Southwest Business : Experts dispute claims on GCHQ codebreaker Gareth William’s death

Experts dispute claims on GCHQ codebreaker Gareth William’s death

by Phil Norris | The Gloucestershire Echo | November 19, 2013

Experts who tried to recreate GCHQ officer Gareth Williams’ death have rebuffed police suggestions that he died by accident.

The MI6 codebreaker was found dead in his London flat three years ago.

His decomposing body was found in a large holdall in the bath of his flat in Alderney Street in Pimlico.

The bag was locked from the outside.

A Metropolitan Police report issued last week concluded he was probably alone when he died.

But witnesses who worked closely with the investigation said Dr Williams could not have got into the bag and locked it from the inside alone.

When Mr Williams’ naked body was found, the handles of the holdall had been fastened with Velcro, there was no sign of him struggling to escape, and the eyelets on the locks had been perfectly aligned.

Despite attempting to recreate the scene more than 400 times, nobody has been able to replicate it solo.

No one has ever come forward who has been able to recreate the scene.

There was also no prints or DNA from the mathematician on the rim of the bath, padlock or zipper and he was not wearing any gloves.

Despite the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death and an inquest finding that he was unlawfully killed, police have decided that Mr Williams most likely got into the bag by himself and died after failing to get out again.

Confined spaces expert, William MacKay, who gave evidence at and inquest into Mr Williams’ death, said he still believes that someone else was involved.

"The likelihood that one person could do it is slim," he said.

Dr Williams was coming to the end of a three-year secondment to MI6 in London in August 2010, when he was reported missing by GCHQ, just days before he was due to return to Cheltenham.

Dr Williams, who rented a flat in Bouncers Lane for many years and was a keen cyclist and member of Cheltenham and County Cycle Club, was originally from North Wales.

His family said they believed the coroner’s view "accurately reflects the circumstances of Gareth’s death.

"We remain very disappointed over the failure of his employers at MI6 to take even the most basic of enquiries concerning Gareth’s welfare when he failed to attend for work on 16th August 2010.

"This lack of concern for Gareth’s wellbeing remains an overriding feature of our thoughts following the death of a dear son and brother."

National Post : Spy couldn’t have locked himself naked in bag before he died, experts say after trying to recreate it

Spy couldn’t have locked himself naked in bag before he died, experts say after trying to recreate it

Hayley Dixon, The Telegraph | November 17, 2013

Experts who tried and failed to recreate the method of death of spy Gareth Williams, who was found locked in a bag in the bath of his London apartment, say they do not agree with the police finding that the MI6 man died by accident.

The codebreaker could not have got into the bag and locked it from the inside alone, witnesses who worked closely with the investigation have claimed after attempting the task more than 400 times. No one has ever come forward who has been able to recreate the scene.

When Mr. Williams’ naked, decomposing body was found in the bath of his flat in Pimlico, London, in August 2010, the handles of the bag had been fastened with Velcro, there was no sign of him struggling to escape and the eyelets on the locks had been perfectly aligned.

No finger, foot, palm prints or DNA belonging to Mr. Williams was found on the rim of the bath, padlock or zipper and he was not wearing any gloves.

Despite the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death and an inquest finding that he had been unlawfully killed, the police have now concluded that Mr. Williams most likely got into the bag by himself and died after failing to get out again.

However, William MacKay, a confined spaces expert who gave evidence at the inquest, said that he still believes that someone else was involved.

“Everything leads to that being the case,” he said. “When you put the forensic evidence together with the other evidence the likelihood that one person could do it is slim.

“Where is all the DNA that would have been around the bath? I would stay short of saying it was murder, because obviously it could have been an accident that someone else could have been involved in, the scenarios are many.”

For the inquest he and a yoga expert, who was of very similar stature to Mr. Williams, made hundreds of attempts to recreate the scenario in which Mr. Williams’ body was found. Although the expert could get into the bag, he was unable to lock it.

