Latest news with #Knezevich
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Yahoo
Husband Charged in Woman's Disappearance During Spain Vacation Found Dead in Prison: 'Cruel Final Insult'
The husband of Ana Knezevich Henao, a Florida woman who vanished during a bitter divorce, was found dead in prison where he was awaiting a murder trial in connection with her disappearance. David Knezevich, 37, was found unresponsive at the Federal Detention Center (FDC) Miami on Monday, April 28, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said in a statement. Knezevich reportedly died by suicide, his attorney confirmed to the Miami Herald and NBC Miami, but she did not respond to PEOPLE's requests for confirmation. Knezevich was at FDC on charges of foreign domestic violence resulting in death and foreign murder of a United States national following the February 2024 disappearance of Henao while the two were locked in a bitter divorce, PEOPLE previously reported, citing authorities and Henao's family members' account. Henao was in Spain at the time, where she hoped to start a non-profit for women who had been abused, her friend previously told PEOPLE. She has never been found. Related: Inside the Case of Ana Knezevich Henao, Who Wanted to Start Non-Profit for Abuse Victims and Then Vanished in Spain Knezevich was arrested in May 2024 and had been at the FDC since May 6 of that year, per FDC officials. On Monday morning, after Knezevich was found, responding prison employees provided 'life-saving' measures as they awaited emergency personnel at the scene, per the statement. Emergency Service officials declared him dead at the scene. His defense team said they were 'devastated to learn of this news.' 'We sincerely hope that an appropriate and prompt investigation will be conducted,' they told PEOPLE in an email statement. The BOP, citing department policies, redirected PEOPLE to the Medical Examiner's Office, which did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for further Husband of Fla. Woman Who Went Missing in Spain Arrested 3 Months After Her Disappearance Henao's family expressed mixed emotions about Knezevich's death. "The suicide of Ana's murderer closes a painful chapter in our lives, previously filled with the dread that he might not face justice. Now, we may never know where he put Ana's body," they said in a statement through their attorney Adam Ingber. "It is a cruel final insult that we may never recover Ana's remains or know the full extent of the betrayal she suffered," they said, adding they "remain committed to seeking the truth and justice" and "to preserving Ana's memory while honoring her life with dignity, strength, and love.' "While his death spares this family from the agony of a trial," Ingber said in the statement, "it also leaves many questions unanswered, which we continue to pursue." If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. Read the original article on People
Newsweek
29-04-2025
- Newsweek
Man Accused of Killing Estranged Wife Found Dead in Jail: What To Know
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. David Knezevich, a South Florida business owner charged with kidnapping and killing his estranged wife, was found dead in his Miami jail cell on Sunday. Knezevich, 37, had been awaiting trial at the Federal Detention Center in Miami. He was facing charges that included kidnapping resulting in death, foreign domestic violence resulting in death and foreign murder of a U.S. national in connection with Ana Knezevich Henao's disappearance in Madrid in February 2024. His attorney, Jayne Weintraub, said he died by suicide. Newsweek contacted Weintraub via email for comment. An undated photo provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami of David Knezevich. An undated photo provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami of David Knezevich. U.S. Attorney's Office Miami via AP, File What To Know Knezevich Henao's body is missing and her family has said Knezevich's death means they are less likely to find out where she is buried. Knezevich pleaded not guilty to the charges in 2024. He was accused of kidnapping and killing his estranged wife in 2024, after she went missing from her apartment in Madrid, Spain. The pair shared a multimillion-dollar real-estate portfolio in Florida but were fighting over their shared assets when she left for Spain at the end of 2023. Knezevich sold a number of their homes worth nearly $7 million between December 2023 and February 2024, shortly before his wife of 13 years disappeared. There is no physical evidence tying Knezevich to the disappearance of his wife, and no evidence of blood or of a struggle inside of her apartment. However, prosecutors allege that on the evening of February 2, 2024, he carried his wife out of her Madrid apartment in a suitcase. Footage of him exiting the elevator in her apartment building, as well as CCTV footage of him at a Madrid hardware store, fabricated messages between Knezevich Henao and her husband and the use of stolen license plates on a rental car, made prosecution suspicious of Knezevich, and tied him to the crime circumstantially. They believe he rented a car to drive her body into Italy, as the GPS picked him up in the woods near Vincenza, Italy. However, a search led by the FBI, Spanish and Italian investigators uncovered nothing and nobody. When police searched his home, however, they reported finding a notebook containing references to death and killing. According to law enforcement, the notebook contained one quote from Joseph Stalin, former general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, that read: "Death solves all problems. No man. No problem." Knezevich Henao was a naturalized U.S. citizen, while her husband was a Serbian national. He was being held in Miami after being deemed a flight risk and had been denied bond. What People Are Saying Jayne Weintraub, David Knezevich's attorney, in a statement, per