British spy found tied to his bed in boxer shorts

Gareth Williams, an MI6 spy, 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 heard Wednesday.

The math 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 Williams, whose decomposing body was found in a duffel bag 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 sado-masochism websites, the inquest heard.

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

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 in his flat.

The inquest heard that in 2007, Williams was living in an apartment above Jennifer and Brian Elliot’s home in Cheltenham when the couple heard cries for help at about 1.30 a.m. one winter night. They let themselves in and discovered Williams lying on his back with both hands tied to the bedposts and wearing only boxer shorts.

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

He was tied with a material that was so tight it was cutting into his wrists.

Elliot added: “My husband said ‘What the bloody hell are you doing?’ and he just said he wanted to try and get himself free.”

Brian Elliot cut him free, adding: “Gareth, we cannot have you doing this.”

Williams offered to pay more rent but Jennifer Elliot refused. She added: “My husband and I discussed it and said it was more likely to be sexual than escapology or similar but cannot be sure. There was nothing of a sexual or fetishtistique nature in the flat,” she added.