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MIAMI – A can of spray paint and a Colombian mom’s Google seek helped tie a Fort Lauderdale man to the kidnapping of his estranged spouse, who vanished in Spain in early February, newly-obtained courtroom paperwork display.
The FBI introduced the arrest Monday of David Knezevich, 36, the estranged husband of Ana Maria Knezevich Henao, who vanished in Spain in early February. Authorities stated he was once arrested Saturday at Miami International Airport through the Diplomatic Security Service.
Local 10 News acquired a federal prison criticism Monday night, outlining the collection of occasions federal investigators stated led them to attach David Knezevich to his wife’s kidnapping.
(Read the whole criticism on the backside of this web page.)
Ana Maria Knezevich was once final noticed at her Madrid condo at the afternoon of Feb. 2. The prison criticism states she have been in Spain since Dec. 26 amid a “contentious” separation from her husband, who “did not want to split the marital assets evenly.”
Small element leads to key piece of proof
Authorities stated simply earlier than 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 2, a man such as David Knezevich, a naturalized American citizen born in the previous Yugoslavia, seemed on surveillance pictures dressed in a helmet and spray-painting the lens of a safety digital camera.
The pictures additionally confirmed the man duct-taping the lock of the construction front to save you any person from getting in, prosecutors stated.
Court paperwork state the man is noticed on next surveillance pictures leaving the construction’s elevator with what seemed to be a suitcase.
Spanish firefighters went to the construction for a welfare take a look at two days later and noticed no signal of the Colombian-born Ana Maria Knezevich, government stated; a seek through police printed that her telephone, computer and chargers had been long gone.
After reviewing the pictures, Spanish police had been ready to establish the logo of spray paint used to difficult to understand the safety digital camera, the courtroom paperwork state. Authorities stated investigators had been then ready to in finding {that a} Madrid store had offered a can of that individual logo of spray paint that exact same day — to a man such as David Knezevich.
That man purchased two rolls of duct tape as smartly, investigators stated.
A ordinary request
Authorities allege that on Feb. 3, David Knezevich had a strange request for a Colombian girl he met on a courting app in October: He wanted her to translate a message into “perfect Colombian” for a chum in Serbia writing a script involving a Colombian persona.
In their WhatsApp chat, the lady tells him, in Spanish, “you know I don’t speak English…I would have to rely on the translator,” prosecutors allege.
Authorities stated he despatched her the message: “I met someone wonderful. He has a summer house about 2h from Madrid. We are going there now and I will spend a few days there. There is barely any signal though. I’ll call you when I come back. Kisses.”
“One more!” prosecutors stated he instructed the lady in a while after.
“Yesterday after therapy I needed a walk and he approached me on the street! Amazing connection. Like I never had before,” David Knezevich requested her to translate into Colombian Spanish, which she did, the courtroom paperwork state.
He then despatched her a photograph of a aircraft price tag from Serbia to Bogota scheduled for Feb. 19. It’s a flight prosecutors stated he would by no means take.
At some level, the lady instructed her mom concerning the Serbian man she met on-line, government stated.
Wanting to know extra, the lady’s mom Googled Knezevich and noticed a piece of writing about his lacking spouse, then any other containing probably the most textual content messages, the criticism states.
But government stated the thing didn’t characteristic the message to a Colombian minor persona in a film script: Instead, it was once purportedly despatched through Ana Maria Knezevich. The textual content messages raised alarm bells on the time of her disappearance; pals didn’t imagine she wrote them.
Stolen plates, tinted home windows: A pressure throughout Europe
Law enforcement acquired shuttle data revealing a roundtrip throughout a complete continent, 26 hours each and every method, courtroom paperwork state.
That’s the space between Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, and Madrid.
Authorities stated David Knezevich flew from Miami International Airport to Turkey on Jan. 27.
After touchdown in Istanbul, he went to Belgrade and left Serbia on Jan. 30, returning on Feb. 5, an afternoon after his spouse went lacking.
Authorities stated David Knezevich rented a Peugeot 308, which he would go back on March 15.
“The owner of the rental car agency informed law enforcement that, when Knezevich returned the vehicle, the rental agency discovered that the windows had been tinted, the license plate frames had changed, and two stickers had been removed from the vehicle,” investigators wrote in the criticism. “The vehicle had traveled approximately 7,677 kilometers while rented by Knezevich.”
Around that point, a man had filed a criticism with Spanish police that his license plates have been stolen, courtroom paperwork state.
Authorities stated a seek of registration number plate readers confirmed that the ones plates had been noticed close to Ana Maria Knezevich’s Madrid condo and handed via Spanish toll cubicles on Feb. 2 and three — hooked up to the Peugeot.
Feds: Victim impersonated over the telephone
Authorities allege that on March 4, a lady claiming to be Ana Maria Knezevich referred to as an insurance coverage service to cancel 3 insurance policies for her and David’s industry.
“During the call, children could be heard in the background,” the courtroom paperwork state.
But government stated Ana Maria Knezevich doesn’t have any kids.
Court paperwork state that investigators later discovered that the caller’s telephone quantity “was owned by (David) Knezevich’s company and Knezevich is listed as the contact for the phone number.”
An worker of Knezevich’s industry instructed legislation enforcement that on April 24, David Knezevich requested her to impersonate his spouse in order to open a brand new checking account, offering the worker with Ana Maria Knezevich’s Social Security quantity to use as evidence, the courtroom paperwork state.
“Employee 1 advised Knezevich during a telephone call that she was uncomfortable impersonating the Victim because the Victim was missing,” investigators wrote in the criticism. “In response, Knezevich told Employee 1 that this was ‘not serious’ and told Employee 1 it needed to be done in order for the employees to be paid.”
Knezevich allegedly instructed her, “I cannot call with my voice because I sound like a guy.”
What’s subsequent?
Knezevich, charged with one depend of kidnapping, seemed in federal courtroom on Monday.
The FBI showed Knezevich is in federal custody, they usually stated he’s anticipated again in courtroom on Friday afternoon for a pre-trial detention listening to.
An legal professional declined to talk on Knezevich’s behalf following Monday’s courtroom look.
Following Knezevich’s arrest, Sanna Rameau, a chum of Ana Maria Knezevich instructed Local 10 News Monday, “The only thing I can say right now is that I am happy that there has been an arrest in this case, and we are hoping that this next chapter will bring justice and we find answers about what has happened to Ana.”
Authorities stated any person with information about this or any FBI investigation is steered to name 1-800-CALL-FBI or talk over with tips.fbi.gov.
Read the criticism:
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