Belize police want to ask McAfee founder about neighbor’s death

Police in Belize searched Monday for the founder of McAfee Inc., who is wanted for questioning in the death of his American neighbor in a Caribbean island town.

John McAfee lived next door to 57-year-old Gregory Faull, who was found dead Sunday morning in the hallway of his apartment, Belize Police Department spokesman Raphael Martinez said. Faull’s housekeeper discovered him shot in the head, lying face-up in a pool of blood.

Investigators believe Faull was killed late Saturday night or early Sunday morning during a rainy evening on the island of Ambergris Caye.

Faull’s two-story apartment in the town of San Pedro showed no signs of forced entry. A laptop and iPhone were missing, and police found a 9-millimeter Luger shell casing on the stairs. McAfee, considered a “person of interest,” had not been seen at home since before Faull’s death, Martinez said.

“Where is he? I wish I knew,” Martinez said. “And I’m sure the police would like to know where he is too.”

The software mogul, 67, made his fortune when his anti-virus company that bears his name went public in 1992. He sold his stock two years later for $100 million. Over the next 20 years, he lost millions of dollars in real estate investments, bad business ventures and bonds linked to Lehman Bros., he told the New York Times in 2009. His fortune dropped to $4 million.

About five years ago, McAfee moved to a compound in a lush, upscale neighborhood near San Pedro to lower his taxes, Mayor Daniel Guerrero said.

Belize’s gang suppression police arrested McAfee in April and charged him with unlicensed drug manufacturing and possession of an unlicensed weapon, according to police news releases. The government eventually dropped the charges. McAfee told Belize media in May he planned to sue for false arrest, saying the police arrested him because he refused to donate money to a local official.

Last week, Faull — a retired contractor from Florida — filed a complaint against McAfee with the San Pedro City Council, Guerrero said. McAfee’s security guards were trespassing on Faull’s property, and McAfee’s guard dogs were attacking passers-by, Faull’s complaint said.

“The dogs, they were vicious, attacking tourists and residents and running loose,” Guerrero said. He said it was unclear whether McAfee and Faull knew each other well.

The last time many San Pedro residents saw McAfee was Thursday, when he visited City Hall to donate equipment that had been stockpiled at his house. The donation included pepper spray, batons, handcuffs and more than 40 stun guns. His behavior then, Guerrero said, was “perfect.”

laura.nelson@latimes.com