A Florida businessman was indicted with murdering his estranged wife who vanished from her apartment in Spain more than nine months ago — and he could face the death penalty if convicted, prosecutors announced Thursday.
David Knezevich, 36, of Fort Lauderdale, was hit with upgraded US federal counts after he was already facing charges of kidnapping Ana Hedao Knezevich during a contentious divorce fight.
The 40-year-old woman went missing from her Madrid apartment on Feb. 2 after a man in a motorcycle helmet was seen entering her building and plastering spray paint over a security camera lens, prosecutors said.
The man, who the feds believe is Knezevich, then is seen wheeling out a suitcase. The victim’s body has yet to be found.
Knezevich, who is in jail after pleading not guilty to the kidnapping charge, denies he killed his wife, his lawyer said Thursday.
“It is a desperate attempt by the government to charge everything possible and see what sticks!” Jayne Weintraub said in a statement.
“There is no evidence that David Knezevich kidnapped or murdered his wife.”
Knezevich is facing new charges of kidnapping resulting in death, foreign domestic violence resulting in death and foreign murder of a US national — charges that could lead to the death penalty.
Prosecutors allege Knezevich, who ran a tech consulting company with his wife, flew from Miami to Turkey in the days leading up to his spouse’s disappearance. He then reached Serbia, where he rented a Peugeot and allegedly drove 1,600 miles to Spain.
The day Ana went missing, Knezevich was spotted buying duct tape and the same spray paint used on the security camera, according to prosecutors.
The couple were married for 13 years but were bickering about millions of dollars in property during divorce proceedings.
The day after Ana vanished, her loved ones received a message from her claiming she met a man, a Colombian-American citizen, whom she wanted to travel with after an instant connection.
But Ana’s friends and family were alarmed by the message because it wasn’t written by a native Spanish speaker, and one pal called Spanish police.
With Post wires
