A Florida man arrested in connection with the disappearance of a Fort Lauderdale woman will remain behind bars without bail, deemed a flight risk.
David Knezevich, 36, appeared Friday afternoon before Chief Magistrate Judge Edwin G. Torres on kidnapping charges, linked to the disappearance and presumed death of his 40-year-old wife, Ana Knezevich. Following a lengthy hearing, the judge determined the risk to release the defendant on bond would be too substantial.
The FBI apprehended Knezevich at Miami International Airport on Saturday, months after his wife vanished in Spain, according to The Sun Sentinel.
“The Spanish National Police, Customs and Border Protection, the Diplomatic Security Service, and the FBI continue their investigation. Because this is an ongoing investigation, no further information will be released,” the FBI said in a statement, following his arrest
Ana Knezevich was last seen on February 2 at around 10 p.m. after temporarily moving to Spain, following a break in her 13-year marriage. Her disappearance coincided with the sighting of an unidentified person vandalizing security cameras on the same night.
The man was wearing a helmet and reportedly tampered with the surveillance cameras outside and inside the elevator of Ana’s apartment building by blacking them out with spray paint. The same person then proceeded to walk into Ana’s apartment.
Police didn’t find any signs of a robbery inside the apartment.
Court documents released Monday indicate that investigators believe the defendant looks like the person seen on security footage at the apartment building.
Spanish police announced they obtained security footage showing Knezevich buying the identical paint brand several hours beforehand.
Meanwhile, investigators have spoken with a woman who claims Knezevich requested her assistance in translating a text message sent to his wife’s friends following her disappearance.
Friend Sanna Rameau told 7News Miami that Ana had planned to travel to Barcelona a few days after arriving in Spain, but failed to show up. The friend added that she also received a strange message from Ana’s phone, claiming that she had met someone new and they were heading to a summer house around two hours away.
“We received very bizarre messages from her phone, I have to say from her phone because I don’t believe it was her sending it, that Saturday afternoon after she disappeared. That she had met a man on the street,” Rameau explained.
“When we tried to respond, the messages were not going through and the phone is off. She has not left on her own. She has been taken against her will and by who, I don’t know.”
Loved ones called the police on February 4 and requested a welfare check.
Ramaeu said Ana is going through divorce proceedings and during a stressful time in her personal life, had been vacationing in Madrid to clear her mind.
The defendant previously declined when the FBI asked him to take a polygraph test. His lawyer, Ken Padowitz, said during an interview on NewsNation’s CUOMO that David was in Serbia when Ana disappeared and has been cooperating with law enforcement.
“He’s spoken to the police a number of times,” Padowitz said. “I have reached out to the FBI and let them know that we are available to aid in any way. He’s given police information on credit cards, attempted to hire a lawyer in Spain.”
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[Feature Photo via Twitter]