Peter Faulding, who also worked closely with the police and gave evidence at the inquest, agrees that Mr. Williams was not alone when he was locked in the bag.

He believes that the evidence points toward murder as the heating in the flat had been turned up despite it being midsummer, which would have speeded up decomposition, a doorknob which could have given forensic clues had been removed, and Mr. Williams’ iPhone had been wiped.

Mr. Faulding told the Sunday Express: “I believe the bag was placed in the bath to let bodily fluids run down the plughole.”

Mr. MacKay, a former Army officer, said: “As I told the coroner I have seen some amazing things being done in my career, and so I could not say beyond all reasonable doubt that nobody could do it.

“We got close, but close is still far away. With all the other demonstrations generally it showed damage to the bag when it was done.”

Express : EXCLUSIVE: MI6 spy Gareth Williams found dead in a bag WAS murdered

EXCLUSIVE: MI6 spy Gareth Williams found dead in a bag WAS murdered

THE handles of the locked bag in which MI6 spy Gareth Williams was found dead were fastened together with Velcro, which an expert said last night was proof he was murdered.

By: James Murray | November 17, 2013

Last week Scotland Yard angered the family of the 31-year-old by saying it was possible he had got into the North Face bag on his own and locked it, despite Coroner Fiona Wilcox saying in 2012 she thought he was killed “on the balance of probabilities”.

Peter Faulding worked closely with the Yard on the baffling case and is convinced code breaker Mr Williams could not have managed to get inside the bag, bring the handles up and Velcro them together and then lock it with the padlock on the outside.

“I tried it scores of times and it was impossible,” said Mr Faulding, chief executive of Specialist Group International of Redhill, Surrey.

“I strongly believe another person must have been involved. If he’d done the lock there would have been prints or DNA on it and the same goes for the Velcro. It is simply impossible to do.”

Mr Faulding, whose expertise is finding bodies or people stuck in confined places, made several other disturbing points which raise serious questions about the Yard’s new perception on the mystery.

When Mr Williams’s body was found on August 23, 2010, in his central London flat the door to the bathroom was shut and the light was off, making the room pitch black.

The shower screen was in place, making the space he had to move around very tight if he were to put the bag in the bath and then step into it. There were no palm prints on the bath, which meant Mr Williams, who was single and a maths genius, would have had to stand up in the bag first and then get into it. Mr Faulding said: “Entry into the bag needs to be shoulder first and then pulling the bag under the bottom, this would leave footprints at the end of the bath above the taps but there were none.

“The shower screen was closed. If he was practising getting into the bag this would have been wide open as it creates a barrier. No finger, foot, palm prints or DNA belonging to Gareth Williams were present on the rim of the bath, padlock or zipper. He was not wearing any gloves.” Mr Faulding added: “If he was practising or dabbling in escapology he would have carried a knife in the bag to release himself, he was an intelligent individual and not a chancer.

“When I did it I had a knife around my neck because it is pretty scary. There was no sign of Gareth struggling to get out. He was found in a peaceful foetal position. I believe the bag was placed in the bath to let bodily fluids run down the plug hole.”

Although it was midsummer, the heating in the flat was turned up full, which meant decomposition would be fast and potential forensic clues lost. A doorknob, which could have revealed forensic clues, was removed and Mr Williams’s iPhone was wiped.

Mr Faulding carried out tests for the police on how difficult it would be to get a person into a sports holdall and then put it in the bath.

He said: “I practised putting a person pretending to be unconscious in the bag and then lifting them into the bath and it was easy to do.”

While doing that work he noticed he scuffed the bag on the top of the bath. On the rim of Gareth’s bath some scuff marks were found. Recalling how he felt while trying to lock himself in the bag, he said: “After five minutes zipped into the bag the temperature goes up by 10 degrees and the oxygen level rapidly dropped to 17 per cent.

