A Florida businessman has been charged with murdering his estranged wife, who disappeared from their apartment in Spain more than nine months ago, and could face the death penalty if convicted, prosecutors say. announced Thursday.
Fort Lauderdale resident David Knezevich, 36, was previously charged with kidnapping Ana Hedao Knezevich during their divorce spree, so the U.S. federal charges have been upgraded.
Prosecutors said the 40-year-old woman went missing from her Madrid apartment on February 2 after a man wearing a motorcycle helmet was seen breaking into the building and dousing a security camera lens with spray paint. It became.
The man, who authorities believe to be Mr Knezevic, was seen carrying the suitcase away. The victim's body has not yet been found.
Knezevic, who is in prison after pleading not guilty to kidnapping charges, denies killing his wife, his lawyer announced Thursday.
“This is a desperate attempt by the government to claim everything possible and see what sticks!” Jane Weintraub said in a statement.
“There is no evidence that David Knezewicz kidnapped or murdered his wife.”
Knezevic faces new charges of kidnapping resulting in death, domestic violence resulting in death of a foreign national, and murder of an American citizen by a foreign national, which could lead to the death penalty.
Prosecutors say Knezevic, who ran a technology consulting company with his wife, flew from Miami to Turkey in the days leading up to his spouse's disappearance. He then arrived in Serbia, where he reportedly rented a Peugeot and drove 1,600 miles to Spain.
Prosecutors said on the day Anna went missing, Knezevic was seen buying duct tape and the same spray paint used on the security camera.
The couple had been married for 13 years, but during divorce proceedings they quarreled over millions of dollars in property.
The day after Ana disappeared, her loved ones received a message from her claiming that she had met a Colombian-American man, that they immediately hit it off and wanted to travel together.
However, since it was not written by a native Spanish speaker, Ana's friends and family were alarmed by the message, and one of her friends contacted Spanish police.
with post wire
