The Slatest

Report: Antivirus Software Pioneer McAfee Wanted for Murder

John McAfee, the computer programmer behind the antivirus software that bears his last name, is on the run from murder charges, according to Belizean police. Gizmodo’s Jeff Wise with the scoop:

According to Marco Vidal, head of the national police force’s Gang Suppression Unit, McAfee is a prime suspect in the murder of American expatriate Gregory Paul, who was gunned down Saturday night at his home in San Pedro Town on the island of Ambergris Caye.

Details remain sketchy so far, but residents say that Paul was a well-liked builder who hailed originally from California. The two men had been at odds for some time. Last Wednesday, Paul filed a formal complaint against McAfee with the mayor’s office, asserting that McAfee had fired off guns and exhibited “roguish behavior.” Their final disagreement apparently involved dogs.

The news follows Wise’s profile of McAfee last week, titled “Secrets, Schemes, and Lots of Guns: Inside John McAfee’s Heart of Darkness,” which depicted the antivirus pioneer as becoming increasingly erratic and estranged from his fellow expatriates in recent years. You can read that piece here.

Correction, Nov. 12, 2012: This article originally misspelled Gizmodo.