The family of software pioneer John McAfee has stepped up their demand for answers a year after his mysterious death in a Spanish jail cell .
McAfee’s corpse still remains unclaimed in a Spanish morgue. He was awaiting extradition to the US on tax evasion charges when he was found dead in a Barcelona cell. He was 75 years old.
The software developer of the first commercial anti-virus software, McAfee had a strange last few years, globetrotting and immersed in the cryptocurrency and conspiracy worlds.
“It’s difficult to put into words what life has been like this past year,” McAfee’s widow, Janice, tweeted Thursday.
McAfee was arrested in Spain and was jailed for eight months prior to his death, which authorities claimed was a suicide. His family disagreed and is pressing for a more detailed investigation. His body is being held while legal deliberations continue.
A former third-party candidate for US president in 2016 and 2020, McAfee at one time had a fortune estimated at $100 million. While much of that was lost in the market crash of 2008, he still lived a lavish lifestyle from his base on the Belize island of Ambergris Caye.
There, Belize police declared him a person of interest in the killing of American Gregory Faull, 52, who had complained about McAfee’s dogs before being discovered in his home with fatal gunshot wounds. McAfee was never charged in that case, but Belize authorities said they were actively looking for him.
He lost a wrongful death suit in Florida brought by Faull’s family. They won an award of $25 million, but never collected.
