McAfee's Dogs Could Be Key To Murder Riddle

Police hunting the anti-virus pioneer John McAfee think the millionaire's dogs could hold the key to solving the murder of his neighbour.

Mr McAfee shot dead his pets after they were poisoned two days before Gregory Faull, a retired American builder, was killed.

Officers have dug up the animals' remains, which were buried in the grounds of Mr McAfee's home in Belize, to examine the bullets used to kill them.

Forensic officers are now comparing the bullets to the single casing found by the body of Mr Faull to determine if there is a match.

Police spokesman Raphael Martinez said: "The dogs were exhumed and the slugs were taken out indeed and basically it's just to match the slug that was found in Mr Faull."

The 52-year-old was found dead in his home on the island of Ambergris Cave on November 11. He had a gunshot wound to the head.

Mr McAfee has denied he was responsible for the murder and says he went into hiding only because the Belize authorities have a vendetta against him. He believes he was the intended victim of the shooting, not Mr Faull.

Since going on the run he has started a blog, which he promotes on Twitter, and regularly updates.

In it he has given details of how he has disguised himself as a beggar, a salesman and a drunken German tourist to watch police search his home seven times.

In a post about the exhumation of his dogs, Mr McAfee wrote: "Then I watched the police dig up my four dogs that had been poisoned and buried. They cut off the heads and re-buried the bodies. I found this curious""

Mr McAfee amassed a $100m (£63m) fortune from his software business but said he lost all but $4m of it in the financial crisis. He moved to Belize in 2008.