SMH : Landlady found British spy tied to bed in underwear

Landlady found British spy tied to bed in underwear

April 27, 2012

LONDON: The MI6 spy, Gareth Williams, was discovered tied to his own bed wearing only boxer shorts three years before he was found dead, naked in a sports bag, an inquest has heard.

The maths prodigy was living alone in Cheltenham in 2007 when he had to call for help in the middle of the night. His landlady and landlord, who lived below him, heard his yells and were met with the "shocking" scene, Westminster coroners' court heard.

The incident was disclosed in a written statement from the landlady, Jennifer Elliot, at the inquest into the death of Mr Williams, whose decomposing body was found in a holdall in the bath of his London flat in 2010. One of the theories surrounding his death included suggestions that he had been involved in a sex game that went wrong. Searches of his home computers showed that he visited "claustrophilia", bondage and sadomasochism websites, the inquest heard.
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The inquiry also heard that Mr Williams's boss, identified only as "G", said he waited a week before raising the alarm after his colleague went missing.

In another dramatic day of evidence, a senior counter-terrorism officer said he could not guarantee that Mr Williams's work computers had not been tampered with after his death.

The inquest heard that in 2007, Mr Williams was living in an annexe above Jennifer and Brian Elliot's home when the couple heard cries for help at about 1.30am one winter night. They discovered Mr Williams, who was working at GCHQ at the time, lying on his back with both hands tied to the bedposts and wearing only boxer shorts.

The spy did not "appear aroused", Mrs Elliot said, but he was "very embarrassed, panicky and apologetic" and insisted that he was "just messing about".

The inquest has previously heard that traces of DNA belonging to another person were discovered on the bag containing Mr Williams's body but they were too small to be of use to the police. Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire said it had always been her opinion that another party was involved in locking the padlock on the bag and placing it in the bath.

It also emerged that the spy, regularly bought women's clothing at an upmarket store, claiming that they were for his girlfriend. Police found women's clothing, shoes and wigs valued at more than £20,000 ($31,204) in his flat.

A friend, Elizabeth Guthrie, insisted Mr Williams was "straight" and would never consider cross-dressing for sexual purposes.

Ms Guthrie, who had known Mr Williams since 2009, said he may have had women's clothing in his flat as a "support strategy" for women friends. The hearing continues.

Telegraph, London; Associated Press