Showing posts with label 8c. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 8c. Show all posts

Chapter 116: Mysterious Bouts Of Amnesia

Previous: Worm Dirt

Donald Rumsfeld "couldn't recall"
when or how he found out.
I needed a walk, so I wandered down the hall and looked in on Mycroft again. I was pleased to see him sleeping soundly, but I knew it wouldn't last forever, and that he would need some food when he woke up. I was starting to feel hungry myself, and already expecting Sherlock to return at an unreasonable hour, so I asked Mrs. Hudson to bring up a bowl of fruit and a tray of sweet rolls along with cold supper for three. This way, I figured, no matter when or what they wanted to eat, I would have something for them.

I looked in on Mycroft again and left him a note, inviting him to join me if he wanted nourishment or conversation. Then I refilled my pipe and turned my attention back to Pat Tillman and his family.

The Tillman family, finding the Army's statements difficult to believe, had filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act for documents concerning Pat's death, the circumstances that led to it, and the lies the Bush administration and the Army told immediately afterward.

In response, they received thousands of pages of documents, with all the crucial details redacted. Clearly, not all the information was equally susceptible to freedom.

In these documents, Mary Tillman found evidence that Army investigators had been asking whether Pat was well-liked, and whether anyone was jealous of him. Why, she wondered, would they ask such questions? Were they looking for a motive for murder?

The investigators, it appeared, were trying to reconcile what seemed to be conflicting evidence: Forensic evidence showed that Pat had been hit in the legs and the chest, as well as three times in the forehead. These wounds indicated that the shooter was very close to him when the shots were fired.

But the Army was saying he had been shot from a distance, from a moving vehicle, across a canyon, and by one of his own men. This raised the question: if the shooter was close enough to hit him that many times, how is it possible that he didn't recognize that he was firing on one of his own?

It was apparent to me that the reason why the controversy continued for so long was not that the Tillman family weren't Christians, but that none of the changing explanations offered by the Pentagon could explain the forensic evidence. Unsatisfied by the official stories, their determination whetted perhaps by all the redactions in the documents, the Tillman family continued to press for answers.

Richard Myers "couldn't remember"
whether he told anybody.
Thus they witnessed one of the most remarkable coincidences of our time: a Congressional hearing at which all the people in authority who were connected with the story, from Secretary of Defense on down, experienced mysterious bouts of amnesia which left them unable to remember, let alone explain, any of the most significant events in the sequence.

"When and how did you find out that Pat Tillman had been killed?" Donald Rumsfeld was asked. The former Secretary of Defense, known for his flurries of memos and his attention to minute details, couldn't remember. "I don’t recall precisely how I learned that he was killed," he said, according to Paul von Zielbauer in the New York Times. "It could have been internally; it could have been through the press." Oh well. Nobody else could remember very much, either.

"When and how did you find out that Pat Tillman's death had been fratricide?" the committee asked. Nobody could remember, except former Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Richard Myers. He testified that he found out at the end of April that there was a possibility of fratricide in the death of Pat Tillman, but he couldn't remember whether he told anybody.

According to von Zielbauer,
General Myers said he could not recall how or when he learned of it, and even if he could, he said, “I don’t think there’s any regulation that would require me to do anything, actually.”
In 2008, The Raw Story published an article by Nick Juliano quoting a draft report from the House Oversight Committee, which said:
The Committee interviewed several senior officials at the White House, including Communications Director Dan Bartlett, Press Secretary Scott McClellan, and chief speechwriter Michael Gerson. Not a single one could recall when he learned about the fratricide or what he did in response.
But surely the prize for selective memory loss had already been cornered by retired Lt. Gen. Philip R. Kensinger Jr., who was questioned for more than four hours by the Pentagon inspector general's office in December 2006.

According to an Associated Press report published by the Washington Post,
Kensinger repeatedly contradicted other officers' testimony, and sometimes his own. He said on some 70 occasions that he did not recall something.

At one point, he said: "You've got me really scared about my brain right now. I'm really having a problem."
Quite a problem indeed! It was no wonder the family were so upset.

Philip Kensinger was "really scared"
about his "brain."
Mrs. Hudson had brought the food, and a pot of tea, so I took a break from my reading and ate some dinner. While I was doing so, Mycroft rapped on the door.

"I found the note you left," he said when I opened it. "That was very kind of you."

