The authorities of Spain and the United States are working together to find the whereabouts of Ana María Henao, a Colombian-American woman who disappeared 100 days ago in Madrid, Spain, where he had arrived last December seeking a break from a complex divorce process.
Her ex-husband David Knezevich is the main suspect in her disappearance, For this reason, he was arrested last Saturday, May 4, when he arrived in Miami from Serbia, where he is from.
With his capture, and another series of clues such as chats and video images of the apartment where Henao resided, The police hope to find data that will help them know what happened to the Colombian citizen, while her family does not lose hope of finding her alive.
The last time anyone heard from Ana María Henao
At that moment, He was in the apartment that he had rented since the beginning of the year in Madrid, exactly in Salamanca, a residential neighborhood of people of high economic resources.
They talked about the houses she had visited, since she was going to move in March, when her lease was up, and They made plans for a trip they would take together to Barcelona the following Monday. That was the last conversation that Ana María had.
(You can read: The complete chat that sinks David Knezevich due to the disappearance of the Colombian Ana María Henao: ‘I would talk like a joke’)
The investigation now focuses on her ex-husband, whom she had married thirteen years ago. The couple lived in Florida (United States), where she had moved from Colombia, and they had set up several companies—technology and real estate—that were very productive.
However, since last summer they had broken up and The divorce had become complicated because they could not agree on the distribution of assets. While she believed that they should be divided in halves, he wanted Henao to keep a lower percentage. Specifically, she was requesting 75 percent of the estate for him.
The situation worsened to such an extent that the Colombian’s emotional state was affected and she needed professional help after entering a deep depression.. Later, she decided to distance herself and move to Madrid, a city that she loved and where she already had friends. In the Spanish capital she was much more lively and, according to her family, she had the expectation of staying long-term.
FBI documents state that Henao was afraid of her ex-partner and believed that he was watching her.
The friends who received them were immediately suspicious. On the one hand, Ana María did not express herself that way. And on the other hand, she wasn’t looking for any relationship. On the contrary, she wanted to be quiet and alone for a while.
(You can read: They find a Colombian buried in a garden in Spain: they captured relatives, including his brother)
Her friend from Spain was calling her, but she never answered. On Sunday, February 4, Ana María’s phone no longer gave signals, so her friend contacted the police and the Colombian’s family.who resides in Florida.
The next thing was the intervention of the authorities. The firefighters entered the woman’s home in Salamanca, but did not find her. There were no signs of violence nor was the door forced. A neighbor said that before going to sleep, at half past one in the morning, she had seen the light on in Ana María’s apartment.
The Colombian-American’s brother contacted David twice. At first he did not answer and He later assured her that he did not know what could have happened to him. On the second occasion, the family asked him for financial help to travel to Madrid or to hire legal services that could find Ana María’s whereabouts, but Knezevich replied that that was not his business.
The footprints that point to David Knezevich
“The man, who resembles David Knezevich, looks directly into the camera,” says the evidence collection document that the FBI presented last week in the court of the southern district of Florida.
One hour later, Images from those same cameras show a figure, who also has similar features to Knezevich, leaving the building located on Francisco Silvela street with a suitcase. One of its most notable characteristics is that the subject leaving the building is about two meters tall.
The Spanish National Police, which has collaborated with the FBI, located the location where the spray was acquired, very close to Ana María’s residence.
The Florida court document shows that the Spanish Police obtained the copy of the security camera of said store. In the images it appears “an individual who appeared to be Knezevich” purchasing the same brand of paint and two rolls of duct tape at noon on February 2.
The store manager explained that the man had returned the car with the windows blacked out, changes to the license plate frame and a route of 7,000 kilometers, a very considerable amount (between Madrid and Serbia there are about 2,600).
On the other hand, a neighbor who lived near Ana María’s building had reported the theft of his car license plate. That same plate was registered in those days at two toll booths: one of them located on the outskirts of Madrid.
Another disturbing issue is that David asked a Colombian acquaintance to translate some messages for him in “Colombian.” Apart from the one in which she says that she is going to a recreation house, there was another one where she claimed that she was enchanted by that man, whom she passed while walking after leaving therapy. “He approached me. Incredible connection, like he had never had before,” she said.
Knezevich had told her friend that it was help related to a script. “I have a writer friend and in his latest book there is a Colombian character. Would you be able to translate his sentences into perfect Colombian?” the Serbian asked.
But when she found out about Ana María’s disappearance, she realized that the messages she had helped translate were precisely the texts that David had requested. That’s when she contacted authorities to reveal it.
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On the other hand, on February 4, two days after the disappearance of the Colombian, A female voice who identified herself as Ana María called to cancel three car insurance policies in the name of the companies they had in common. “In the call, children are heard in the background and the victim did not have children,” the official document states.
All these traces led to the arrest of Knezevich in Miami on May 4. That Saturday, The man decided to return from Serbia to his residence in the United States to take charge of his businesses, but he was arrested at Miami International Airport when he arrived on a flight from Belgrade, although he did not resist capture.
His lawyer has always maintained that Knezevich is innocent. But The Serb faces charges of kidnapping and, if a murder is proven, he would face charges of premeditated murder. On Friday, a Florida court denied his release on bail and ordered him to remain in preventive detention due to the risk of flight. This is because his long travel history and his great economic capacity could facilitate his escape.
At that hearing, the FBI revealed that authorities were able to determine that Knezevich was in Madrid at the time of the Colombian woman’s disappearance. The authorities also indicated that blood stains were found inside Henao’s apartment that have already been subjected to DNA studies.
The next hearing against the Serbian citizen will be the arraignment, which is scheduled for May 20.
Thus, the authorities review the cameras of the route along which he passed Knezevich to determine if the man took the suitcase to Serbia or got rid of it on the road somewhere between Madrid and Zaragoza.
What the Colombian’s family says
“I just want justice for my sister,” said Felipe Henao, Ana María’s younger brother. Asked what he suspects may have happened to her sister, Felipe avoided making conjectures and indicated that he prefers that investigators do their work and “pay attention to the facts.”
“We are still in shock about what is happening. I wake up every morning and tell myself ‘this can’t be real,'” the brother revealed with a broken voice.
Felipe recalled that thanks to Ana María he was able to migrate to the United States and that he was housed in her house during his first years in this country. “My sister is an exceptional person, who fills every room she enters with light.”
He also added that Ana María planned to create an organization in favor of women in vulnerable situations and that both had a telephone conversation for the last time on January 24, during which Ana María was “excited about her future.”
Although he avoided making references to his brother-in-law, he did make it clear that the family wishes with all their might that Ana María appear. “I hope we can hear from my sister soon,” she said, and asked that “if anyone has any information” to contact them.
JUANITA SAMPER OSPINA – EL TIEMPO – MADRID
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