On August 23rd, 2010, the body of a British Intelligence officer was found stuffed into a sports bag in the bathroom of his apartment in Pimlico, London. The officer’s name was Gareth Williams, and he was an IT expert working on top-secret security systems for British banks and infrastructure, as well as technology used to spy on suspected terrorists.

Some media sources immediately started spreading the rumor that the death was a result of some bizarre sex game. Other media sources, such as UK’s Telegraph, began speculating that his death was related to his cybersecurity work that is linked to MI6.

Lack of Clues

According to the Telegraph, there is enough official suspicion regarding the case to suggest that the lack of clues could be related to the fact that professional assassins are trained to leave little if any evidence at the scene of the murder. Unfortunately, the method of death itself – suffocation – apparently leaves little trace for medical experts to identify it as the ultimate cause of death.

According to news reports, police investigators are getting “stonewalled” by the British intelligence services as they are being blocked from investigating particular critical witnesses, such as William’s best friend. Police sources reveal that many of the authorities believe there is an intelligence cover-up going on.

British Police Make Discoveries

Adding to the confusion are the following revelations, uncovered by British police.

• ->Three deposits of 2,000 pounds were reflected on William’s bank account within three consecutive days.
• ->The same amounts were immediately withdrawn on each consecutive day.
• ->The last withdrawal took place on the same day that William’s was killed.

Adding a bit of intelligence intrigue into the mix – Williams regularly visited the NSA at Fort Meade.

The money trail has heightened concerns that his death may present a national security risk. Mr Williams was on secondment to MI6 from GCHQ and was a regular visitor to the US National Security Agency HQ, Fort Meade.

British Newspapers Publish Speculation

Unfortunately, British newspapers continue to speculate about a long litany of possibilities, such that the death was a sex game gone wrong, or that Williams was a cross-dresser and murdered by a gay lover. Understandably, William’s family is angered by the rumors and concerned that intelligence services may be behind the rumors – as an attempt to frame the murder as unrelated to his work for the intelligence services.

The bottom line is that not only Intelligence operatives in the field are at risk for being assassinated when their identity is revealed. Even individuals that perform IT work on classified computer systems should understand the risk that comes along with performing such work. As for the case of Gareth Williams, the public may never know the true cause of his death, but stories like this one often reflect an undercurrent of intelligence warfare and espionage.