"Think nothing of it," I replied. "Will you join me for dinner?"

"No, thank you, Doctor Watson," he answered, "I have had more than enough to eat today. I just stepped in to ask the questions which were on my mind when I woke up."

"What are the questions?" I asked.

"If the attack of September 11 wasn't carried out by 19 Muslim fanatics with box-cutters under the direction of Osama bin Laden, then who was responsible? And how was it done?"

"I'm afraid we'll have to ask your brother," I replied. "Would you like to wait with me until he returns?"

"Do you expect him soon?" he asked.

"I've no idea what to expect," I answered, "Quite often he does return very late."

"I'd be better off trying to sleep," replied Mycroft. He thanked me again and departed.

When I had finished eating, I started trying to summarize what I had learned about the story, particularly about its impact on the family. I wrote:
If a family can muster: considerable political and/or media support; the courage to work through overwhelming grief; the time, energy and money to keep pressing for answers; and the tenacity to persevere despite determined resistance; then they might earn the privilege of being demeaned, disrespected, and deceived -- dragged through multiple stages of Hell, only to be told, in effect, "Thank you for your sacrifice. Now go away. You'll get nothing from us."
Needless to say, I found the exercise quite depressing, and I was sitting, smoking, and contemplating the injustice of it, when Sherlock Holmes returned.

"Watson, you don't look well," he said. "What have you been doing?"

"I've been writing down what I have learned about what happened to the Tillman family," I replied. "It makes for grim reading," I added, handing him what I had written.

"Quite so," he said, after he had read it. "And we still don't know what happened to Pat Tillman, do we?"

"No," I replied. "I'm afraid we don't."

"It's possible that we will never know," said he. "Have you seen my brother recently?"

"He was here a few hours ago," I said. "He has slept for most of the day. And you? Did you find the needle you were looking for?"

"Not exactly," replied my friend. "But I found something else, which may prove to be even more valuable."

"May I ask what you found?" I continued.

"I have a new source," he replied. "The City of Westminster has jurisdiction over this case, and I have found someone in the City of Westminster Coroner's office who knows a few things, and who doesn't mind sharing."

"And have you learned anything in particular?" I asked.

"If we hope to learn anything from a public inquest," he said, "we may have a very long wait. Bureaucratic barriers have been put in place, according to my source, which will cause the process to be delayed, possibly for several years."

"Oh my goodness!" I exclaimed. "As if the family haven't endured enough!"

"The suffering of the family matters very little to the bureaucracy," said he.

"I can't argue with you about that," I admitted.

"No," said my friend, still holding the page I had given him, "you certainly can't."


Chapter 118: Toxicology: Negative


"The toxicology results are in," replied Holmes
"Gareth Williams is in the news again," said Sherlock Holmes, looking up from his newspaper. "This will be a good opportunity for Mycroft to familiarize himself with the investigation."

"What's the news?" I asked. It was the 28th of October, and Mycroft had been with us for ten days.

"The toxicology results are in," replied Holmes, "and they're all negative. According to the police, they found no trace of any drugs, alcohol, poisons or any other substances that would indicate cause of death."

"That's not much," I snorted. "Is there anything else?"

"They're not planning to do any more toxicology tests," replied my friend, "but say they're not finished looking into the circumstances. They're still trying to 'establish a formal cause of death,' as they say. In the meantime, they're calling the death 'suspicious and unexplained.'"

"I would say that's an understatement," I ventured.

"Don't expect any arguments from me," replied Holmes.

"But it still doesn't sound like very much news," I insisted. "What opportunity will it provide for Mycroft?"

"It will be interesting to see how this aspect of the story unfolds," replied Holmes. "I am curious as to how the reportage will develop. You and I have been studying such things for years, but this will be Mycroft's first glimpse of it."

"What are you expecting?" I asked.

"This announcement," said the detective, "shows Scotland Yard in a very weak position. Their tests haven't found anything substantial. They are still in the dark as to the cause of death. They are looking for a 'Mediterranean couple' who may or may not exist -- but who, if they do exist, may have been in the building a month or two before Gareth died. They are asking for hints from the public, through their incident room, or anonymously through Crimestoppers.'

