John McAfee urged by Belize police to come in for questioning
BY PATRICK E. JONES Associated Press
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
11/14/12 at 2:57 AM
BELIZE CITY (AP) - Police urged software company founder John McAfee on Tuesday to come in for questioning and help solve the killing of his neighbor on the Caribbean island where they lived.
But McAfee, creator of the antivirus program of the same name, told The Associated Press in an email that he was not planning to turn himself in.
"Suspect or no, I believe the government wants me out of the way. Too many people have died in custody in this country so I Intend to do nothing that puts me in their custody," said the message from an email account that McAfee identified as his during a conversation with an AP journalist in May.
He gave no indication of his whereabouts.
McAfee, 67, has been identified as a "person of interest" in the killing of 52-year-old Gregory Viant Faull, whose body was found Sunday.
McAfee reportedly told Wired magazine Monday that he had nothing to do with the death, but feared police would kill him.
"We want to encourage him to come in," said Raphael Martinez, spokesman for Belize's Ministry of National Security. "If he feels threatened, we need to tell him, 'Get someone to go along with you, but come in. Let's solve this crime and you can free yourself.' "
Martinez said two people have been detained in the investigation for questioning. But he added that police had yet to establish a motive in the crime.
Faull was found with a gunshot wound to his head inside his two-story home north of San Pedro, a town on the island of Ambergris Caye, Martinez said. The housekeeper discovered the body Sunday morning and called police. Martinez said that no charges had been filed in the case.
McAfee sold his stake in the anti-virus software company that is named for him in the early 1990s and moved to Belize about three years ago to lower his taxes.
One resident of the island told the AP that Faull had complained about McAfee's behavior, and others said the former software executive was hard to befriend.
"His physical appearance doesn't really inspire you to go over and make friends with him. He's a little scruffy looking," said real estate agent Bob Hamilton.
Original Print Headline: Belize police urge McAfee software founder to appear
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