Founder of McAfee in Hiding After Murder in the Caribbean

John McAfee is still on in hiding.

The founder of the anti-virus software company is reportedly hiding in the jungles of the central American nation of Belize.

McAfee has been on the run since Sunday, after the apparent murder of his next-door neighbor.

Police want to question him about the shooting.

Four of McAfee’s guard dogs were poisoned on Friday.

The neighbor had filed a noise complaint about their barking.

From his hide-out, the British-born millionaire fugitive has been in contact with Josh Davis, a journalist with Wired who is writing a big article on him.

On Wednesday, according to Davis, McAfee again protested his innocence “unequivocally, calmly and convincingly.”

McAfee claims he’s a victim of a government conspiracy.

Davis says McAfee is eccentric, “some would say crazy,” and admits to being paranoid.

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Marco Werman: John McAfee Is still on the lam, if the name sounds familiar, it is. You may actually see it several times each day. John McAfee is the founder of the anti-virus software company McAfee and he reportedly is hiding in the jungles of the Central American nation of Belize. McAfee is wanted for questioning in the apparent murder of his neighbor on Sunday. From his hideout, the British born millionaire fugitive today contacted Josh Davis, a journalist with Wired to again protest his innocence. McAfee claims he’s a victim of a government conspiracy. Josh Davis is on the line now from San Francisco from the offices of Wired. Josh, it’s a crazy story and you’ve kind of found yourself right in the middle of it, now serving as a conduit for information that McAfee wants to share with the world. What the heck is going on?

Josh Davis: You know, I really don’t know. This is bizarre, but it started in a bizarre place and it’s only gotten more bizarre. Six months ago, April 30th, McAfee was raided by the Gang Suppression Unit of the Belizean police, who charged him with running a methamphetamine lab and possessing illegal firearms. They took him to jail, they held him overnight, they released him the next day; the charges were eventually dropped. McAfee says that the government is harassing him because he is pointing out corrupt elements in the Belizean government.

Werman: And is that in fact true? Is he pointing out those corrupt elements?

Davis: Well he is certainly saying the government of Belize is corrupt. Whether or not it is or not is unclear, certainly in my conversations with the Belizean government they say, “Absolutely not, we are a democratic society, we are a society governed by laws; McAfee is inventing all of these accusations and flying off the handle.”

Werman: So he has this villa on this little posh island, is he accused of actually killing his neighbor, is he suspected of it, or is he still just a person of interest?

Davis: Currently the police are saying that he is just wanted for questioning, he is a person of interest.

Werman: What possible motive could he have for killing his neighbor?

Davis: Well he called me on Saturday morning, the day of the murder, to say that a number of his dogs, four of his dogs, had been poisoned the previous night.

Werman: McAfee’s dogs or the neighbor’s dogs?

Davis: No, McAfee’s dogs.

Werman: Okay

Davis: That McAfee’s dogs had been poisoned the previous night, and McAfee, I know from my time there, that the neighbors were none too happy with his dogs, he had eleven of them. They barked at passers-by in a very aggressive fashion…

Werman: And these are not poodles, these are like guard dogs.

Davis: These are guard dogs, exactly, and not to mention McAfee has a number of armed guards who patrol the beach with shotguns, ’cause he thinks that the government again is going to raid him at any moment. I know that one of his neighbors to the south, a gentleman named Gregory Faull, had complained to the local town council, in fact, just earlier that week about the dogs, and then, that night, Saturday night, Gregory Faull was shot in the back of the head, and found the next morning in a pool of his own blood.

Werman: Now you have been working on a major story on McAfee for some time now; you visited with him in Belize earlier this year; you know him pretty well Josh, could he have committed murder?

Davis: He is a very eccentric person; there is no question. He is a very complex person. In fact, in one instance in August, I had heard a rumor that he had in fact killed somebody, and I asked him about that. And he says, “That he actively encouraged the rumors about him.” And I said, “Why would you do that?” He said, “Because I wanted people to be scared of me.” He said, “Remember I am living here, in a place where I feel very threatened. Where I think people are trying to harm me, and I want them to be afraid of me, and if they think that I am capable of some brutality, then all the better” So clearly he is living a life that most people would never choose, never even dream of. And yet, I asked him, point blank, “Why don’t you leave? If you think people are trying to kill you, why don’t you leave?” He says, “I love it here! What do you mean?” That’s why I said he is complex; it is very hard to figure him out.

Werman: And Josh, how did you become kind of his confidant?

Davis: Well I spent, over the past six months; I’ve spent more than one hundred hours interviewing him, both in person in Belize and on the phone. I think that he steadily came to believe that I would report his story accurately, and, you know, I’m attempting to do that. He calls me, he tells me what he thinks is happening. I report that; at the same time, I am also reporting the other side of the story. He gets angry at me sometimes because he is not happy with the way I am covering it.

Werman: Josh Davis of Wired; it is a weird story, a sad story, thank you very much for telling us about it – John McAfee, who is somewhere, presumably, down in the jungles of Belize right now. ‘Preciate your time, Josh.

Davis: My pleasure.

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