British Spy Found Naked, Dead in a Locked Gym Bag Died by Accident, Police Say

London Police reported that a British spy whose naked, rotting remains were found in a locked bag in his bathtub appeared to have accidentally died by himself, Reuters reported.

Law enforcement officials waved away previous theories that the strange death of external intelligence service MI6 worker Gareth Williams was carried out by international agents.

According to Reuters, a coroner who examined Williams' remains in May 2012 reported that the 31-year-old man who was found dead in his house two years prior was most likely killed by someone else. His line of work as a spy and the fact that investigators discovered piles of pricey, unworn women's clothing at his apartment prompted scores of "weird and wonderful" ideas of how Williams might have died, London Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt said. But following more in-depth inspection of the remains and the apartment, it appears as though Williams was not murdered.

"Most probably, it was an accident," Hewitt told the press. "I'm convinced that Gareth's death was in no way linked to his work."

Williams, who broke codes for MI6 at the Government Communications Headquarters, was found naked inside a zipped and locked red bag in his London apartment, which, according to Reuters, was a "safe house" for intelligence employees. His remains were festering for a week in the bag before he was found. Following tests for alcohol, drugs or poison in his body, coroners announced that his blood came back clean. Investigators said they did not find any finger or palm prints on the walls of the bathtub, and that his DNA wasn't on the bag's lock. But what detectives did find added further mystery to the case: face makeup, a long-haired wig and women's clothing and shoes with a total price tag of about 20,000 pounds, ($31,900), was thrown around Williams' apartment. There were also pictures on the deceased spy's computer of transvestites, a history of sexual bondage websites, and an image of Williams wearing only boots.

Detectives said they didn't find any trace of another person being in the apartment when Williams died. They also said in spite of general doubt that someone could have zipped and locked themselves up in a bag successfully, it appears that this is what Williams did.

"It's theoretically possible for someone to do that," Hewitt said. "It is a more probable conclusion that there was no other person present."