Family of missing South Florida woman in Spain seeks answers: “We are still in shock”

MIAMI — The family of a South Florida woman who disappeared in Spain three months ago broke their silence Wednesday, seeking justice and hoping to find answers just days after the woman’s estranged husband was arrested in connection with the case.

Broward County resident Ana Knezevich Henao disappeared in Spain in February. On Saturday, her husband was arrested by federal authorities at Miami International Airport.

On Wednesday, her mother and two brothers showed up at a Fort Lauderdale law firm to talk about their loved one.

“It has been a very devastating time for us,” said Ana’s brother Felipe Henao. ‘We are still in shock. I just want justice for my sister. We still have hope that we can find where my sister is.”

The press conference comes a day after the publication of a FBI criminal complaint filled with new allegations against Ana’s estranged husband, David Knezevich.

David Knezevich, 35, was arrested Saturday at Miami International Airport “… for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping of a U.S. citizen in Madrid, Spain on or about February 2, 2024,” according to the indictment.

When asked about the details of the international and federal investigation, Felipe Henao said he is letting authorities continue the search. When asked if he thought his sister was still alive, he declined to comment: “It’s not easy to talk about that. I do not wanna talk about it.’

The man initially told police he was in Serbia at the time of Ana’s disappearance. Officials now say he rented a car in Serbia and tracked her down. The car was traced to the street in Madrid where Ana’s apartment was located. At the press conference on Wednesday, her brother Philip thanked her friends for sounding the alarm.

The case against Ana Knezevich’s husband

The FBI has put together a detailed case showing why agents believe David is behind the disappearance of his estranged wife from her apartment in Spain, but gave no indication as to what they think happened to her.

Court documents released late Monday show that federal authorities believe this David Knezevich resembles the man in a motorcycle helmet who spray-painted the security camera lens outside Ana Knezevich’s Madrid apartment on February 2. The man left an hour later with a suitcase.

Spanish police say they have surveillance video of the 36-year-old Fort Lauderdale entrepreneur buying the same brand of paint and duct tape hours earlier. Investigators also interviewed a woman who says Knezevich asked her to translate a text message sent to his wife’s friends after her disappearance.

David Knezevich’s attorney, Ken Padowitz, did not return a call or email seeking comment Tuesday. He said his client is not guilty and that he was in his native Serbia the day his 40-year-old wife disappeared 1,600 miles away. But officers say Knezevich had rented a Peugeot car in the Serbian capital Belgrade four days earlier, which he could have used to travel to Spain.