McAfee boss wanted for murder

John McAfee, founder of the McAfee security software firm, is wanted for the murder of his neighbour in the tiny Central American country of Belize and is now on the run from the local police forces. Inevitably, he claims he didn’t do it, but this story is only just getting started.

The victim was 52-year old American ex-pat Gregory Faull, who was reportedly killed by a single gunshot wound to the back of the head. But McAfee is convinced that he was the intended target.

“I thought maybe they were coming for me. They mistook him for me. They got the wrong house,” he told Wired. “He’s dead. They killed him. It spooked me out.”

When the police arrived on the scene Sunday afternoon, McAfee apparently evaded capture by burying himself in his garden, putting a cardboard box over his head to breathe.

“It was extraordinarily uncomfortable,” he said. “But they will kill me if they find me.”

As it happens, McAfee has a bit of a history with the Belizean authorities. Back in May, his home was raided by the Gang Suppression Unit, and McAfee was arrested for the illegal manufacture of methamphetamine and possession of an unlicensed gun. At the time, the 67-year old was with his 17-year old girlfriend.

More recently, McAfee claims that the police have been poisoning his dogs, and that they and the Belizean government at large are involved in some sort of conspiracy to kill him.

“Under no circumstances am I going to willingly talk to the police in this country,” he said. “You can say I’m paranoid about it but they will kill me, there is no question. They’ve been trying to get me for months. They want to silence me. I am not well liked by the prime minister. I am just a thorn in everybody’s side.”

You’d think McAfee would be surfing to the USA on the next wave, but you’d think wrong – he has no immediate plans to leave the country because, he said, it’s “the nicest place on earth”. Clearly McAfee’s definition of “nice” is somewhat warped, but then, this is the guy who designed McAfee anti-virus software.