"they cannot even identify the cause of death!"
"Crimestoppers, Watson! Anonymous tips! This is how the police are hoping to solve the murder of one of Her Majesty's most valuable assets, whose body was found two months ago and for whom they still cannot even identify the cause of death!

"Can they possibly leave the game in this condition? I would wager they can't. I expect anonymous leaks to the papers, or maybe some other high-spin event."

"What should I do, then?" I asked.

"Read everything you can get," replied Holmes. "Clip everything that seems relevant. When we have built a collection, we'll put the pieces in order." So that's what we did.

From the French news service, Agence France Presse, we found an article called "Spy's death still a mystery after tests draw blank, which summarized the no-news succinctly and quoted the police statement directly:
Tests on the body of a spy found dead in the bathtub of his London flat in August have discovered no evidence of any drugs, alcohol or poison that might have killed him, police said Thursday.

A "comprehensive" series of tests have failed to explain the death of Gareth Williams, 30, and it remains a mystery, police said in a statement -- although they insisted they were still treating his case as suspicious.

"The Metropolitan Police Service can confirm that results from comprehensive further toxicology tests carried out in relation to the death of Gareth Williams have come back negative, showing no trace of any drugs, alcohol, poisons or any other substances that would indicate cause of death," they said.

"There are no plans to carry out any further tests of this type, but enquiries continue to try and establish a formal cause of death.

"Mr Williams' death remains suspicious and unexplained and enquiries into the circumstances continue."
AFP also added a bit of background on the case:
Williams is thought to have been dead for two weeks when his naked, decomposing remains were found on August 23 at his home near the headquarters of secret intelligence service MI6, where he worked.

An inquest heard last month that he had been padlocked inside a bag but had not been stabbed and there were no obvious signs of strangulation.

He died just days before completing a one-year secondment to MI6 from GCHQ, the electronic "listening post" which monitors communications for intelligence purposes, located in Cheltenham.
The Guardian had a story headlined "MI6 spy Gareth Williams had no trace of drugs or poison in body," which added even more detail about Gareth's background:
Williams, a cycling fanatic and accomplished mathematician, was on secondment from GCHQ in Cheltenham to MI6 at their headquarters in Vauxhall, on the banks of the Thames.

His body was found in his temporary residence in Pimlico by uniformed officers. There was no sign of any forced entry to the property, and no signs of disturbance inside.

Williams, from Anglesey, North Wales, was last seen alive on 15 August, eight days before he was found dead. Police have released CCTV footage of him entering Holland Park tube station in west London at about 3pm the previous day.
The Guardian included a message from the bereaved family:
His family have dismissed suggestions that he had been involved in risky sexual practices as untrue and distressing.
Sky News, in "No Poison Or Drugs Found In MI6 Spy's Body," provided some background on the discovery of the body:
Mr Williams' body was discovered by officers who went to his flat after colleagues said he had not been seen for some time.

There was no sign of any forced entry to the property or a disturbance inside and nothing is believed to be missing.

He was found unclothed, in a zipped and padlocked red North Face holdall in an empty bath, in the ensuite bathroom.

Mr Williams, originally from Anglesey, North Wales, was last seen alive on August 15, eight days before he was found dead in the £400,000 property.
We found a report from BBC headlined "MI6 man Gareth Williams's cause of death still unknown," which said
Mr Williams graduated with a first class degree in maths from Bangor University at just 17.

In 2000, he took a postgraduate certificate in mathematics at St Catharine's College, Cambridge, before beginning work at GCHQ.

Officers who entered the flat where his body was found discovered a mobile phone and several mobile phone Sim cards laid out.

It is not known what work he was doing for MI6.
BBC also gave some insight into the case from Home Affairs correspondent Daniel Sandford, who said:
His cause of death remains a complete mystery.

In an investigation like this you never quite know what the police have got to go on they are not telling you about.

There are strong suggestions his laptop is missing so possibly it may link to his work.
From the Press Association via the Independent we found an article called "Tests on spy's body draw blank," which reported the toxicology results and added a few more details:
The 30-year-old GCHQ code-breaker's naked and decomposing body was found in a padlocked holdall in the bath of his Pimlico flat on August 23.

The mysterious circumstances of Mr Williams' death sparked an international frenzy of speculation earlier this year.

Coroner Dr Paul Knapman is due to review the case in private next Wednesday after opening an inquest on September 1.

