FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — His defence lawyer said that the Florida businessman who was accused of kidnapping and killing his ex-wife in Spain was found dead Monday morning in a federal jail in South Florida. It looked like he had killed himself.
At the Federal Detention Centre in Miami, 37-year-old David Knezevich was waiting to go to court. He was charged last year with kidnapping and killing Ana Hedao Knezevich, who was 40 years old and went missing. The story has been covered by news outlets around the world.
It was reported that Knezevich was found dead in his cell by his lawyer, Jayne Weintraub, but she did not say how he died.
“This is terrible news for the defence team,” Weintraub said. “We really hope that an appropriate and quick investigation will be carried out.”
Knezevich was found unconscious in his cell just after 8 a.m., according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Officials say that responding employees saved lives before emergency medical services came and took over. In the end, EMS workers said Knezevich was dead. It was told to the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service.
In February 2024, five weeks after moving into her new flat in Madrid, Ana Knezevich was last seen. Her body hasn’t been found yet.
A guy wearing a motorcycle helmet was caught breaking into her apartment building and turning off a security camera. He was then seen rolling out a suitcase.
The prosecutors say there is strong proof that Knezevich was the person in the helmet. Six days before Ana went missing, he is said to have flown from Miami to Turkey and then rented a car in his home country of Serbia. Knezevich was caught on security video at a Madrid hardware shop on the same day that his wife went missing. Five weeks later, his rental car had been driven 4,800 miles (7,700 kilometres), according to officials.
Police say the couple was fighting over homes worth millions of dollars while they were going through a contentious divorce. They had been married for 13 years.
Weintraub said the split was friendly and that the money issues were still being worked out.