CNN: "The defense team is devastated to learn of this news. We sincerely hope that an appropriate and prompt investigation will be conducted." The family of Ana Maria Knezevich Henao, in a statement, per the Miami Herald: "The suicide of Ana's murderer closes a painful chapter in our lives, previously filled with the dread that he might not face justice. Now, we may never know where he put Ana's body. It is a cruel final insult that we may never recover Ana's remains or know the full extent of the betrayal she suffered." What Happens Next Knezevich's trial was scheduled to begin in June. With his death, the criminal case against him is expected to be closed. The investigation into Knezevich Henao's disappearance may continue as authorities seek to uncover the full circumstances surrounding the case. Her death is also being investigated by the FBI. If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal ideation, contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "988" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Yahoo
Florida man charged in wife's murder in Spain found dead in jail
A South Florida businessman charged in the murder and disappearance of his estranged wife in Spain last year was found dead in jail, his attorney confirmed Monday. David Knezevich had been charged with kidnapping resulting in death, foreign domestic violence resulting in death and foreign murder of a United States national in the Feb. 2, 2024, disappearance of Ana Maria Henao Knezevich. Officials with the U. S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons said Knezevich was found unresponsive at the Federal Detention Center in Miami at around 8:15 a.m. Monday. He was given life-saving measures but was pronounced dead by emergency medical services workers, officials said. 'The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Marshals Service were notified. No employees or other incarcerated individuals were injured and at no time was the public in danger,' officials said in a news release. Further details of his death weren't available, but Knezevich's defense attorney Jayne Weintraub confirmed he died by suicide and released a brief statement later Monday. 'The Defense team was devastated to learn about it this morning. We trust than an appropriate investigation will be conducted,' her statement read. Henao Knezevich's family also released a statement through their attorney. 'The suicide of Ana's murderer closes a painful chapter in our lives, previously filled with the dread that he might not face justice. Now, we may never know where he put Ana's body,' the statement read. 'It is a cruel final insult that we may never recover Ana's remains or know the full extent of the betrayal she suffered. Still, we remain committed to seeking the truth and justice for Ana through our attorney, Mr. Ingber, and to preserving Ana's memory while honoring her life with dignity, strength, and love. We are thankful to the authorities that they continue to investigate and to search for Anna's body.' Knezevich, 37, was arrested in May 2024 after arriving at Miami International Airport on a flight from Serbia. He had been behind bars without bond while awaiting trial. Henao Knezevich, a Colombian native and naturalized American who had lived in Fort Lauderdale, was last seen in Madrid last year, after heading to Spain amid a contentious divorce from her estranged husband. Federal prosecutor Lacee Monk said in court last May that prosecutors believe Ana is dead and that the FBI and Spain's national police have substantial evidence that Knezevich had been behind his wife's disappearance, which happened five weeks after she left him and moved to Madrid. She said the couple had been going through a nasty divorce after 13 years of marriage, fighting over how to split a substantial fortune they had amassed from their computer firm and real estate investments. He didn't want her to have an equal share, Monk said. According to an indictment filed in November, Knezevich traveled from Miami-Dade to Madrid 'with the intent to kill, injure, harass, and intimidate his spouse and intimate partner' and committed a crime of violence against her that resulted in her death. Court documents show that authorities believe Knezevich resembles the man wearing a motorcycle helmet who spray painted the security camera lens outside her Madrid apartment on Feb. 2, 2024. The man left an hour later carrying a suitcase. Prosecutors said security video showed Knezevich in a Madrid hardware store using cash to buy duct tape and the same brand of spray paint the man in the motorcycle helmet used on the security camera. License plates that were stolen in Madrid in that period were spotted by police plate readers both near a motorcycle shop where an identical helmet was purchased and on Ana's street the night she disappeared. Hours after the helmeted man left the apartment, a Peugeot identical to the one Knezevich rented and sporting the stolen plates was recorded going through a toll booth near Madrid. The driver could not be seen because the windows were tinted. The morning after his wife disappeared, prosecutors say Knezevich texted a Colombian woman he met on a dating app to translate into 'perfect Colombian' Spanish two English messages. After the woman sent those back to Knezevich, two of Ana's friends received those exact messages from her cellphone. The messages said Ana was going off with a man she had just met on the street, something the friends say she would have never done. Knezevich's attorney said he was in his native Serbia on the day his 40-year-old wife disappeared, 1,600 miles away. But agents say Knezevich rented a Peugeot in the Serbian capital of Belgrade four days earlier. When Knezevich returned the Peugeot to the rental agency five weeks later, it had been driven 4,800 miles, its windows had been tinted, two identifying stickers had been removed and there was evidence its license plate had been removed and then put back, prosecutors said. Knezevich had pleaded not guilty to the charges, and his attorneys had maintained his innocence. The case garnered international attention as law enforcement from several different countries came together to try to help find Henao Knezevich and the person responsible for her disappearance. Henao Knezevich's family had filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Knezevich in February. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at You can also visit for additional support. This article was originally published on
