Canadian Press : 2 people wanted in inquiry into mystery slaying of British spy at his London home

2 people wanted in inquiry into mystery slaying of British spy at his London home

By David Stringer (CP) | September 6, 2010

LONDON — Detectives investigating the mysterious death of a British intelligence official said Monday they are hunting for two people seen entering his apartment building in recent weeks.

Gareth Williams, a 30-year-old official at GCHQ, Britain's eavesdropping and code-breaking agency, was discovered dead at his central London apartment on Aug. 23. His naked remains were found inside a locked sports bag.

Williams was working on attachment to the MI6 spy agency at the time of his death, but security officials believe it is unlikely that his killing was connected with his work.

In a statement, Scotland Yard said the visitors, a man and a woman, were "both of Mediterranean appearance, aged between 20 and 30 years old," and had been seen at the apartment block in the Pimlico district one night in June or July.

"This remains a complex unexplained death inquiry," Detective Chief Inspector Jacqueline Sebire said.

No cause of death has been established, and it is also not known exactly when Williams died.

A hearing at Westminster Coroner's Court was told by police last week that the corpse appeared to be in an advanced state of decay. Officers said Monday the red bag containing Williams' body had been placed in an empty bathtub.

Investigators said Williams was filmed on surveillance cameras on Aug. 11, shopping in London's West End and at the Harrods department store. Police are attempting to establish Williams' movements between the shopping trip and his death.

Officers confirmed there was no sign of any forced entry to the apartment where Williams lived, and said nothing appeared to have been disturbed or stolen.

Initial tests did not reveal any trace of "routine or recreational drugs" or alcohol in Williams' body, but testing for other substances is continuing, the Scotland Yard statement said.

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