A first post mortem examination could not identify a cause of death and police sent off numerous intimate samples for further tests.
The story even landed overseas. A short piece from the Associated Press ran in the New York Times under the heading "Tests Find No Drugs, Poison in Slain UK Spy's Body" and in the Canadian Press under the heading "No drugs, poison found in body of British spy mysteriously slain." It said simply:
Police investigating the unexplained slaying of a British intelligence official say tests on his body indicate no traces of drugs or poisons that may have led to his death.

Detectives are trying to establish how Gareth Williams, a 30-year-old official at Britain's eavesdropping and code-breaking agency GCHQ, died. Williams' naked and decomposing body was discovered inside a locked sports bag in his central London apartment on Aug. 23.

Police say Thursday toxicology tests show no evidence of any drugs, alcohol or poisons indicating the cause of death.

They have been hunting for a man and a woman seen calling at the communal door of Williams' apartment in June or July.

The death has sparked speculation and theories ranging from assassination to a sex game gone wrong.
And in New Zealand there was a report from Reuters titled "Spy's death still a mystery," which covered the police statement and added:
The mysterious nature of the death has led some to question whether he was targeted because of his work. However, the police inquiry is being carried out by its homicide unit, indicating they believe it is not related to terrorism or spy matters.

Williams was working for MI6, which deals with foreign espionage matters, on secondment from the Government Communications Headquarters, the government's eavesdropping service.

The Foreign Office has made no comment on the death, saying it did not make statements about anyone who might work for the intelligence agencies.

Chapter 119: A Drastic Change Of Direction


We found two pieces from the Daily Mail.
We found two pieces from the Daily Mail. The first was published under the headline "MI6 spy Gareth Williams had 'no traces of foreign substances' in his body which was found zipped in a sportsbag," and its form was fairly similar to the others, in that it included the police statement as well as some background and some apparently inevitable speculation.

But, as compared to the reports we'd seen from the press services, and especially those from overseas, this report was slightly more detailed. The full text ran as follows:
Tests on the body of MI6 spy Gareth Williams have revealed no traces of any foreign substances that may have led to his death.

No evidence of drugs, alcohol or poisons were found during a battery of tests conducted by toxicologists, sources close to the inquiry said.

The 31-year-old GCHQ code-breaker's naked and decomposing body was found in a padlocked holdall in the bath of his Pimlico flat on August 23.

The mysterious circumstances of Mr Williams' death sparked an international frenzy of speculation earlier this year.

Police have been mystified since cycling enthusiast Mr Williams was found dead inside his £400,000 two-bedroom flat in Pimlico, half-a-mile from the MI6 HQ in Westminster.

The initial reaction of the police constable who discovered his body was: ‘This is a murder scene.’

There were also rumours that Mr Williams was the victim of a professional ‘hit’. Other theories included the suggestion that he had been murdered by Russian agents.

Tests on his body were ordered to establish whether he was poisoned, as happened when Polonium 210 radiation was used to murder exiled Russian secret agent Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006.

Initial toxicology tests showed no traces of alcohol or rec­reational drugs in Mr Williams’ system.

The MI6 agent’s family have angrily accused the Government of running a ‘dirty tricks’ campaign to blacken his name after reports that he was gay and a cross-dresser.

Police denied claims that gay magazines, bondage gear and the phone numbers of gay escort men were found in the apartment near his body.

Police also dismissed allegations of irregularities in his finances and that a top-secret laptop computer had gone missing from his flat.

Crucially, there was no evidence of violence and no cuts or bruises on Mr Williams’ body, suggesting there had been no struggle.

Coroner Dr Paul Knapman is due to review the case in private next Wednesday after opening an inquest on September 1.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'Results from comprehensive further toxicology tests carried out in relation to the death of Gareth Williams have come back negative, showing no trace of any drugs, alcohol, poisons or any other substances that would indicate cause of death.

'There are no plans to carry out any further tests of this type, but enquiries continue to try and establish a formal cause of death.

'Mr Williams' death remains suspicious and unexplained and enquiries into the circumstances continue.'
This report was quickly re-written
with a drastic change of direction.
But this report was quickly re-written with a drastic change of direction.

The new headline included the original, "MI6 spy Gareth Williams had 'no traces of foreign substances' in his body which was found zipped in a sportsbag," and the new text still included the no-news plus some background and speculation.