NBC News
29-04-2025
- NBC News
Florida man charged in wife's murder in Spain found dead in jail
A South Florida businessman charged in the murder and disappearance of his estranged wife in Spain last year was found dead in jail, his attorney confirmed Monday. David Knezevich had been charged with kidnapping resulting in death, foreign domestic violence resulting in death and foreign murder of a United States national in the Feb. 2, 2024, disappearance of Ana Maria Henao Knezevich. Officials with the U. S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons said Knezevich was found unresponsive at the Federal Detention Center in Miami at around 8:15 a.m. Monday. He was given life-saving measures but was pronounced dead by emergency medical services workers, officials said. 'The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Marshals Service were notified. No employees or other incarcerated individuals were injured and at no time was the public in danger,' officials said in a news release. Further details of his death weren't available, but Knezevich's defense attorney Jayne Weintraub confirmed he died by suicide and released a brief statement later Monday. 'The Defense team was devastated to learn about it this morning. We trust than an appropriate investigation will be conducted,' her statement read. Henao Knezevich's family also released a statement through their attorney. 'The suicide of Ana's murderer closes a painful chapter in our lives, previously filled with the dread that he might not face justice. Now, we may never know where he put Ana's body,' the statement read. 'It is a cruel final insult that we may never recover Ana's remains or know the full extent of the betrayal she suffered. Still, we remain committed to seeking the truth and justice for Ana through our attorney, Mr. Ingber, and to preserving Ana's memory while honoring her life with dignity, strength, and love. We are thankful to the authorities that they continue to investigate and to search for Anna's body.' Knezevich, 37, was arrested in May 2024 after arriving at Miami International Airport on a flight from Serbia. He had been behind bars without bond while awaiting trial. Henao Knezevich, a Colombian native and naturalized American who had lived in Fort Lauderdale, was last seen in Madrid last year, after heading to Spain amid a contentious divorce from her estranged husband. Federal prosecutor Lacee Monk said in court last May that prosecutors believe Ana is dead and that the FBI and Spain's national police have substantial evidence that Knezevich had been behind his wife's disappearance, which happened five weeks after she left him and moved to Madrid. She said the couple had been going through a nasty divorce after 13 years of marriage, fighting over how to split a substantial fortune they had amassed from their computer firm and real estate investments. He didn't want her to have an equal share, Monk said. According to an indictment filed in November, Knezevich traveled from Miami-Dade to Madrid 'with the intent to kill, injure, harass, and intimidate his spouse and intimate partner' and committed a crime of violence against her that resulted in her death. Court documents show that authorities believe Knezevich resembles the man wearing a motorcycle helmet who spray painted the security camera lens outside her Madrid apartment on Feb. 2, 2024. The man left an hour later carrying a suitcase. Prosecutors said security video showed Knezevich in a Madrid hardware store using cash to buy duct tape and the same brand of spray paint the man in the motorcycle helmet used on the security camera. License plates that were stolen in Madrid in that period were spotted by police plate readers both near a motorcycle shop where an identical helmet was purchased and on Ana's street the night she disappeared. Hours after the helmeted man left the apartment, a Peugeot identical to the one Knezevich rented and sporting the stolen plates was recorded going through a toll booth near Madrid. The driver could not be seen because the windows were tinted. The morning after his wife disappeared, prosecutors say Knezevich texted a Colombian woman he met on a dating app to translate into 'perfect Colombian' Spanish two English messages. After the woman sent those back to Knezevich, two of Ana's friends received those exact messages from her cellphone. The messages said Ana was going off with a man she had just met on the street, something the friends say she would have never done. Knezevich's attorney said he was in his native Serbia on the day his 40-year-old wife disappeared, 1,600 miles away. But agents say Knezevich rented a Peugeot in the Serbian capital of Belgrade four days earlier. When Knezevich returned the Peugeot to the rental agency five weeks later, it had been driven 4,800 miles, its windows had been tinted, two identifying stickers had been removed and there was evidence its license plate had been removed and then put back, prosecutors said. Knezevich had pleaded not guilty to the charges, and his attorneys had maintained his innocence. The case garnered international attention as law enforcement from several different countries came together to try to help find Henao Knezevich and the person responsible for her disappearance. Henao Knezevich's family had filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Knezevich in February.
