Authorities reported that the spouse of Ana Knezevich Henao, a Florida lady who vanished a few months ago while visiting Spain on a temporary basis, was recently taken into custody by the FBI at Miami International Airport.
An FBI spokeswoman confirmed on Monday that David Knezevich, 36, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and a native of Serbia, is presently being held in federal custody for his suspected role in his wife’s kidnapping.
In relation to Knezevich Henao’s disappearance, he was charged with kidnapping after being taken into custody on Saturday. After 13 years of marriage, it had been rumored that the couple was either about to file for divorce or was already in the process of doing so.
Knezevich Henao, 40, a Colombian native who became a naturalized American citizen, “disappeared” on or around February 2, according to Spanish officials. Her brother said she did not meet her friend as arranged and had not been seen since.
She apparently went missing, but there were some doubts expressed in a string of WhatsApp texts she sent to a friend around the same time.
“I met someone wonderful!! He has a summer house about 2h (hours) from Madrid. We are going there now and I will spend a few days there. Signal is spotty. I’ll call you when I get back,” One message said, according to Knezevich Henao’s acquaintance Sanna Rameau.
Read Also: Family Horror: Son Accused of Killing Mother, Body Found in Bathtub
Later reports stated that Knezevich had instructed a lady he had met online to write the note on February 3 “in perfect Colombian.”
Law enforcement has linked Knezevich to his wife’s disappearance on several occasions, and it is reported that the couple possessed substantial assets that may potentially be divided during their ongoing divorce procedures.
According to authorities, Knezevich took a plane on January 27 from Miami International Airport to Istanbul. After arriving in Istanbul, he traveled to Belgrade and then departed his home country of Serbia, which was once known as Yugoslavia, on January 30.
However, on February 5, he returned to Serbia a few days later, following the alleged disappearance of his wife.
Authorities added that the suspect fit the description of Knezevich Henao’s estranged spouse because he had spray-painted security cameras at the elevator and door entrance of the posh Salamanca apartment complex where she had been staying the night before she vanished.
He was connected to the spray paint cans that were bought as well.
Additionally, it was found that he had leased a car in Serbia, an Eastern European country, which was identified as the location of Knezevich at the time of his wife’s disappearance and was confirmed to be in the neighborhood where she was last seen.
Officials were informed by the dealer that the rental car had been driven a considerable distance, compatible with a journey across Europe to Madrid.
The woman, who acknowledged composing the WhatsApp messages without realizing it, informed the authorities about the incident after her mother came onto an online article featuring Knezevich discussing the disappearance of his wife.
According to NBC News, David Knezevich, a naturalized citizen of the United States, was sent to a brief pretrial detention and was making his first court appearance on Monday.
The case of Knezevic Henao’s disappearance is currently being investigated. The suspect, Knezevich, faces a pretrial detention hearing on Friday.
“The Spanish National Police, Customs and Border Protection, the Diplomatic Security Service, and the FBI continue their investigation,” the FBI said in a statement.
