Husband charged in wife's disappearance in Spain is due in Miami federal court

MIAMI - The husband of a South Florida woman who went missing in Spain is due in Miami federal court on Friday.

David Knezevich was arrested at Miami International Airport last week "...for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping of a U.S. Citizen in Madrid, Spain on or about February 2, 2024," according to the criminal complaint.  He is charged with kidnapping.

A judge will determine if Knezevich will be released or remain in custody. The lead attorney for his estranged wife's family says he is a flight risk.

Ana Maria Knezevich traveled from Fort Lauderdale to Spain last December. Friends and family said she was in the middle of a nasty divorce with David.

Court documents show there is evidence that links Knevevich to his wife's disappearance . Investigators say someone resembling him was seen on video buying spray paint, spraying it on a surveillance camera at Ana's apartment, then leaving later with a suitcase.

A can of spray paint, security camera footage, stolen license plates and rental car records helped tie him to the crime, according to the criminal complaint.

Federal officials said records show Knezevich flew from Miami to Turkey in January and then went to Belgrade, Serbia, where he rented a small Peugeot on January 29.

The owner of the rental car agency told investigators that when the car was returned in mid-March, someone had tinted its windows and added a new license plate frame, and it had traveled nearly 4,800 miles, the criminal complaint said.

Toll booth cameras captured images of the same model Peugeot, with tinted windows, near Madrid in the late night and early morning of February 2 and 3. It had license plates stolen from another vehicle on the Madrid street where his estranged wife was living, the complaint said.

Federal officials allege the text messages sent from Knezevich's phone actually came from her husband. And they were written with the help of a woman Knezevich had met on a dating app months earlier, court documents said.

"We still have hope that we can find where my sister is, if she's out there. I just want to tell her we all love her, miss her, support her. We are her voice," said Felipe Henao shortly after Knezevich's arrest.

The Knezeviches have been married for 13 years. They own EOX Technology Solutions Inc., which does computer support for South Florida businesses.

Ana's brother, Juan Henao, told police David was angry that they would be dividing a substantial amount of money.