Anti-virus mogul McAfee's corpse still in Catalonia as investigation into death still ongoing

The antivirus mogul John McAfee's corpse is still in a Catalan morgue seven and a half months after his death, as first published by MarketWatch media outlet and confirmed by Catalan News.

The businessman was found dead in his prison cell in the Brians 2 penitentiary center near Barcelona on June 23, 2021.

McAfee was arrested in October 2020 at the El Prat airport in Barcelona by Interpol agents, on behalf of the US, where he was wanted for tax fraud.

A day before his death, Spain’s National Court greenlighted his extradition to America.

Catalan News was able to confirm this week that John McAfee's corpse is still in Catalonia's Legal and Forensic Institute (IMLCFC), at its Barcelona region headquarter, located in the Catalan capital's Ciutat de la Justícia legal district.

The reason his corpse has not yet been expatriated is that the legal procedures concerning his cause of death are still ongoing.

IMLCFC performed an autopsy on McAfee's body shortly after his death, and concluded that he had not been murdered – early investigations already pointed towards death by suicide.

Therefore, the local court number 5 of Martorell, near the prison, which oversees the case, shelved it as there were no signs of foul play.

Yet, early on since McAfee's passing, his family and defense team rejected that he had taken his own life.

His family's lawyer, Javier Villalba, said on June 26 that the creator of the popular anti-virus "never showed external signs" of wanting to die by suicide.

"If we had noticed anything, we would have informed the prison and the court," he added.

Because of this, Villalba appealed the judge's decision to shelve the case, and a decision on it is still pending.

The public prosecutor told Catalan News this week that they oppose the defense's arguments and side in favor of the original decision by the Martorell court. McAfee's lawyers have not responded to this media outlet's interview requests.