But now the background and speculation were more focused, and pointed in a very different direction. Just to make sure no one missed it, the original headline was now preceded by the words, "Clues point to sex game."

The revised text read as follows:
The MI6 spy found dead in a sports bag was not poisoned or under the influence of alcohol at the time of his death, tests have revealed.

After investigating all other avenues, detectives now believe it was a sadomasochistic sex game which led to Gareth Williams' death.

Toxicology tests ruled out the possibility of him being drugged or injected with any lethal toxin.

The codebreaker’s naked body was found locked in a sports bag in his empty bath.

Tests on his body, which have taken two months to complete, have failed to find any foreign substances – or alcohol – or give any indication as to how he died.

Police are now focused on finding a couple known to have been with the 31-year-old in the weeks before his death.

The Mediterranean couple, who are understood to have had a set of keys to the flat, are thought to be key to the investigation.

The man and woman, in their thirties, were known to Mr Williams and were seen entering the flat owned by the intelligence services in late June or early July. But, despite repeated appeals, they have failed to come forward.

Detectives are convinced that the cipher expert could not have died alone.

One possible explanation being investigated by detectives is that Mr Williams was locked in the bag by someone else and left in the bath as part of the bizarre sex game. It is thought that when the person returned to release him they found him dead and fled.

Police are certain he was alive when he was padlocked into the large holdall by, which led to him suffocating. There were no injuries on his body to suggest a struggle.

Inquiries continue into his private life, which officers remain convinced will be the key to solving the case.

There has been months of speculation about the death of the spy, who had been working for the Secret Intelligence Service on secondment from GCHQ in Cheltenham.

The inconclusive toxicology results will only serve to deepen the intrigue surrounding the case.

Mr Williams’ decomposing body was found inside a zipped and padlocked North Face bag in his flat on August 23.

Initially it was thought the cycling enthusiast had been murdered, but the case remains officially classified as ‘suspicious and unexplained’.

Police have discounted suggestions that Mr Williams committed suicide alone. The Mail has learnt that the outer door to his flat in Pimlico, Central London, had apparently been locked from the outside when police arrived on the scene.

Detectives have found no evidence to support claims that Mr Williams was a cross-dresser, that bondage equipment was found at his home, that a laptop was missing from the flat, or that he had reported to spy bosses that he was being followed.

Nor, as was claimed in one report, was any suspicious liquid found next to his body in the sports bag.

Police have also dismissed allegations of irregularities in his finances and there is no evidence that Mr Williams had committed any criminal acts.

The spy was last seen eight days before his body was found. CCTV showed him shopping at Harrods and at Holland Park tube station.

Colleagues later raised the alarm after he had not been seen for days.

Officers found no sign of any forced entry to the property or a disturbance inside. Westminster Coroner Dr Paul Knapman is due to review the case in private next Wednesday, after opening an inquest last month.

Yesterday a Metropolitan Police spokesman said: ‘Results from comprehensive further toxicology tests carried out in relation to the death of Gareth Williams have come back negative, showing no trace of any drugs, alcohol, poisons or any other substances that would indicate cause of death.

‘There are no plans to carry out any further tests of this type, but enquiries continue to try and establish a formal cause of death.

‘Mr Williams’ death remains suspicious and unexplained and enquiries into the circumstances continue.’

Chapter 120: What Might Have Happened


The London dailies explained
what might have happened ...
but the details remained cloudy.
We found several other reports which carried on in the same direction as the revised Daily Mail piece. The Telegraph ran the relatively modest headline "MI6 spy found dead in a bag: Toxicology tests on body spy prove negative," and began sedately enough:
Tests on the body of MI6 spy Gareth Williams have revealed no traces of drugs, alcohol, poisons or any other substances that may have led to his death, sources said today.

The 30-year-old GCHQ codebreaker's naked and decomposing body was found in a padlocked holdall in the bath of his Pimlico flat on August 23.

Toxicologists carried out a battery of tests looking for any trace of drugs, alcohol or poisons, but sources close to the inquiry have revealed all have proved negative.
The lurid details didn't come until the fourth paragraph:
No further tests are planned at this stage and therefore it remains likely that Mr Williams died as a result of a sadomasochistic sex game gone wrong.
The piece, by Martin Evans and Duncan Gardham, explained what might have happened:
Having ruled out almost every other possibility, officers believe he probably died after climbing into the bag which was then locked by another person.

