
At the time theories surrounding his demise ran wild, from intercourse video games gone incorrect to a focused assassination by a overseas nation.
However a forensic assessment printed final week by Scotland Yard, which ordered new lab exams to be carried out on sure gadgets from his flat mentioned that ‘no new DNA’ was discovered, subsequently it was extra doubtless that Williams was alone when he died.
Gareth Williams was 31 when he was discovered useless, bare and decomposing in his flat in Pimlico, central London in 2010
Williams was present in north face holdall, padlocked collectively. There have been no fingerprints discovered on the bag, padlock or bathtub and the important thing to the padlock was discovered contained in the bag, beneath Williams physique
Police found Williams’ physique inside a padlocked purple North Face sports activities bag within the bathtub. His quilt was pushed onto the ground, whereas £20,000 value of ladies’s garments have been within the spare bed room. A woman’s orange wig was draped over the chair in the lounge
The newest investigation managed to make use of extra fashionable strategies to check the gadgets and though new DNA was discovered on a inexperienced towel in a kitchen cabinet, it had belonged to Williams not a 3rd social gathering.
Other gadgets that have been examined included the holdall, its zip toggle and the padlock and key, however no new discoveries have been made.
Detective Chief Inspector Neil John of the Metropolitan Polices’ specialist crime command mentioned: ‘In February 2021 a forensic evaluation was undertaken which was additionally peer-reviewed by a forensic supervisor in respect of all displays seized throughout this investigation.
‘This resulted in a resubmission of displays to the forensic laboratory and extra examinations being sought.’
At the time there have been no fingerprints discovered on the bag, padlock or bathtub and the important thing to the padlock was discovered contained in the bag, beneath Williams physique.
Peter Faulding, a rescue knowledgeable, tried greater than 300 instances to lock himself himself inside a holdall in the best way Williams must have carried out – and failed each time. ‘Not even Houdini would have been able to pull it off,’ he wrote.
However retired Met Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell mentioned in 2021 that he believes Mr Williams was concerned in sexual exercise earlier than his demise.
In a unprecedented intervention, the detective argued the reply to Williams’ demise lay in his personal life and led to the reopening the 11-year-old case.
A forensic assessment printed final week by Scotland Yard mentioned that ‘no new DNA’ was discovered, subsequently it was extra doubtless that Williams was alone when he died
Mr Williams’s bare physique was discovered inside a holdall – which was padlocked from the surface – within the bathtub of his flat (above) in Pimlico, central London, in August 2010
Mr Williams’s household have lengthy steered foul play, with two police sources claiming a few of Williams’ work was targeted on Russia – and one confirming reviews he had helped the US’s National Security Agency hint worldwide money-laundering routes utilized by organised crime teams together with Moscow-based mafia cells.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Mr Campbell mentioned the demise was totally different from the hits on Russian defectors Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006, and Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in 2018.
‘What would have been achieved by killing a junior analyst?’ Campbell requested.
‘He was a telephone analyst, an knowledgeable by way of cellphones and the transference of knowledge. What would the Russians or every other state have achieved by killing him?’
He was not believed to be in a relationship on the time of his demise, nevertheless through the investigation six containers of unworn ladies’s designer clothes value £20,000 and a orange wig have been discovered within the residence.
A semen stain on the toilet ground steered that Williams had been engaged in sexual exercise shortly earlier than his demise – which casts additional doubt on claims that Williams was the goal of a state assassination.
Speaking in regards to the semen stain, the previous Met detective mentioned: ‘I felt prefer it was inconceivable his physique fluid may very well be current in a violent, non-consenting situation.
‘Considering Gareth’s tidiness and cleanliness, we surmised the semen was from the day of his entry into the bag. This would have been consensual exercise. But was he alone or not? It could be tough to think about him having intimacy with a Russian hitman or a feminine spy.’
Instead, Campbell mentioned the reply most likely lay in his personal life, citing proof of Williams’ visits to bondage and fetish web sites, in addition to pictures of drag queens, heard on the inquest.
Retired Met Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell (left), who led the investigation into the mysterious demise of MI6 junior analyst Gareth Williams (proper)
Peter Faulding makes an attempt to lock himself inside a holdall. He failed to do that 300 instances
Detectives investigating the demise additionally discovered that Williams had searched fashions in numerous types of a ‘hogtie’, a bondage place, and that he had visited fetish golf equipment together with a Jonny Woo drag act in East London days earlier than his demise.
He additionally revealed that he discovered no indicators of wrestle and no bruises or marks on Williams’ physique – simply tiny scratches contained in the bag close to his head, which believes have been made by the keys contained in the bag.
‘It would not be the primary time in murder and intercourse video games that the demise has brought about a panic. Then there is a cover-up to keep away from duty or to keep away from disgrace or embarrassment.’
The Welshman who was one thing of a prodigy after finishing his GCSEs at 10, A-Levels at 13 after which getting a first-class diploma from Bangor University in Maths at 17.
He was found by Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) whereas doing a PhD in Mathematics on the University of Manchester, and introduced on board as a codebreaker.
He labored on the headquarters there in Gloucestershire, earlier than his secondment to MI6 in London to work as technical help on a extremely delicate operation.
Williams was final seen alive on Sunday 15 August shopping for muffins in Harrods and peppered grilled steaks in Waitrose. The subsequent day he had been anticipated to chair a MI6 assembly.
That identical night he had additionally deliberate to satisfy a colleague and was attributable to attend one other assembly on Friday 20 August – however failed to look.
Despite this, MI6 solely investigated his absence greater than every week later, on August 23, after a name from his sister.
In 2013, Scotland Yard mentioned he most likely died by chance after stepping into the bag on his personal.
However, this declare contrasted with the Westminster Coroner’s conclusion at his inquest in 2012, when Dr Fiona Wilcox dominated the demise was ‘criminally mediated’ and mentioned Williams was killed unlawfully by somebody unknown.
His household have been knowledgeable of the newest assessment findings.
