McAfee blogs about run from police in Belize
SAN PEDRO, Belize (AP) - Software company founder John McAfee says he's hiding in plain sight, wearing a disguise as he watches police and reporters stake out his home - and blogging about it all.
In the latest twist in the highly-publicized case, McAfee has started his own blog, in which he describes life on the lam after police in Belize called him a "person of interest" in the slaying of fellow American Gregory Viant Faull and asked him to turn himself in for questioning.
In phones interviews with The Associated Press, McAfee has never said where he's hiding. But in his blog this week, he claims to have disguised himself as a grungy street peddler and a foul-mouthed German tourist, and claims he approached an Associated Press reporter outside his staked-out home on the Caribbean island of Ambergris Caye, and almost sold the reporter a wood carving.
It's hard to separate fact from fiction in the whole account, but one thing is clear - seldom has there been more detailed coverage of someone on the lam since O.J. Simpson led police on a low-speed chase in 1994, and much of that detail is being provided by McAfee himself.
The Internet-savvy former tech-company founder has talked about his case with reporters via email, on cell phone calls from undisclosed locations, and now in his blog, "Who is McAfee? The official blog of John McAfee," whose creation he announced Saturday in an interview with the AP.
"Anyone who would like to read the blog and check out the references, will understand my reluctance to turn myself in," he said, referring to his distrust of the Belizean government and particularly its Gang Suppression Unit, a quasi-military police squad. McAfee also described life on the run as "very fearful" and said it has "not been comfortable."
But in a blog post Monday, he described it in almost fanciful terms, describing how he donned a far-fetched disguise and watched as police searched his house and reporters gathered.
"I darkened the skin of my face, neck and hands carefully with shoe polish and put on an LA Saints baseball cap with the brim facing backward and tufts of the front of my hair sticking out unkempt through the band," according to the post. McAfee confirmed the authenticity of the blog in an email which he has been using to communicate with the AP.
"I stuffed my cheeks with chewed bubble gum stuck to the outside of my upper and lower molars - making my face appear much fatter. I darkened and browned my front teeth," he wrote. "I wore an old, ragged long sleeve shirt. I donned an old Guatemalan style serape and toted a bag containing a variety of Guatemalan woven goods.
"I adjusted my posture so that I appeared a good six inches shorter than my actual height and slowly walked up and down the beach with a pronounced limp, pushing an old single speed bicycle and peddling my wares to tourists and reporters using a broken English with a heavy Spanish accent. On my second day, while peddling small wooden carvings, I nearly sold a dolphin carving to an Associated Press reporter standing at the edge of my dock. He was pulled away from my enticement by an urgent phone call."
None of the four Associated Press reporters and cameramen who had reported from outside his home north of the town of San Pedro recalled having been approached by anyone matching that description.
McAfee, 67, claims even police didn't recognize him.
"I watched the police search my residence 7 times," he wrote. "At one point I got too close and was angrily ordered to go away. "
He claimed that other disguises included posing as a foul-mouthed German tourist spewing profanities.
"On subsequent days using different disguises, I did the same general thing, one day selling tamales and burritos that I had purchased wholesale from a real vendor, on another pretending to be a drunk German tourist with a partially bandaged face and wearing speedo swimming trunks and a distasteful, oversized Hawaiian shirt."
As with his other stories, it has been difficult to verify any of McAfee's claims. One resident who lives near McAfee's home, which is two doors down from Faull's, also doesn't remember seeing any of the three characters McAfee describes.
Faull was shot to death in early November. McAfee acknowledges that Faull had complained about his dogs, which were poisoned shortly before Faull's killing, but he says he didn't kill him.
"He did not like my dogs, but neither did any of my neighbors. I didn't like them myself sometimes, they did bark at night and they were annoying," McAfee said in the Saturday interview. "I did not kill the man and I had no reason to do so," he said, suggesting he had an alibi - something corroborated by at least one young woman who said she spent the night at McAfee's house the night Faull was murdered. "There were many people at the house with me."
McAfee, the creator of the McAfee antivirus program, has led a life of eccentricity since he 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.
He told The New York Times in 2009 that he had lost all but $4 million of his $100 million fortune in the U.S. financial crisis. However, a story on the Gizmodo website quoted him as calling that claim "not very accurate at all." He has dabbled in yoga, ultra-light aircraft and producing herbal medications.
Neighbors say McAfee seemed to keep company with a lot of younger women, and in his blog he acknowledged that raised some questions.
"Many have commented that these women were only with me because of my money - a fact that I have to agree with," he wrote.
"I am wealthy and living in a country of extreme poverty," McAfee added. "Parents here 'promote' attractive daughters to men with money constantly ... I am not foolish enough to believe that many young women could love a 67 year man."
In the latest twist in the highly-publicized case, McAfee has started his own blog, in which he describes life on the lam after police in Belize called him a "person of interest" in the slaying of fellow American Gregory Viant Faull and asked him to turn himself in for questioning.
In phones interviews with The Associated Press, McAfee has never said where he's hiding. But in his blog this week, he claims to have disguised himself as a grungy street peddler and a foul-mouthed German tourist, and claims he approached an Associated Press reporter outside his staked-out home on the Caribbean island of Ambergris Caye, and almost sold the reporter a wood carving.
It's hard to separate fact from fiction in the whole account, but one thing is clear - seldom has there been more detailed coverage of someone on the lam since O.J. Simpson led police on a low-speed chase in 1994, and much of that detail is being provided by McAfee himself.
