Family of woman who vanished in Spain files wrongful death suit against husband

A South Florida woman’s family has sued her estranged husband for allegedly being involved in her murder after she disappeared in Spain last year. Ana Maria Henao Knezevich’s family filed a complaint last week, alleging that her husband David Knezevich, his brother, and others committed conduct that damaged her assets, including illegal transfers. In the February 2, 2024, disappearance of Ana Maria Henao Knezevich, David Knezevich was arrested in May of last year on accusations of foreign murder of a U.S. national, foreign domestic violence resulting in death, and kidnapping resulting in death. Colombian-born and naturalized American Henao Knezevich was last spotted in Madrid last year after traveling to Spain after a tense divorce from her divorced husband.

According to court documents, officials think Knezevich looks like the man who spray-painted the surveillance camera lens outside her Madrid apartment while wearing a motorbike helmet. An hour later, the man with the suitcase departed. According to the prosecution, security footage revealed Knezevich using cash to purchase duct tape and the same type of spray paint that the individual wearing the motorcycle helmet used on the security camera in a hardware store in Madrid. Knezevich traveled from Miami-Dade to Madrid “with the intent to kill, injure, harass, and intimidate his spouse and intimate partner” and committed a crime of violence against her that led to her death, according to an indictment filed in November.

David Knezevich is still detained pending trial. His lawyers have insisted that their client is innocent. According to the current case, which was filed in Miami-Dade County, David Knezevich has allegedly refused to allow his wife’s body to be buried. Until a determination of probable cause is made, the lawsuit stays under seal. “We charged aiding and abetting against the non-Lawyer defendants for their roles in continuing the conspiracy after they discovered that they were part of a murder plot,” said Adam Ingber, the lawyer for Henao Knezevich’s family, in a statement. According to an unsealed search warrant obtained last week, Ugljesa Knezevich, the brother of David Knezevich, was charged with tampering with evidence and impeding law enforcement’s investigation into the disappearance.

Authorities allegedly discovered Facebook messages between Ugljesa Knezevich and their mother that “were indicative of the destruction of evidence,” according to the warrant. It also stated that following her disappearance, Ugljesa was given a credit card and added as an authorized user to Henao Knezevich’s corporate American Express accounts. “We are starting legal proceedings in Serbia against the murderer’s mother and cousin for aiding and abetting and for receiving Ana’s money and assisting in the destruction of evidence in response to the unsealed FBI information,” Ingber said in the statement. “I will track anyone who had a hand in this, to the ends of the earth.” Ugljesa Knezevich may or may not be charged, according to authorities.