U.S: McAfee not suicidal, says widow

THE widow of U.S. software mogul John McAfee blamed U.S. authorities on Friday for his death in a Spanish prison where he was awaiting extradition to the United States and said he was not suicidal.

Janice McAfee said she wanted a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the death of the 75-year-old, which happened in his prison cell on Wednesday in what the authorities said was an apparent suicide by hanging.

Dressed in black and wearing dark sunglasses, she told reporters outside the Barcelona-area Brians 2 jail, where her husband had been held since October, that she had last spoken to him a few hours before he was found dead.

“His last words to me were ‘I love you and I will call you in the evening’, those words are not words of someone who is suicidal,” she said, holding back tears.

“I blame the U.S. authorities for this tragedy. Because of these politically motivated charges against him, my husband is now dead,” she said, adding that he planned to appeal against Spain’s high court ruling, published a few hours before his death, that authorised his extradition on tax evasion charges.

A U.S. embassy spokesperson said: “We are closely monitoring local authorities’ investigation into the cause of death, and stand ready to provide all appropriate assistance to the family. Out of respect to the family during this difficult time, we have no further comment.”