The Internet-savvy former tech-company founder has talked about his case with reporters via email, on cell phone calls from undisclosed locations, and now in his blog, "Who is McAfee? The official blog of John McAfee," whose creation he announced Saturday in an interview with the AP.
"Anyone who would like to read the blog and check out the references, will understand my reluctance to turn myself in," he said, referring to his distrust of the Belizean government and particularly its Gang Suppression Unit, a quasi-military police squad. McAfee also described life on the run as "very fearful" and said it has "not been comfortable."
But in a blog post Monday, he described it in almost fanciful terms, describing how he donned a far-fetched disguise and watched as police searched his house and reporters gathered.
"I darkened the skin of my face, neck and hands carefully with shoe polish and put on an LA Saints baseball cap with the brim facing backward and tufts of the front of my hair sticking out unkempt through the band," according to the post. McAfee confirmed the authenticity of the blog in an email which he has been using to communicate with the AP.
"I stuffed my cheeks with chewed bubble gum stuck to the outside of my upper and lower molars - making my face appear much fatter. I darkened and browned my front teeth," he wrote. "I wore an old, ragged long sleeve shirt. I donned an old Guatemalan style serape and toted a bag containing a variety of Guatemalan woven goods.
"I adjusted my posture so that I appeared a good six inches shorter than my actual height and slowly walked up and down the beach with a pronounced limp, pushing an old single speed bicycle and peddling my wares to tourists and reporters using a broken English with a heavy Spanish accent. On my second day, while peddling small wooden carvings, I nearly sold a dolphin carving to an Associated Press reporter standing at the edge of my dock. He was pulled away from my enticement by an urgent phone call."
None of the four Associated Press reporters and cameramen who had reported from outside his home north of the town of San Pedro recalled having been approached by anyone matching that description.
McAfee, 67, claims even police didn't recognize him.
"I watched the police search my residence 7 times," he wrote. "At one point I got too close and was angrily ordered to go away. "
He claimed that other disguises included posing as a foul-mouthed German tourist spewing profanities.
"On subsequent days using different disguises, I did the same general thing, one day selling tamales and burritos that I had purchased wholesale from a real vendor, on another pretending to be a drunk German tourist with a partially bandaged face and wearing speedo swimming trunks and a distasteful, oversized Hawaiian shirt."
As with his other stories, it has been difficult to verify any of McAfee's claims. One resident who lives near McAfee's home, which is two doors down from Faull's, also doesn't remember seeing any of the three characters McAfee describes.
Faull was shot to death in early November. McAfee acknowledges that Faull had complained about his dogs, which were poisoned shortly before Faull's killing, but he says he didn't kill him.
"He did not like my dogs, but neither did any of my neighbors. I didn't like them myself sometimes, they did bark at night and they were annoying," McAfee said in the Saturday interview. "I did not kill the man and I had no reason to do so," he said, suggesting he had an alibi - something corroborated by at least one young woman who said she spent the night at McAfee's house the night Faull was murdered. "There were many people at the house with me."
McAfee, the creator of the McAfee antivirus program, has led a life of eccentricity since he 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.
He told The New York Times in 2009 that he had lost all but $4 million of his $100 million fortune in the U.S. financial crisis. However, a story on the Gizmodo website quoted him as calling that claim "not very accurate at all." He has dabbled in yoga, ultra-light aircraft and producing herbal medications.
Neighbors say McAfee seemed to keep company with a lot of younger women, and in his blog he acknowledged that raised some questions.
"Many have commented that these women were only with me because of my money - a fact that I have to agree with," he wrote.
"I am wealthy and living in a country of extreme poverty," McAfee added. "Parents here 'promote' attractive daughters to men with money constantly ... I am not foolish enough to believe that many young women could love a 67 year man."
If a person doesn't want to be caught by the authorities maybe blogging isn't the thing to do. McAfee continues to be a "colorful" character that struggles to stay out of the spotlight.
I like the fact that he appears to be honest in his description of himself. NOT talking about his disguises, but the fact that a lot of people don't like him, or that he has a habit of paid companionship.
Not so dissimilar to myself.
Â
I DO hope that he relocates. Soon.
The fact is, he's not nearly as rich as he used to be. If the local constabulary catch him, he'll be even closer to bankruptcy before they let him go.
You know something, this whole thing, makes for a very good movie.
 it is true, there have been accounts where people can often watch there place as police come and go, even I a normal person can see an officer with a gun Dran at 5609 Finch drive as they were looking for a suspect 2-3 years ago, it was then I chose to go to my parents house. and vistit hem for a few hours. I am sure if they were after me they wouldhave chased me all the way up there . but they weren't. sometimes police get so busy with an investigation that sometimes they don't even know who is who. and if indeed he is casing them as they are casing him, then it is an interesting cat and mouse game indeed. I think when all is said and done, it will be found that that McAfee did not kill any one.
Â
I hear of tales where they look for a scape goat. Now I wonder can the Belize police possibly plant evidence? If this is the case and he is able to get proof and he gets it out, then this indeed would make for a good story.
If you know a few things about security, it can go in to any area. You have differences and offenses, and much more. You can counter every offense and counter every defense, it is all about timing, cunning and skill.
also by him blogging this it make authorities aware that they are being watched and that makes then very nervous.