FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The estranged husband of a Florida woman who disappeared in Spain three months ago has been charged by US federal agents in her kidnapping.
The FBI and other federal agents arrested David Knezevich at Miami International Airport on Saturday. The Fort Lauderdale resident is charged in connection with the Feb. 2 disappearance of his 40-year-old wife, Ana Knezevich, from the Madrid apartment where she had been living since shortly after their divorce last year.
David Knezevich, a 36-year-old business owner originally from Serbia, appeared briefly in Miami federal court on Monday and will have a hearing on Friday.
“The Spanish National Police, Customs and Border Protection, the Diplomatic Security Service and the FBI are continuing their investigations. Because this is an ongoing investigation, no further information will be released,” the FBI said in a statement.
Knezevich’s attorney, Ken Padowitz, did not return a phone call seeking comment Monday afternoon. Padowitz has previously denied that his client had anything to do with his wife’s disappearance.
Ana Knezevich, a naturalized American from Colombia, disappeared shortly after a man wearing a motorcycle helmet disabled her apartment complex’s security cameras by spraying the lenses.
A friend, Sanna Rameau, and another woman received text messages from Ana Knezevich’s phone the next day saying she was out for a few days with a man she had just met. Rameau said the messages were not written in Ana’s style and that she would never leave with a stranger.
“I’m glad an arrest has been made,” Rameau said Monday. “We hope this next chapter will bring justice and answers about what happened to Ana.”
The Knezevichs, who sometimes spell their surname “Knezevic,” have been married for thirteen 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 under foreclosure.
Ana’s brother, Juan Henao, called the separation “annoying” in an interview with a Fort Lauderdale detective, a report shows. He told police that David was angry that they were going to split a significant amount of money.
Padowitz denied in a February interview that the divorce was contentious and said his client was cooperating with police. He said his client was in Serbia when his wife disappeared.