New twist in probe of cybersecurity honcho found dead in jail cell

Cybersecurity tycoon John McAfee had a suicide note in his pocket when he was found hanged in a Spanish cell while awaiting extradition to the US, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

The eccentric 75-year-old mogul had repeatedly insisted that US officials were out to kill him and would make it look like suicide — even getting a tattoo saying “$WHACKD” to highlight the theory.

But while his death last Wednesday sparked conspiracy theories, a source close to the investigation told the Associated Press that McAfee had a note on him when he was found dead in a penitentiary on the outskirts of Barcelona.

The source, who was not authorized to speak about an ongoing judicial inquiry, refused to comment on the content of the note, the wire service said.

McAfee’s Spanish lawyer, Javier Villalba, said the family had not been informed by authorities about the note.

McAfee’s body was found the day after Spain’s National Court had announced it was agreeing to his extradition to the US, where he faced up to three decades in prison for allegedly evading more than $4 million in taxes.

The antivirus software tycoon’s widow, Janice McAfee, on Friday demanded a “thorough investigation” of his death, saying her husband did not appear suicidal when they last spoke.

“His last words to me were ‘I love you and I will call you in the evening,’” the 38-year-old told reporters as she recovered her late husband’s belongings.

“Those words are not words of somebody who is suicidal,” she said of the conversation hours before his body was found.

She had also shared her husband’s theory about US authorities wanting him to “die in prison” in a message just three days before his body was found.

“John’s honesty has often gotten him in trouble with corrupt governments and corrupt government officials because of his outspoken nature and his refusal to be extorted, intimidated or silenced,” wrote Janice, who first met McAfee while she was working as a prostitute.

McAfee had suggested his murder would be framed to look like suicide “a la Epstein” — having previously insisted that he did not believe late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s August 2019 death was suicide.