John McAfee’s body is still in a Spanish morgue – one year after the software entrepreneur was found dead in his prison cell.
The 75-year-old was discovered a few hours after Spain’s high court had authorised his extradition to the US on tax evasion charges.
An post mortem had concluded that he killed himself, but McAfee’s widow said he was not suicidal and would seek “answers”.
His family challenged the findings, but their request for further checks was denied.
And although McAfee’s relatives appealed this decision, a judge subsequently ruled that his body could not be handed to the family until the appeal was resolved.
A spokesperson for Catalonia’s justice department said it was uncommon for identified bodies reclaimed by their families to be stored for such a long time.
McAfee launched the world’s first commercial anti-virus software back in 1987, and had spent years on the run from the US authorities.
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Marking the anniversary, his wife Janice said: “It’s difficult to put into words what life has been like this past year.”
She shared an online petition that is designed to “help pressure” Spanish authorities to release McAfee’s body, and it also calls for an independent post mortem “to determine if the official cause of death can be challenged or investigated privately”.
McAfee had been accused of evading taxes after allegedly failing to report income made from promoting cryptocurrencies while he did consultancy work.
The British-American businessman, who was born in Gloucestershire in the UK, was also charged with evading tax in relation to income from speaking engagements and selling the rights to his life story for a documentary.
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McAfee was no stranger to news coverage and lived an eventful life after selling his stake in his anti-virus software company in the early 1990s.
In July 2019, McAfee was released from detention in the Dominican Republic after he and five others were suspected of travelling on a yacht carrying high-calibre weapons, ammunition and military-style gear.
The year before that, the former US presidential hopeful said he was unconscious for two days after “enemies” tried to kill him.
And back in 2012, the prime minister of Belize urged McAfee to hand himself into the authorities in relation to the death of his neighbour.
McAfee went on the run after Gregory Faull, 52, was shot on the Caribbean island where they both lived.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
