The husband of Ana María Knezevich Henao, who disappeared in Spain in February, was arrested by the FBI at Miami International Airport and charged with kidnapping in connection with her disappearance.
Knezevic Henao, 40, a native of Colombia and a naturalized U.S. citizen, was reported missing on February 2 in Madrid, according to Spanish police.
Friends and family previously told NBC News that she moved to Madrid amid a difficult separation from her husband, David Knezevich, originally from Serbia. They said she shared significant financial assets with him from their joint businesses.
After months of unanswered questions during which missing people were seen on the streets of Spain, Spanish police announced on Monday that David Knezevich was arrested Saturday at Miami International Airport in connection with his disappearance.
The investigation was led by the Belgrade Interior Attaché’s Office, FBI agents in Florida, Colombian police and Spanish police.
He was charged with kidnapping by federal agents, according to a complaint filed Friday in the Southern District of Florida. However, the complaint does not detail what may have happened to Knezevic Henao.
Man suspected of being David Knezevich spray-painted a camera in his wife’s Madrid apartment – and left with a suitcase
David Knezevich was considered a suspect in his wife’s disappearance after a man who looked like him spray-painted the security camera of his building in Madrid, a car he had rented in Serbia was found in his street and after suspicious text messages sent from his phone were found. to him.
According to a criminal complaint filed by the FBI, Knezevic Henao had traveled from Miami to Madrid on December 26, 2023. Then, on February 2, her friends and family lost contact with her.
She was not officially named in the filing but described as the wife of David Knezevich. She was still married to him at the time, but friends and family said they were separated and considering divorce.
“The separation was controversial because Knezevich did not want to share marital assets equally with the victim,” the complaint states. “The victim was very afraid of Knezevich and thought he was surreptitiously monitoring her whereabouts.”
Knezevic Henao was last seen alive entering her building in Madrid on February 2 at 2:20 p.m., according to Spanish authorities citing security cameras.
The same day, at 9:27 p.m., the building’s surveillance camera captured “a man wearing a helmet entering the building just as some individuals were exiting.” Once inside, he was seen holding a can of spray paint and painted the camera lens. Despite the paint, the lens was not completely obscured and the man was seen attaching tape to the building’s lock, according to the complaint.
The man looked at the camera and his physical characteristics resembled David Knezevich, according to the complaint.
The man was seen again at 10:30 p.m., this time exiting the elevator with what appeared to be a suitcase.
Missing items, Serbian car rental and stolen license plates
Two days later, Spanish firefighters entered Knezevic Henao’s apartment for a social check. A law enforcement search revealed his cell phone, laptop and chargers were missing.
Spanish police used surveillance footage from the apartment to identify the brand of spray paint used to hide the camera and found a store in Madrid selling that same brand on February 2. Surveillance footage from the store showed a man “who appeared to be David Knezevich purchasing the can of spray paint” as well as two rolls of duct tape on Feb. 2 around noon, the complaint states.
A Peugeot 308 car that David Knezevich had rented in Belgrade, Serbia, was traced to Knezevic Henao Street in Madrid.
He had rented the Peugeot from an agency for the period from January 29 to March 15. He left Serbia by car on January 30 and returned to Belgrade by car around February 5, the complaint states.
The owner of the rental car agency told law enforcement that when he returned the car, the windows had been tinted, the license plate frames changed and two stickers removed from the vehicle.
The car had also traveled 7,677 kilometers while leased by Knezevich. The complaint states that it takes 26 hours and 2,592 kilometers to drive from Belgrade to Madrid.
Back in his day, a person in Spain reported that both of his number plates had been stolen from his vehicle. When authorities searched their database of plate readers, they found it on Calle Francisco Sivela – the street where Knezevic Henao’s apartment was located.
This stolen plate was passed through two toll booths in the middle of the night from February 2 to February 3. Video footage from the cabins showed the plates were attached to a Peugeot 308 with tinted windows – matching the description of the car rented by David Knezevich. car. However, due to the tint, the driver was not visible.
A suspicious SMS and spoofed calls to cancel insurance
At the time of Knezevic Henao’s disappearance, she reportedly sent a text message to a friend on February 3 claiming to have met a man. She said she was going to his house two hours from Madrid, warning that she would have spotty cell service.
The FBI complaint revealed that a Colombian woman who met David Knezevich on a dating app told law enforcement that on Feb. 3, he asked her on WhatsApp to help him translate messages into “perfect Colombian”. He claimed it was for a friend in Serbia who was writing a script about a Colombian character.
He asked her to translate the sentence: “I met someone wonderful. He has a summer house about 2 hours from Madrid. We are going there now and I will spend a few days there. However, there is virtually no signal. I’ll call you when I get back. Kisses,” according to the complaint.
He then asked him to translate: “Yesterday, after therapy, I needed a walk and he approached me in the street! Amazing connection. Like I’ve never had before,” according to the filing.
At one point in their relationship, the woman told her mother that she had met a Serbian man online. The mother Googled his last name and learned that his wife had been missing in Madrid. The woman then discovered a news article containing a message purportedly sent by David Knezevich’s wife and matching exactly the terms of the text she had helped translate.
The complaint also said other evidence came into play regarding the couple’s businesses.
NBC News previously found three companies registered under the couple’s names in Florida — EOX Technology Solutions Inc., Registered Corporate Agents LLC and EOX Capital LLC — all of which provide technology and other support to South Florida businesses. Florida.
On March 4, a woman claiming to be Knezevic Henao contacted an insurance company to cancel three insurance policies held for her and her husband’s business. During the call, children were heard in the background, even though Knezevic Henao does not have children. Law enforcement later learned that the number belonged to David Knezevich’s company and that he was listed as a contact for the phone number.
Then, on April 24, an employee of David Knezevich told law enforcement that he had asked him to pose as Knezevic Henao “in order to open a new bank account” and provided the employee with the Knezevic Henao’s social security number as proof. The next day, the employee told David Knezevich that she wasn’t comfortable pretending to be Knezevic Henao because she was missing, but he allegedly told her it was “no big deal.” and that this had to be done so that employees would be paid. David Knezevich was further quoted as saying, “I can’t call with my voice because I sound like a guy. »
Online court records show David Knezevich made his first court appearance Monday and was remanded in custody ahead of his trial. He is due back in court for a remand hearing on Friday.
NBC News has contacted an attorney listed for Knezevich and FBI Miami for comment.
The investigation into the disappearance of Knezevic Henao is ongoing.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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