It is unclear whether he did so on instructions from the other person or was locked in at his own request, but detectives believe that he was probably involved in some sadomasochistic game in which he got a kick from being helpless.

It is likely that once locked and left in the bag, he died from a combination of causes including suffocation and dehydration, which have been difficult to identify in a post-mortem.

The red North Face holdall was made from a laminate material and had reinforced seams, making it both hot and almost impossible to escape from. The top floor flat is likely to have heated up in the August weather, causing Mr Williams to pass out.

The bag was padlocked from the outside and officers believe the other person was supposed to return to the flat to release him but when they did so, they found him dead.
It also contained some insight into the investigation:
Detectives from Scotland Yard’s Homicide Task Force investigating the case say they ... have been keen not to jump to conclusions in the interests of pursuing all possible leads but they now believe he took off his own clothes and see a sex game as the most likely scenario.

So far investigators have failed to positively identify whether someone else was in the flat around the time of the death but further fingerprint and DNA analysis is being conducted.

One source close to the inquiry told the Daily Telegraph: “We began with a variety of less probable scenarios, eliminating each one until we ended up with the most likely. “Human beings are funny things and they have all kinds of predilections. These bags have warnings about keeping them away from children because they can cause suffocation.”
The Daily Star headline shouted, "OFFICIAL: SPY IN BAG GARETH WILLIAMS DIED DURING KINKY SEX GAME," and the piece by Paul Robins began:
THE spy found dead inside a padlocked sports bag suffocated during a sex game, police claimed yesterday.

New evidence revealed spook Gareth Williams got his kicks from being trapped in confined spaces, a fetish known as claustrophilia.

But detectives claim things went wrong when he could not get out. ... [P]olice believe they have solved the mystery after finding links to weird torture websites on the M16 officer’s laptops.

One called Torture Garden gives advice and tips on bizarre fetishes like claustrophilia.
Robins explained what might have happened:
Its believed Gareth, 31, stripped naked before asking someone to snap a padlock shut on the bag’s zip and leave him to find his own way out.

He was stuck in a semi-foetal position and was soon left struggling to fill his lungs with air.

The spy had taken the padlock key into the bag as his “life line” but because the padlock was on the outside he was unable to reach it.

With little oxygen in the bag, he soon passed out and suffocated. Police are convinced the spook would not have been able to lock it from the inside himself.

But it is believed he may have told the person to leave the flat to add to his sexual fantasy.
The Sun had a piece called "Bag spook died in 'Houdini' sex game," in which Mike Sullivan wrote:
BODY-in-the-bag spy Gareth Williams suffocated after a kinky Houdini-style sex game went wrong, detectives said yesterday.

The naked MI6 codebreaker was a fan of claustrophilia - in which people get sexual pleasure from confined spaces.

Cops believe the 31-year-old maths genius died accidentally from lack of oxygen after he agreed to be locked in the 32-inch-long sports holdall by another person.

They reckon the person who zipped up the bag discovered him dead and fled the flat.

They have ruled out foul play but are still trying to trace the other person.
Sullivan went on to explain what might have happened:
Mr Williams was zipped into the North Face bag and a padlock was snapped shut through two eyeholes in the handles - but the key was found inside.

Normally claustrophiliacs use a password in case of trouble.

It is thought Mr Williams, who did not have a girlfriend, died quickly in the hot bag, possibly while the other person was out of the room.

The key was then put in the bag which was moved to the bath.
The Daily Express ran a piece called "SPY’S FATAL ‘HOUDINI SEX GAME’," in which John Twomey explained what might have happened:
SPY Gareth Williams suffocated himself accidentally during a sex game which indulged his fetish for being locked in confined spaces, police believe.

The MI6 officer took his “Houdini games” too far when he was locked in a large sports bag at his flat.

Williams, 31, stripped naked and climbed into the sports bag in his bath, armed with a padlock key.

Scotland Yard detectives believe he asked someone to snap the padlock shut on the bag’s zip and leave him to find his own way out. But the lock was on the outside of the bag and he could not reach it. With little oxygen in the sports bag, he soon passed out and suffocated.

Officers are still looking for a mystery couple seen at his flat who could explain how the padlock on the bag was snapped shut.