Daily Mail
28-04-2025
- Daily Mail
Shock twist in disappearance of Florida woman who vanished in Spain
A South Florida businessman accused of murdering his estranged wife in Spain has been found dead behind bars. David Knezevich, 37, had been in federal lockup ever since he was arrested at Miami International Airport in May 2024 for the death of Ana Maria Henao Knezevich, 40, one month prior. He was due to face trial in June on charges of kidnapping resulting in death, foreign domestic violence resulting in death and foreign murder of a United States national for Henao Knezevich's February 2, 2024 disappearance. But his lawyer announced on Monday that Knezevich died in custody, NBC Miami reports. 'The defense team was devastated to learn about it this morning,' Jayne Weintraub said in a brief statement. 'We trust that an appropriate investigation will be conducted.' No further details about Knezevich's death have been released, but his sudden passing comes just months after Henao Knezevich's family filed a wrongful death suit against him and his brother, according to the Miami Herald. Her family has previously claimed that the couple had been going through a messy divorce and were frequently arguing about how to divvy up millions of dollars in assets they accumulated during the 13-year marriage, CBS News previously reported. Amid the infighting, Henao Knezevich, a Colombian-American, moved to Spain. She was last seen on February 2, 2024 walking into her Madrid apartment where prosecutors say her husband showed up - and she was officially declared missing three days later when she failed to meet a friend to travel from Madrid to Barcelona for a conference. Following a lengthy investigation, authorities with the FBI and Spain's national police declared last May that Henao Knezevich was dead and that they had substantial evidence linking Knezevich to his wife's disappearance. Security-camera footage, for example, showed the Serbian-American IT specialist at a hardware store buying duct tape and spray paint with cash on the day she went missing. Hours later, a man in a motor cycle helmet was caught spray-painting the surveillance camera outside Henao Knezevich's apartment and leaving with a suitcase an hour later. The suspect used the same brand of spray paint that Knezevich allegedly bought from the hardware store, prosecutors noted. They also claimed that license plates that had recently been stolen in Madrid were spotted on a Pugeot identical to the one Knezevich rented - both near a motorcycle shop where an identical helmet was purchased and on Ana's street the night she vanished. When Knezevich later returned the vehicle to the rental agency, it had been driven 4,800 miles and was returned with tinted windows as well as two missing identifiable stickers. There was also evidence that the license plate had been removed and then put back. 'All these facts in combination reflect highly unusual behavior for someone with the means to fly from Serbia to Spain if he wanted to visit a hardware store in Madrid,' Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres declared. 'At a time he was supposed to be visiting his family in Serbia, he was blocks away from the apartment where his wife was last seen.' In August, the FBI joined Spanish and Italian authorities in the woods north of the city of Vicenza to search for her body after a GPS alert on Knezevich's rental car suggested he took a detour to the area on his way back to Serbia. However, authorities found no evidence of blood traces or signs of a struggle in the Madrid apartment after she vanished and her body has never been recovered. Prosecutors have also claimed that the morning after Ana disappeared, Knezevich texted a Columbian woman he met on a dating app to translate two English messages into 'perfect Colombian' Spanish. Once the woman translated the messages, they were sent to two of Ana's friends. The messages allegedly claimed she was going off with a man she met on the street - something they said she would never do. 'He was engaging in a scheme to make it look like the wife was alive and well, communicating with her friends about a man she just met,' Torres added. 'When in fact she was never to be seen again.' But Knezevich has maintained his innocence, and claimed he was in his native Serbia on the day his wife vanished. Federal agents, though, disputed that claim - saying he flew from Miami to Turkey and then to Serbia in January, where he rented the Pugeot to drive himself to Spain. If Knezevich were found guilty of the charges, he could have faced a life sentence. Meanwhile, he was also facing a wrongful death suit filed by Ana's family, which accused him of making fraudulent transfers, interfering with the family's rights to her body and intentionally causing emotional distress. Family attorney Adam Ingber also claimed in the suit, filed in February, that Knezevich's family unlawfully received Henao Knezevhich's share of the money and helped destroy evidence of her murder. 'We charged aiding and abetting against the... defendants for their roles in continuing the conspiracy after they discovered that they were part of a murder plot,' he said at the time. The lawyer added that he was also 'initiating legal proceedings in Serbia against his mother and cousin for helping to destroy evidence and for receiving Ana's money.'
