The estranged husband of a Florida woman who went missing in Spain over three months ago has been arrested and charged with her kidnapping, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
David Knezevich, of Fort Lauderdale, was arrested by FBI and other federal agents at the Miami International Airport on Saturday and charged with the disappearance of 40-year-old Ana Knezevich.
The Colombian-born U.S. citizen vanished in Madrid on Feb. 2, according to Spain’s National Police. She has not been seen since.
She disappeared after a man wearing a motorcycle helmet spray-painted the lens of a security camera of an apartment complex where she had been staying since she separated from her husband last year. The man left an hour later carrying a suitcase.
According to court documents released late on Monday, investigators believe David Knezevich resembles the man in the motorcycle helmet.
David Knezevich has previously denied any role in her disappearance and disputed claims by the victim’s family that their impending divorce was “nasty.”
Ken Padowitz, his Florida-based lawyer, said in late February his client was in his native Serbia when his estranged wife was reported missing, and added he was cooperating with police in Spain.
But according to Spanish authorities, security camera footage appears to show the 36-year-old business owner buying the same brand of paint used to spray the lenses just hours earlier.
A woman interviewed by police said the suspect also asked her to translate a message sent to his wife’s friends after she went missing.
Additionally, agents said David Knezevich rented a Peugeot in the Serbian capital of Belgrade in late January. A few days later, a driver in Spain said his license plates were stolen. According to police, a vehicle with the stolen license plate was recorded on the victim’s street the night she disappeared.
“The Spanish National Police, Customs and Border Protection, the Diplomatic Security Service, and the FBI continue their investigation,” the FBI said in a statement. “Because this is an ongoing investigation, no further information will be released.”
With News Wire Services