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'His last words to me were I love you': McAfee was not suicidal, says widow

John McAfee, the creator of the McAfee antivirus software, was found dead in his cell in a jail near Barcelona, a government official confirmed on Wednesday.

Published on: Jun 25, 2021, 22:43:16 IST
PTI | By | Edited by , New Delhi
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''His last words to me were I love you': McAfee was not suicidal, says widow

McAfee's death came a day before the Spain National Court had announced its decision to extradite him to the US, which would have resulted in criminal proceedings against him. (File photo)
McAfee's death came a day before the Spain National Court had announced its decision to extradite him to the US, which would have resulted in criminal proceedings against him. (File photo)

Two days after British-American tycoon and antivirus creator John McAfee was found dead in a Spanish prison, his partner has said that her husband did not show any signs of being suicidal when she last spoke to him hours before he died, raising suspicion over his death. McAfee had said he would call her in his last call, the widow has said.

John McAfee, the creator of the McAfee antivirus software, was found dead in his cell in a jail near Barcelona, a government official confirmed on Wednesday.

The Spanish authorities have rushed to swiftly conduct the autopsy on McAfee's body. However, the officials maintain that everything found at the scene of death points to death by suicide.

“His last words to me were 'I love you and I will call you in the evening,'” Janice McAfee said shortly after she recovered her late husband's belongings outside the Brians 2 penitentiary northwest of Barcelona.

“Those words are not words of somebody who is suicidal,” Janice said. The widow of the 75-year-old has sought a “thorough investigation” in her first public remarks since the software entrepreneur's death.

Embroiled in a tax evasion controversy, McAfee was arrested last year in October from the Barcelona airport on a warrant issued by Tennessee prosecutors who were pushing for a software master's imprisonment for 30 years on the alleged charges of tax evasion running to more than $4 million in taxes.

McAfee's death came a day before the Spain National Court had announced its decision to extradite him to the US, which would have resulted in criminal proceedings against him. However, the decision of the court was not final.

Tennessee prosecutors charged 75-year-old McAfee with evading taxes after failing to report income made from promoting cryptocurrencies while he did consultancy work, as well as income from speaking engagements and selling the rights to his life story for a documentary.

Janice has alleged that McAfee's death is a result of politically motivated charges. “We had a plan of action already in place to appeal that decision,” the 38-year-old Janice McAfee told reporters. “I blame the US authorities for this tragedy: Because of these politically motivated charges against him my husband is now dead.”

Authorities have said McAfee's autopsy could take "days or weeks".

The couple reportedly met in 2012 in Miami and married the following year. John McAfee met Janice in 2012 in Miami. The two formalised their relationship into a marriage and had several children from previous relationships, Janice said.

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