Husband of missing wife pleads not guilty in Miami to kidnapping in Spain

A South Florida man whose estranged wife has been missing in Spain since early February pleaded not guilty Monday to an indictment accusing him of kidnapping her. He also contests his detention ordered by a federal judge.

David Knezevich, 35, was charged with one count of traveling from Miami to Madrid to kidnap his wife between January 27 and February 5. The wife, who is only identified as a “victim” in the indictment, is Ana María Knezevich. Henao, 40 years old. She left for Spain in late December as the Fort Lauderdale couple was dealing with divorce, including a dispute over millions of dollars in joint property.

The wife, originally from Colombia, has been missing since her last visit to Madrid on February 2, according to the Spanish National Police, who are investigating her disappearance as a possible murder and have been searching for her body.

Knezevich was arrested in early May at Miami International Airport by FBI agents while returning from his native Serbia. Since his arrest, he has been held at the Miami Federal Detention Center. If convicted of the kidnapping charge alone, he faces life in prison and the loss of any money earned from the offense.

Knezevich, suspected of masterminding an elaborate intercontinental kidnapping and murder of his wife in Spain, had previously been denied bail in Miami federal court by Magistrate Judge Edwin G. Torres. The judge found, based on a criminal complaint filed with the FBI before Knezevich was charged with the sole kidnapping count, that his wealth and overseas connections made him a flight risk . But at his detention hearing last month, Torres also said the decision was “a close game.”

In his detention order filed in early June, Torres explained why Knezevich was incarcerated before his trial.

“There is extensive circumstantial evidence to support the government’s complaint, including [the] The defendant’s documented travels by extraordinary means from the United States to Turkey and then to Spain,” Torres wrote. “Additionally, the defendant appears on CCTV in Spain purchasing equipment which may have been used in a kidnapping, while the defendant claims to have been elsewhere.

“The government's complaint is also supported by a powerful motive that [the] The accused may have had to commit this offense given his bitter divorce from the victim.

Defense attorney Jayne Weintraub responded in a court filing that Knezevich should be released because he has lived in Fort Lauderdale for 15 years, is close to a brother who also resides in the same area and owns a technology company information as well as real estate. investments.

She also pointed out that “most of his 'means' are tied up in second mortgages” and that his ex-wife's family opened a conservatorship to manage his assets, leaving Knezevich with “very little money available.”

Knezevich has not yet been charged with the murder of Ana, his wife of 13 years. This is a possibility if the Spanish National Police or the FBI recover his wife's body.

At the moment, we don't even know if she is dead.

READ MORE: 'We miss her': Brother of Fort Lauderdale woman missing in Spain calls for help

Federal prosecutors believe Ana Knezevich was so afraid of her husband that the Fort Lauderdale couple's relationship ended when she took a flight to Madrid the day after Christmas. Once there, they say, she messaged friends and family about her troubled relationship and began dating several men.

Ana Knezevich disappeared on February 2 and all contact with her friends and family ended.