London : A spy whose naked, decomposing body was found inside a padlocked gym bag at his apartment likely died in an accident with no one else involved, British police said today, a tentative conclusion that is unlikely to calm conspiracy theories around the bizarre case. Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt said the death of Gareth Williams, whose remains were found inside a bag in his bathtub in August 2010, was “most probably” an accident.
But he conceded that the facts could not be established beyond a reasonable doubt, and Williams’ family members said they still believe he was killed. The police verdict also disagrees with a coroner’s inquest, which concluded last year that Williams had probably been killed by another person in a “criminally meditated act.”
Hewitt told reporters at Scotland Yard headquarters that a police review had found little evidence of foul play in a death that has spawned a host of theories, from assassination to sexual adventure gone awry. Williams, a cyberwarfare expert, worked for Britain’s GCHQ eavesdropping service and was attached to the overseas espionage agency MI6 when he died.
