All the wild theories surrounding the death of John McAfee and what happened to him

After watching the John McAfee documentary film on Netflix, you might want a minute to catch your breath. It’s a full rollercoaster, starting with the idea the antivirus software mogul might have killed his neighbour and then ending with the apparent death of John McAfee, but also questioning if he even is dead, or if he faked the whole thing. It’s a ride, let’s say that much.

The story started in 2012, when John’s neighbour in Belize, Gregory McFall, was found shot dead in his home. John McAfee claimed the Belize police would kill him if they got him in for questioning, so he went on the run instead. He took journalists from Vice along with him, and told them all about his wild lifestyle, and how he had been constantly hiding from law enforcements.

Along the way we met John McAfee’s ex-girlfriend and later his wife, before the law caught up with him and he was arrested and extradited. He was arrested in Spain for tax evasion, and was awaiting extradition to the US. He was facing up to 30 years in prison. But then, John McAfee was suddenly found dead.

So, here’s a rundown of everything we know about the death of John McAfee, including what was reported to have happened to him at the time, and the theories of anything else that might have gone down.

At the time of his death, it was reported John McAfee died by suicide in his cell

On June 23rd 2021, it was reported that John McAfee had been found dead aged 75. Hours after Spanish courts had agreed to extradite him to the US, McAfee was reported as being found dead in his cell in a Barcelona prison. John McAfee had previously said if he was extradited to the US, he knew he would spend the rest of his life in prison. The Catalan Justice Department said “everything indicates” John had died by suicide.

It’s been said he might have been killed

Some believe John McAfee was killed, and there is no way his death was a suicide. “John McAfee was not suicidal,” his wife Janice McAfee said. “I spoke with him a few hours before he was found dead. His last words to me were ‘I love you and I will call you in the evening’ – those words are not words of someone who is suicidal.”

A Fox News bulletin, showed in the Netflix documentary, also questioned if there was “more” to the John McAfee story, likening his death to that of Jeffrey Epstein. After his death in prison, Esptein’s lawyers challenged the conclusion that it was suicide and opened their own, independent investigation. Experts and members of Epstein’s family questioned if the details surrounding his death were actually more in line with a murder.

Fox News said McAfee’s death was equally as “fishy” as he had spoken for years about being a hunted man, and that charges against him were politically motivated. McAfee also got a tattoo which stated if he “died by suicide” in prison, he didn’t.

In the Netflix documentary, his ex-girlfriend claimed John McAfee is alive and his death was a hoax

Right at the end of the Netflix documentary, it revisits Samantha Herrera, the ex-girlfriend of John McAfee. She is asked by Netflix when the last time she spoke to him was. “I don’t know if I should say,” she replied. “But, two weeks ago, after his death, I got a call from Texas. ‘It’s me John, I paid off people to pretend that I am dead but I am not dead’.” She claimed John told her she is the only person in this world who still “knows he’s alive” and asked her to run away with him. Wait, so did John McAfee fake his death? Is he still alive?

Police are said to still be investigating his death, and it’s been reported his body is in a morgue in Spain.

Running with the Devil: The Wild World of John McAfee is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

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