John McAfee Found Dead in Spanish Prison
A colorful life and a mysterious death in a Spanish prison cell. John McAfee, industry icon and creator of a popular anti-virus program, died in a prison cell while awaiting extradition to the US. The death has become a fertile ground for conspiracy theory fans.
John McAfee, a 75-year-old programmer and creator of a popular anti-virus program named after him, has been found dead in a Spanish prison. According to the daily newspaper El País, local police are treating the case as a suicide, which is confirmed by the Spanish Ministry of Justice. No traces of third-party involvement were found at the scene. Prison guards and medical workers attempted to resuscitate the American businessman, but were unsuccessful. He spent eight months in prison, charged with tax evasion. The United States also charged the businessman with pump-and-dump frauds related to cryptocurrencies, including Digibyte, Reddcoin and Dogecoin. The suicide occurred on June 23, 2021, the same day that a Spanish court decided to extradite McAfee to the US.
John McAfee is best known for the antivirus software named after him. The company, founded in 1987, was a pioneer in the market. Today, it is still one of the bigger players, with a 7.57% market share and sixth place in 2020 according to Statista (the leader is Symantec, offering Norton, with 13.16%). McAfee, however, has not paid much attention to the antivirus market in recent years, focusing on politics, evading law enforcement and a rather colorful life. He sold his stake in the company in 1994 for $100 million.
An accusation of tax evasion may sound plain when compared with the suspected murder of a neighbor in Belize. While McAfee never heard the charges, the circumstances of the incident are unclear. According to Wired, the programmer had a dispute with his neighbor, who was disturbed by the barking of McAfee's 11 dogs. Four of them were allegedly poisoned, and two days later the neighbor was found dead in his home. The police were unable to speak to McAfee, who buried himself in the sand on his property and spent 18 hours in this hideout. This was the beginning of a great escape and hiding from the police. A documentary depicting McAfee's adventures in Central America, titled Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee, has a script more spectacular than many action movies.
The controversial software developer also tried his hand at politics, twice running for US president on behalf of the Libertarian Party - in 2016 and 2020. The party eventually nominated other candidates for the election.
McAfee's extraordinary life and numerous scandals, as well as his death on the day his extradition to the US was announced, have led to conspiracy theories online about the involvement of third parties. We currently know too little to dispute the suicide version. John McAfee did not play a big role in American politics, and spent his last years balancing on the edge of the law, leading a lavish life and squandering the wealth acquired from the sale of his company.
