Death of Gareth Williams
While Astonishing Legends does not delve into true crime often, we certainly have and when it comes to intrigue and spies we haven’t shied away from that (just check out our Somerton Man series). So, when another spy story crossed my desk for blogstonishing I wanted to give it a try. Tonight, we’re discussing the strange death of Gareth Williams.
Before we delve into his death, let's talk about his beginnings. He was originally from Valley, Anglesey Wales and was incredibly bright. While still attending high school, he studied mathematics part time at Bangor University. He would graduate with a first class degree at the young age of 17 and go on to pick up a PhD at the University of Manchester. He then exited academia to work at GCHQ in 2001. He rented a single room for nearly a decade and was an intensely private person.
But this privateness turned to alarm in late summer 2010. After spending a year in London, he was due to return to work at Cheltenham. But he never returned.
His colleagues called a wellness check for him after not hearing from him for several days. The police visited his home and, when he did not answer, came through the door and discovered his naked, decomposing remains. He was found in the bath of the main bedroom's bathroom. Except, he wasn't simply in the bath. He was in a sports bag that was padlocked from the outside, with the keys being INSIDE the bag. His home was immediately declared a crime scene as officials began to delve into this seemingly impossible death. His home appeared to have no signs of forced entry.
Shockingly, no evidence of Gareth's fingerprints were discovered on the padlock, nor the rim of the bath. The coroner used this as her assertion that there was some sort of third-party involvement in his death and that it was not a suicide. He was only 31.
His family alleged that the crime scene was interfered with, claiming that DNA, fingerprints, and more were removed as part of a cover-up. Inconclusive fragments of DNA from at least two individuals were found on the bag, but it was not enough to learn more.
Despite multiple inquests, outcries from people involved in the investigation, and Gareth’s own family…it was eventually decided by Scotland Yard's conclusion that Gareth had locked himself in the bag to commit suicide.
In 2013, three years after his death and following the investigation, London's Metro police said it had found a lack of evidence to prove any credible third-party involvement. This, as mentioned above, differed from the coroner's assertion that there has been someone else involved in the death of Gareth.
While this had remained cold and quiet, except for continued interest from true crime circles and folks on the internet, that changed post-covid. Why? The Met began a review in January 2021. Although it concluded without finding new evidence, this was the first news in almost a decade on the case. In 2021, the Westminster coroner ruled Williams died unlawfully at the hands of someone unknown.
But, the independent forensic review began in January and findings were received, finally, in November 2023.
This failed to quiet the public, or their interest, in the fact that there seemed to be some sort of attack on Gareth for what he discovered as an intelligence officer, and that the government was covering it up to protect state secrets.
So, what are the theories?
He was murdered by a foreign spy agency
He was the victim of a sex-driven foreplay that went awry
There is no cover-up and he died alone, in the “perfect crime”-appearing suicide
Perhaps Gareth had shared information and MI6 wanted to get rid of him
Whatever it may be, similar to the Somerton Man, this case may never be solved. But we can keep it alive, and keep questioning it.
Thanks to Gary Loveday for this blogstoning suggestion!
The blog header image depicts The Grave of Gareth Wyn Williams (1978 - 2010) in Ynys Wen Cemetery, Valley, Anglesey. It was taken by Nabokov. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