“Carbon dioxide builds up making it very difficult to work or concentrate. It’d be impossible to close the zip and fit the padlock from the inside without light or leaving prints. Suffocation would be within 30 minutes, probably less, depending on the individual.”

Scotland Yard Deputy Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt said: “The Metropolitan Police’s position is that, on balance, it is a more probable conclusion that there was no other person present when Gareth died.”

Telegraph : 'Spy in bag' Gareth Williams did not get into holdall alone, say experts

'Spy in bag' Gareth Williams did not get into holdall alone, say experts

Gareth Williams, the MI6 spy, was not alone when he was locked in a holdall in the bath of his Pimlico flat, claim experts who contradict police conclusions

By Hayley Dixon | November 17, 2013

Experts who tried and failed to recreate the method of death of spy Gareth Williams say they do not agree with the police finding that the MI6 man died by accident.

The codebreaker could not have got into the bag and locked it from the inside alone, witnesses who worked closely with the investigation have claimed after attempting the task more than 400 times. No one has ever come forward who has been able to recreate the scene.

When Mr Williams' naked, decomposing body was found in the bath of his flat in Pimlico, London, in August 2010, the handles of the holdall had been fastened with Velcro, there was no sign of him struggling to escape, and the eyelets on the locks had been perfectly aligned.

No finger, foot, palm prints or DNA belonging to Mr Williams was found on the rim of the bath, padlock or zipper and he was not wearing any gloves.

Despite the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death and an inquest finding that he had been unlawfully killed, the police have now concluded that Mr Williams most likely got into the bag by himself and died after failing to get out again.

However, William MacKay, a confined spaces expert who gave evidence at the inquest, said that he still believes that someone else was involved.

“Everything leads to that being the case,” he said. “When you put the forensic evidence together with the other evidence the likelihood that one person could do it is slim.

“Where is all the DNA that would have been around the bath? I would stay short of saying it was murder, because obviously it could have been an accident that someone else could have been involved in, the scenarios are many.”

For the inquest he and a yoga expert, who was of very similar stature to Mr Williams at 170cm tall and weighing 68 kilos, made hundreds of attempts to recreate the scenario in which Mr Williams' body was found. Although the expert could get into the bag, he was unable to lock it.

Peter Faulding, who also worked closely with the police and gave evidence at the inquest, agrees that Mr Williams was not alone when he was locked in the holdall.

He believes that the evidence points toward murder as the heating in the flat had been turned up despite it being midsummer, which would have speeded up decomposition, a doorknob which could have given forensic clues had been removed, and Mr William’s iPhone had been wiped.

Mr Faulding told the Sunday Express: “I believe the bag was placed in the bath to let bodily fluids run down the plughole."

He has always said that Mr Williams was dead or unconscious when he was placed in the bag, and believes it was then lifted into the bath.

Mr MacKay, a former Army officer, said: “As I told the coroner I have seen some amazing things being done in my career, and so I could not say beyond all reasonable doubt that nobody could do it.

“We got close, but close is still far away. With all the other demonstrations generally it showed damage to the bag when it was done. That was based upon hundreds and hundreds of attempts, maybe if we had tried it 2,000 times we would have done it, I don’t know, but there were two of us.

“One of the key things for me is that after we released all the evidence we waited for people who would come and show us how to do it.”

Days after the inquest, a retired Army sergeant did claim to demonstrate how it was possible to climb into a similar North Face bag and lock it from the inside.

However, Mr MacKay said: “One person did come forward, but the eyelets weren’t put together in the same way, we dispelled that method as it wasn’t the way that the bag was closed.

"Nobody else has come forward and for me that is very telling, people always want to show off and show us as experts how badly they think we have done.”

Despite their findings, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt, who led the police investigation, last week concluded "it is a more probable conclusion that there was no other person present when Gareth died.”

Mr Williams’ family have rejected the results of the three and a half year police investigation and maintain that he was murdered.