Janice McAfee Does Not Believe John McAfee Faked His Death

As rumors continue to circulate online that disgraced tech entrepreneur John McAfee faked his own death, his widow, Janice McAfee, says she does not believe them.

“Based off of the information that I have and [that] I have received regarding his death, I don’t believe that he is [alive].” McAfee said, appearing on the Rice TVx YouTube channel on Wednesday.

Adding fuel to the speculation is the new Netflix documentary, “Running with the Devil,” which features a segment where John McAfee’s former girlfriend, Samantha Herrera, claims McAfee called her from a hideout in Texas—something that Janice McAfee says appears to be fake.

“I don’t want to destroy anyone’s hope of thinking that John may or may not be alive if that helps you sleep better at night or just to have that hope, that’s fine,” she said.

John McAfee died in a Spanish prison in June 2021 while awaiting extradition to the United States on tax evasion charges. Since then, his widow and legal team have waged a campaign to have the body released so that an independent autopsy can be performed and he can finally be laid to rest. So far, the campaign has been unsuccessful, and McAfee’s body remains in Spanish custody.

Janice McAfee says a decision on whether or not to release her husband’s body may come in the next two months and that the documentary brought more attention to the situation.

“I can humbly say the Spanish probably did not realize who exactly John McAfee was and how much people cared about him,” she said.

John McAfee launched the first commercial anti-virus software bearing his name in 1987 and ran for president of the United States in 2016 and 2020, both times unsuccessfully seeking the Libertarian Party nomination.

Janice McAfee says she also does not believe that her husband committed suicide, but the door is open to suspect foul play. She says that when McAfee was found, he was breathing, had a heartbeat, and had been found in a manner that he said would never be found.

While she did say that the idea of McAfee being alive and in Texas is unfounded, she did acknowledge that the best place to hide would be right under someone’s nose—including the U.S. government.