The Gareth Williams Spy in a Bag Case

Gareth Williams was an employee of GCHQ, a British intelligence agency, when he was found dead in his apartment August 23, 2010.

His corpse was found locked inside a large sports bag placed in his bathtub. Hence the phrase "Spy in a Bag" used prominently in the news media.

It is still unknown how he died, whether as an accident, a hit by a foreign intelligence agency, organized crime, or a sex game gone wrong.

Police believe it was an accident, while the coroner found that his death was likely the result of a criminal action.

Notes on these possibilities and evidence supporting each:

Evidence Suggestive of Murder (Foreign Intelligence Agency/Organized Crime:

1. The coroner concluded Williams' death was likely the result of criminal action
2. Difficult (but not impossible) to lock oneself in the bag without leaving prints
3. No DNA on the bag locks
4. The handles on the outside of the bag were fastened together with velcro
5. Bag placed in the bathtub (evidence down the drain)
6. No handprints or footprints in the bath
7. Room heater on full blast (get rid of evidence faster)
8. DNA found in bathroom too small to be analyzed
9. Williams didn't have a knife with him to get out of the bag in an emergency
10. A confinement expert believes it must have been murder
11. No signs of a struggle to get out of the bag
12. His family says he wasn't a risk taker
13. Williams possessed rare skills hard to replace, he launched effective counterattacks to stop enemy computer hackers gaining access to UK banks
14. His cell phone was wiped clean shortly before his death
15. Williams made "unauthorized searches that left him open to blackmail"
16. Evidence of at least 2 unidentified people in the apartment around the time of his death
17. The front door could be opened through the mailbox by anyone, security problem
18. Williams wasn't just an intelligence worker, he was a spy out in the field as well, traveling abroad
19. He knew in some way the son of a billionaire Kazakh oligarch
20. He likely met with spies at his safe house apartment and they or he may have been followed
21. One of his jobs was tracking the flow of money between Russia and Europe

Evidence Suggestive of an Accident/Suicide:

1. Police concluded it was likely an accident
2. Williams had recently attended the DefCon conference, where attendees can learn how to escape from handcuffs, not leave traces, etc
3. It is possible to lock oneself inside that kind of sports bag
4. Williams apparently visited bondage websites on his computer
5. His landlady once found him tied to his bed and he needed help, suggesting a propensity to restrain himself
6. Williams had just been taken off a job (distraught, suicide?)

Evidence Suggestive of a Sex-Related Angle

1. His landlady once found him tied to his bed and he needed help, suggesting a propensity to restrain himself
2. Evidence he wore women's clothing
3. Williams apparently visited bondage websites on his computer
4. Williams visited transvestite/gay clubs (disputed?)
5. Williams made "unauthorized searches that left him open to blackmail"

As you can see, so far I've tallied far more facts that point in the direction of murder than for any other explanation.

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