Man arrested in connection with wife’s disappearance in Spain – NBC 6 South Florida

The FBI laid out a detailed case showing why agents believe a Florida man was behind the disappearance of his estranged wife from their apartment in Spain, but gave no details about what they believe happened to her.

Court documents released late Monday show that agents believe David Knezevich resembles the man in a motorcycle helmet who spray-painted the security camera lens outside Ana Knezevich’s Madrid apartment on Feb. 2. The man left an hour later with a suitcase.

Spanish police say they have security video of the 36-year-old Fort Lauderdale business owner purchasing the same brand of paint and tape hours earlier. Investigators also interviewed a woman who said Knezevich asked her to translate a text message sent to his wife’s friends after her disappearance.

Knezevich’s attorney, Ken Padowitz, did not return a call seeking comment Monday. He said his client was innocent and was in his home country of Serbia, 2,500 kilometers away, on the day his 40-year-old wife disappeared. But agents say Knezevich had rented a Peugeot four days earlier in the Serbian capital Belgrade.

A few days later, a Spanish driver reported that his license plates had been stolen. On the night Ana Knezevich disappeared, a license plate reader on her Madrid street recorded the stolen license plate, Spanish police found.

Additionally, hours after her disappearance, a Peugeot with the stolen license plates passed through a toll booth in a Madrid suburb, surveillance video showed. The driver could not be seen behind the tinted windows.

The car rental company told investigators that when Knezevich returned the car five weeks later, the license plates had been replaced and the windows had been tinted. It had driven almost 4,800 miles (7,700 kilometers).

The FBI arrested Knezevich, a naturalized American citizen, at Miami International Airport on Saturday. He is charged with kidnapping and is being held on bail pending a hearing. The Knezeviches, who sometimes spell their last name “Knezevic,” had been married for 13 years. They own EOX Technology Solutions Inc., which provides computer support to businesses in South Florida. Records show they also own a home and two other properties in Fort Lauderdale, one of which is currently in foreclosure.

Ana’s brother Juan Henao called the couple’s divorce “evil” in an interview with a Fort Lauderdale detective, according to a report. He told police David was upset that they were splitting a significant amount of money. Ana is a naturalized American citizen from Colombia.

The most detailed section of the FBI’s 11-page complaint against Knezevich concerns an unnamed Colombian woman he met on a dating app last fall, around the time his wife moved to Europe.

The morning after his wife’s disappearance, according to the FBI, Knezevich texted the woman and asked her for a favor: Would she translate a few English sentences into “perfect Colombian” Spanish for a friend who was writing a screenplay?

The woman replied that she didn’t speak English and had to use a generic online Spanish translator. Knezevich replied that that was fine, she could then adjust it to sound Colombian.

According to the FBI, he then sent the woman this passage in English: “I met someone wonderful.” He has a summer home about 2 hours (two hours) from Madrid. We’re going there now and I’m going to spend a few days there. However, there is hardly any signal. I’ll call you when I get back. Kisses.”

The woman completed her translation and sent it back.

That morning, the translated message was sent from her phone to two of Ana’s friends.

They said it didn’t sound like her. They contacted the Spanish police and began an investigation.