British spy’s death puzzles coroner

LONDON – A coroner said Wednesday a British spy whose naked body was found inside a locked sports bag was likely killed in a criminal act, but acknowledged the riddle of how he met his mysterious death may never be solved.

Coroner Fiona Wilcox said it was unlikely that the demise of code breaker Gareth Williams, 31, would “ever be satisfactorily explained,” despite a 21-month police inquiry and seven days of expert evidence to an inquest hearing.

Williams worked for Britain’s secret eavesdropping service GCHQ but was attached to the MI6 overseas spy agency when his remains were found in August 2010 at his London apartment, in the bag and inside a bathtub.

Wilcox said the spy was likely killed either by suffocation or poisoning in a “criminally meditated act” and acknowledged it was possible that an intelligence agency colleague may have been involved.

It is “likely that Gareth entered the bag alive and then died very soon afterwards,” the coroner said as Williams’ family listened to her verdict inside Westminster Coroner’s Court.

The coroner moved to dispel wild theories that have swirled around the case – insisting there was no evidence of a sexual encounter gone wrong, of suicidal intent, or that Williams’ death was linked to a supposed interest in bondage.

Wilcox said it appeared “extremely unlikely” that Williams could have climbed inside the sports bag and locked it himself.