Florida man’s US charges upgraded to murder of estranged wife in Spain

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida businessman already accused of kidnapping his estranged wife in Spain faces new U.S. charges that he killed her.

A federal grand jury in South Florida indicted David Knezevich on Wednesday on an indictment of kidnapping of a U.S. citizen resulting in death, alien domestic violence resulting in death and alien murder. He faces the possibility of the death penalty if convicted.

He has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping his wife, Ana Hedao Knezevich, 40, who disappeared last June in a case that attracted international media attention. Knezevich, 36, was jailed without bail.

His lawyers did not respond to an email Thursday seeking comment on the latest indictment.

Ana Knezevich disappeared on February 2, five weeks after moving into her Madrid apartment. His body has still not been found.

A man wearing a motorcycle helmet was seen sneaking into his Madrid apartment and disabling the security camera by spraying its lens with spray paint. The man was later seen taking a suitcase out. Ana Knezevich is approximately 4 feet, 11 inches tall (1.5 meters) and weighs 100 pounds (45 kilograms), according to her driver’s license.

Prosecutors say there is strong evidence that the man in the helmet is Knezevich. They say Ana flew from Miami to Turkey six days before her disappearance, then immediately went to her native Serbia, where she rented a Peugeot car.

Security video from Feb. 2 showed the man wearing duct tape and a motorcycle helmet used in the security camera at a hardware store in Madrid, 1,600 miles (2,600 kilometers) from Serbia, using money to buy the same brand of spray paint used in the security camera, prosecutors said. .

When Knezevich returned the Peugeot to the rental agency five weeks later, it had been driven 4,800 miles (7,700 kilometers), its windows were blacked out, two identifying stickers had been removed, and there was evidence that its license plate had been removed and put back on. Prosecutors said.

The couple was in the middle of a contentious divorce as they fought over millions of dollars in property, according to prosecutors. They have been married for 13 years.

At the hearing earlier this year, his lead attorney, Jayne Weintraub, questioned the government’s evidence. He disputed the government’s claim that Knezevich sold some property so he could have money to escape the United States. Weintraub also said the split was amicable and financial arrangements were being worked out.

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