Naman Shrestha
When a young and successful businesswoman named Ana Knezevich went missing from her apartment in Madrid, Spain, in early 2024, her estranged husband, David Knezevich, was suspected of being involved in her disappearance. While investigating the case, the detectives found evidence that indicated David’s possible involvement. After all, the couple had been going through a divorce after their marriage deteriorated. All the intricate details about the case and the investigation that ensued are explored in NBC’s ‘Dateline: Missing Ana,’ which also features interviews with the officials and Ana’s loved ones.
David Knezevich Was Accused of Killing His Estranged Wife, Ana Knezevich
Born in the late 1980s, David Knezevich married Ana Maria Henao in 2011. Together, they invested in over a dozen properties in Fort Lauderdale, Dania Beach, Oakland Park, and Pompano Beach. The couple also established a computer business. After several years, cracks began to appear in their marriage, resulting in their separation. Not long after, in late 2023, Ana relocated to Madrid, Spain, for a fresh start. At the time, David and Ana were in the middle of a nasty divorce as they fought over the ownership and equity of their properties. On February 2, 2024, she vanished from her Madrid apartment, a few hours after finalizing the sale of a $900,000 house in Oakland Park. Since David was not on good terms with her, the authorities began focusing their investigation on him.
Upon reviewing security footage from the Madrid apartment building where Ana lived, the detectives spotted a man wearing a motorcycle helmet enter the building and disable the lobby security camera by spray-painting the lens. The same man was seen wheeling out a suitcase a while later. The investigators found several pieces of evidence indicating that the man in the helmet was allegedly David. They found out that he allegedly rented a dark blue 2019 Peugeot 308 in Belgrade, Serbia. After tinting the windows, he reportedly drove to Madrid, Spain, where he purchased duct tape and spray paint of the same brand seen in the man in the helmet’s hands. As per investigative reports, he also stole various license plates en route to Madrid.
Five weeks later, David reportedly returned the rented car to the rental agency in Serbia after driving it 4,800 miles, tinting the windows, and removing a couple of identifying stickers. There was also evidence that the license plate had been removed and reinstalled before surrendering the car. After weeks of searching for the suspect, the detectives tracked him down and arrested him at Miami International Airport, soon after he deboarded a flight from Serbia, on May 4, 2024. Charged with the kidnapping of his 40-year-old estranged wife, Ana, David was held without bond. The following month, he pleaded not guilty to the kidnapping charge against him.
David Knezevich Died Before He Could Stand Trial For Ana Knezevich’s Murder
A few months later, in November 2024, David Knezevich was also officially charged with kidnapping resulting in death, foreign domestic violence resulting in death, and foreign murder of a US national. He faced the possibility of the death penalty. The indictment alleged that he traveled to Spain “with the intent to kill, injure, harass, and intimidate” his estranged wife, Ana Knezevich. His defense attorney wrote in an email, “It is a desperate attempt by the government to charge everything possible and see what sticks! There is no evidence that David Knezevich kidnapped or murdered his wife.”
Meanwhile, the prosecution argued that a Peugeot matching the description of David’s rental car was spotted at a toll booth outside Madrid, fitted with stolen license plates. Since the windows were heavily tinted, the driver’s face was not visible. They also alleged that the morning after Ana’s disappearance, he texted a Colombian woman he met on a dating application and asked her to translate a couple of messages into “Colombian Spanish.” He then forwarded the translated messages from her phone to Ana’s friends, which said she had run off with a man she had just met.
David’s defense attorneys also argued that he was thousands of miles away in Serbia when Ana went missing from her Madrid apartment. He continued maintaining his innocence and once again pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. Moreover, in February 2025, Ana’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against him. However, while awaiting trial at the Federal Detention Center in Miami, Florida, 37-year-old David was found unresponsive in his cell about 8 am on April 28, 2025. Despite using life-saving measures, he could not be saved and the emergency medical services pronounced him dead.
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