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John McAfee’s wife said the US wanted him to ‘die in prison’ days before he was found dead

John McAfee’s wife sent a grim tweet three days before his death foreshadowing his demise but says she remains shocked that he is gone.

John McAfee: Life as a tech millionaire and global fugitive

John McAfee’s wife publicly claimed that the US wanted the software tycoon to “die in prison” — just three days before he was found hanged in his cell.

The New York Post reports that Janice McAfee made the damning statement Sunday in a US Father’s Day post while her husband was in a Spanish jail awaiting extradition to the US to face federal tax evasion charges.

“John’s honesty has often gotten him in trouble with corrupt governments and corrupt government officials because of his outspoken nature and his refusal to be extorted, intimidated or silenced,” wrote Mrs McAfee, who first met her husband while she was working as a prostitute.

“Now the US authorities are determined to have John die in prison to make an example of him for speaking out against the corruption within their government agencies,” she wrote.

Within three days, McAfee was found dead in a Barcelona jail, with his death on Wednesday deemed a suicide and foul play ruled out by Spanish authorities.

He too had earlier warned of a possible conspiracy, comparing it to ongoing rumours about late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide in his Manhattan lockup in August 2019.

“Know that if I hang myself, a la Epstein, it will be no fault of mine,” McAffee had earlier warned.

John McAfee tweets photos of jail stay.
John McAfee tweets photos of jail stay.

Javier Villalba, a Spanish lawyer representing McAfee told AP that the antivirus software executive’s death came as a surprise to his wife and other relatives. Mr Villalba added that he would seek to get “to the bottom” of it.

“This has been like pouring cold water on the family and on his defence team,” Villalba said. “Nobody expected it, he had not said goodbye.”

View taken of the Centre Penitenciario Brians 2 jail, in Sant Esteve Sesrovires, near Barcelona, where antivirus software pioneer John McAfee was found dead in his jail cell.
View taken of the Centre Penitenciario Brians 2 jail, in Sant Esteve Sesrovires, near Barcelona, where antivirus software pioneer John McAfee was found dead in his jail cell.

His wife’s message had insisted that there was “no hope of him ever (to) have a fair trial in America because there is no longer any justice in America.”

“You either play ball or get f**ked. Those are literally the only options now,” she wrote.

“Before you were innocent until proven guilty but somehow that has changed to guilty until proven innocent.”

US antivirus software pioneer John McAfee (R).
US antivirus software pioneer John McAfee (R).

“Now anyone can level the most heinous accusations against you without any proof and having no basis in reality but in the court of public opinion, you are tried, convicted, found guilty and your life irreparably destroyed, all before having your day in court,” she said.

“These eight months John has spent in prison in Spain have been especially hard on his overall health both mentally and physically, as well as financially, but he is undeterred from continuing to speak truth to power,” she insisted.

She signed off, “Happy Father’s Day John David, Father of many, loved by few.”

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and is republished here with permission

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/social/john-mcafees-wife-said-the-us-wanted-him-to-die-in-prison-days-before-he-was-found-dead/news-story/ffd57a427c1e97fa93c0a0bdb1265e01