Mistakes over GCHQ codebreaker's death crippled inquiry
Inquest into spy-in-a-bag death
Forensic investigators have apologized for the bungling of the inquiry into the mysterious death of a codebreaker employed by the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).
In August 2010, Gareth Williams, described as a mathematical genius by his peers and employed at GCHQ since leaving university, was found dead in his flat in London. Williams, who had recently qualified for deployment with MI6 – Britain's version of the CIA - was found naked and partially decomposed in a sports bag that had been locked from the outside and placed in the bath.
In the pre-inquest hearing on Friday, the court heard that the investigation into Williams' death had been botched from the start. LGS Forensics said that DNA found on Mr Williams' body was investigated, but later turned out to have been transferred there from one of the forensic scientists investigating the death, and a search of the apartment turned up no clues as to his death.
"Having made further checks, LGC identified the partial profile as matching that of a Metropolitan police scientist who was involved in the original investigation of Mr Williams' home," a LGC spokeswoman said. "The Metropolitan police service was immediately notified. We are sorry for any pain this error may have caused Mr Williams' family."
Lawyer Anthony O'Toole told Westminster Coroner's Court that the family of Mr Williams had still not been told what his actual job was, and would also like to know why MI6 took so long to raise the alarm after he failed to turn up at work. The body showed no signs of violence, toxicology screenings were negative, and there was no sign that he had tried to get out of the bag.
"The impression of the family is that the unknown third party was a member of some agency specializing in the dark arts of the secret services – or evidence has been removed post-mortem by experts in the dark arts," he said, according to the Guardian.
While the police initially said that they thought it was unlikely that Williams had managed to lock himself in the bag, they did not rule it out. At the time of his death there was speculation that the death was part of a sex game gone wrong, and the coroner Fiona Wilcox said the likelihood of Williams being able to get in the bag and lock it would be central to the inquest, which is due to be held next month. ®
Regcast training : Hyper-V 3.0, VM high availability and disaster recovery
COMMENTS
What really happened
"Sit down, 007"
"Thank you, shir. What have you got for me thish time?"
"It's young Williams, 007. I'm afraid his erratic behaviour has made him a security risk. You must terminate him."
"I shee. Shall I use the shecret poison 'Q' has given me? Tashteless and odourlessh, and completely undetectable."
"Not this time, 007."
"Sho, are we going to place a shuicide note on his laptop and push him under a train?"
"No 007, that's far too obvious. You're going to strangle him and then zip his body into a sports bag and then lock it."
"My God, what cunning. With thish shtrategy, no-one will ever shushpect foul play."
"Carry on, 007."
"We simply do not do that kind of stuff."
I am sure the friends and family of the late Dr David Kelly will be relieved to hear that.
RIP Gareth Wyn Williams
RIP Gareth Wyn Williams
Met you in Scouts and I remeber you at Ysgol Morswyn. Oddly enough I was thinking about you following mention of Alan Turing's maths ability, just a few weeks before your death and remember you being like a walking calculator and being a modern day Alan Turing!
But I'm not implying Gareth was gay, simply that he had a striking similar ability at Maths.
Even I am puzzled how you ended up in locked bag in a bath, I hope whoever caused your death ends up in court.
Rest in Peace / gorffwys mewn heddwch
IT infrastructure monitoring strategies
What you need to know about cloud backup
Agentless Backup is Not a Myth
Top 10 SIEM Implementer’s Checklist
Steps to Take Before Choosing a Business Continuity Partner
