LONDON — Even after a coroner’s verdict, the mystery remains: a naked spy found dead in a locked duffel bag, lurid details of a kinky sex life and allegations that someone in Britain’s spy agencies may have been involved in his death.
A British coroner ruled Wednesday that another person was probably involved in Gareth Williams’ death — a finding that puts more pressure on police to uncover the cyberwarfare expert’s killer and continue to investigate possibilities that include whether he could have died in a sex game gone awry or a more sinister scenario.
Coroner Fiona Wilcox said Williams, 31, was probably killed by suffocation or poisoning in a “criminally meditated act.” She also said it was possible that someone from one of Britain’s spy agencies was involved.
Williams, described as an introverted math genius, worked for Britain’s secret eavesdropping service GCHQ. But he was attached to the MI6 foreign spy agency when he was found dead in his London apartment on Aug. 16, 2010.
Police said he had visited sadomasochism websites, including some related to claustrophilia — a desire for confinement in enclosed spaces.
