Police say they seek millionaire John McAfee as “a person of interest”
Gregory Viant Faull, 52, an American retiree of Miami, Florida, was found shot to death in his home in the Mata Grande area about six miles north of San Pedro at about 7:20 yesterday morning, Sunday, November 11, by his maid who came to clean his house.
Police said that sometime on Saturday night, November 10, Faull was fatally shot in the head. He was taken to the San Pedro Town Polyclinic, where he was declared dead on arrival. He lived alone in the house, and was last seen alive around 10:00 that Saturday night.
Rafael Martinez, Police Press Officer, told Amandala tonight that they are looking for American John McAfee, 67, inventor of McAfee Antivirus, Faull’s neighbor, as a person of interest who may be able to help them with their investigation.
He said that when they went to McAfee’s home, no one was found there.
Martinez told reporters this morning at the weekly police press conference that an expended 9mm case was found in the room in which Faull was found, but that no possible motive for his murder has yet been established. San Pedro police also confirmed that there were no visible signs of forced entry to the building.
Although there was no sign of forced entry, however, a laptop computer and an i-Phone were discovered missing from the house.
A team of investigators from Belize City visited the crime scene, along with members of the San Pedro police, and the scene was reprocessed. During the process, neighbors were interviewed.
Police also questioned the male Hispanic caretaker of Faull’s residence, who told them that he did not hear anything out of the ordinary, especially since it had rained during the night.
Residents of the area told police, however, that Faull had had an argument with McAfee over McAfee’s dogs, which, he said, were vicious and loose, roaming the area, and making people fearful, and his armed security guards, who, he said, were intimidating residents along the beach.
According to the neighbors, Faull’s concerns were also shared by other residents of the Mata Grande area.
The neighbors of the area had gotten fed up with the situation, and San Pedro Mayor Daniel Guerrero confirmed to Amandala tonight that about a month ago, a letter had been sent by Faull to the San Pedro Town Council to complain about what was happening.
Faull, however, never followed up on the complaint with him, said Guerrero. He also said that he knew Faull well, and was more than surprised that he had been killed.
Four of McAfee’s dogs were reportedly killed over the weekend.
Mayor Guerrero said that San Pedro is the number one tourist destination of the country, and he has been addressing crime from all angles to lower or eradicate crime in the town, more so because the high season is fast approaching, and he would not want anything to muddy the image of San Pedro. He said that he is saddened by Faull’s death.
Channel 7 News reported in its newscast tonight that McAfee, who pioneered the antivirus software bearing his name in 1987 but is no longer in the software business, told another source that he does not believe that it was Faull who had poisoned his dogs, and also that he believes that it was he (McAfee) who was the target of the assassin, and not Faull. The killer made a mistake, he reportedly told the source, from an unknown location.
Police are following a number of leads. Anyone that has any information that can assist the police in their investigation is urged to call 0-800-922-TIPS or the San Pedro Police Station, 206 – 2022.