It is still not clear whether anyone was in the bathroom when the spy started struggling for air. Williams may have told the person to leave the flat after locking him in the bag to add to the asphyxiation “sensation” and the feeling that he was dicing with death.

The codebreaker was found dead in the bath at his flat in Pimlico, central London, on August 23. He had been there for up to eight days.

Police checks on his laptop computers uncovered links to weird websites, including one called Torture Garden which deals with fetishes like claustrophilia.
The Evening Standard had an article by Justin Davenport headlined "Spy found dead in bag may have had a fetish for confined spaces." That piece began:
MI6 spy Gareth Williams may have died as a result of a bizarre sexual addiction to being enclosed in confined spaces, it emerged today.

Detectives are investigating whether the code-breaker, whose naked body was found inside a zipped and locked holdall, was a fan of so-called “claustrophilia”.

Mr Williams, 31, is thought to have died accidentally from a lack of oxygen after he agreed to be locked inside the red 32-inch long North Face bag by another person. One possibility is that the sex game went tragically wrong and the second person returned to find Mr Williams had died. The man — or woman — then fled the Pimlico flat, not leaving any forensic clues.

Police are now concentrating on Mr Williams's private life which detectives are convinced holds the answer to how he died. An examination of the spy's two laptops found in the flat showed he visited websites on claustrophilia, a desire to be confined in closed spaces.

There were also said to be links on one computer to a bondage and sado-masochistic website.
After outlining the background, Davenport explained what might have happened:
Mr Williams, 31, is thought to have died accidentally from a lack of oxygen after he agreed to be locked inside the red 32-inch long North Face bag by another person. One possibility is that the sex game went tragically wrong and the second person returned to find Mr Williams had died. The man — or woman — then fled the Pimlico flat, not leaving any forensic clues.
This lack of forensic clues must have been very puzzling, because:
Police do not believe that he was able to lock himself into the North Face bag on his own and suspect at least one other person was inside the flat at the time.

They are still trying to trace a couple, both of Mediterranean appearance and aged between 20 and 30, who had paid a visit to Mr Williams's flat about a month before he was found dead. Despite repeated appeals they have not come forward.

A colourful wig and women's make-up were also found inside the flat, but detectives can find no evidence that Mr Williams was a cross dresser. Sources say he was an intensely private individual who appears to have gone to great lengths to hide details of his private life.
This story spread overseas as well, but there it appeared in the customary abridged form. UPI ran an article headed "British spy's death likely due to sex game," which relied on the Daily Mail and the Telegraph for most of its assertions. The text ran as follows:
Toxicology reports on the body of a British spy probably involved in a sado-masochistic game showed no evidence of substance abuse, officials said Thursday.

The naked, decomposing body of MI6 codebreaker Gareth Williams, 30, was found locked in a bag in his London apartment Aug. 23, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Authorities think Williams died after climbing into the bag which was then locked from the outside by another person, as part of a sex game from which Williams took pleasure in being rendered helpless, the Daily Mail reported.

Williams probably died from suffocation and dehydration, the Daily Mail said.

Scotland Yard seeks a Mediterranean couple between the ages of 20 and 30, who entered the apartment in June or July, the newspaper reported.

Officers have not ruled out preventing Williams from continuing important work in intercepting and decrypting foreign powers' messages as a motive for his death, the newspaper said.
And in the Toronto Sun, the headline read "MI6 spy died in sex game gone wrong," and the story explained what might have happened in five short paragraphs:
Police now believe that Gareth Williams, the former codebreaker for Britain's Secret Intelligence Service MI6 whose body was found naked in a padlocked gym bag in his west London flat, died accidentally from the lack of oxygen during a sex game gone wrong.

British tabloid The Sun reports that police say the 31-year-old man got sexual pleasure from being confined in small places and agreed to be locked in a 32-inch long North Face sports bag.

Police believe Williams died quickly from the heat and lack of air inside the bag while the person who locked him inside was out of the room. When the person realized Williams suffocated to death, he or she put the key inside the bag and moved it to the bath tub where police found the body on Aug. 23.

Toxicology reports came back clean and police have ruled out foul play but are looking for the person who locked Williams inside the bag as well as a couple that visited his apartment a month before his death.

The former codebreaker's computers showed that he visited websites on claustrophilia as well as bondage and sado-masochism.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)