The Method
The death of Gareth Williams baffled investigators and the public alike, leading to two contradictory official conclusions and a host of competing theories. The initial coroner’s inquest concluded that Gareth had been unlawfully killed, a victim of foul play. Years later, however, a Metropolitan Police review concluded his death was “probably an accident.” This schism lies at the heart of the mystery, leaving three main possibilities to explain how the spy ended up in the bag.
Theory 1: Gareth Williams’s death was a tragic accident
This theory, favoured by the Met Police in their final report, posits that Gareth’s death was self-inflicted. It suggests that by locking himself inside the bag he might have been engaging in some form of claustrophilia – the love of enclosed spaces – or was practicing escapology. They believed that Gareth climbed into the bag by himself, somehow pulled the zip closed from the inside, and then, in a feat of incredible contortion, managed to lock the padlock from the outside before becoming trapped. Unable to escape, he would have suffocated within minutes.
This theory, however, is fraught with difficulties. Two of the world’s leading escapologists tried extensively to replicate what the police believed Gareth had done – one attempting it over 400 times without success. They declared it impossible to lock the bag from the inside in the manner it was found. Furthermore, Gareth’s DNA had not been found on the padlock, and there were none of his handprints on the bathtub, which he would have surely needed to brace against to perform such an unnatural manoeuvre. In addition, there was no evidence in his life to suggest an interest in escapology.
Theory 2: Gareth Williams’s death was a state-sponsored assassination
The initial coroner and many security experts lean towards this theory. Given Gareth’s work with MI6 and GCHQ, he was operating in a world of high stakes and dangerous secrets. This theory suggests he was killed by professional operatives from a foreign intelligence service, or perhaps even by his own side: MI6.
Had Gareth uncovered a sensitive secret, been a target for recruitment by a rival agency… or had his employers feared he was a security risk? Perhaps a team of skilled agents subdued him, possibly using an undetectable poison or anaesthetic. They would have then placed his body inside the bag, locked it, and performed a meticulous “forensic clean” of the flat, wiping away all traces of their presence. This would account for the lack of DNA, fingerprints, and signs of a struggle. The fact that his mobile phones and several SIM cards had been professionally wiped of their data shortly before his death also lends significant weight to the idea of professional, intelligence-based interference.
Theory 3: Gareth Williams’s death was a personal encounter gone wrong
This theory sits somewhere between the other two. It speculates that Gareth invited someone back to his flat for a personal, perhaps sexual, encounter. This could have involved bondage or some other activity that led to his accidental death.
Perhaps Gareth’s partner in this scenario, upon realising he was dead, panicked. Fearing they would be implicated in the death of an MI6 officer, they put his body in the bag, locked it, and fled, cleaning the scene as best they could.
However, while this explains the lack of forced entry to Gareth’s flat, it doesn’t adequately explain the professional level of the forensic clean-up. A panicked, untrained individual is unlikely to be so thorough as to leave no trace DNA or fingerprints whatsoever. The police investigation into Gareth’s private life, while uncovering his interest in female fashion, found no link to a specific individual who could have been present that night.
Ultimately, each theory leaves unanswered questions. But the sheer physical improbability of the accident theory leads many to believe that the truth lies in a darker world of espionage, where a silent, flawless murder was deliberately staged to look like a bizarre, unexplainable accident.
© 2025, Lora Jones. All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited without written permission.
