Spain Spain - Ana Knezevich, 40, from Florida, going through divorce, missing under suspicious circumstances on trip to Madrid, 5 Feb 2024 *Arrest*

[FacelessPodcast]

Wouldn’t it be quite easy to determine whether her ex flew to Spain?

Yes it would. But this someone has got multiple passports with, perhaps, variations on his name, that's another matter. And also, there are other ways of entering Spain. The Schengen Agreement allows border-free access to anyone legally within the EU. So, that's 425 million people, plus however many non-EU residents and visitors at any one time. Once someone is in the EU, it's possible to drive throughout without any further checks. So, if someone flew directly into Spain from, say, Bosnia, that would be simple for the Spanish police to determine. If that person entered the EU via Slovenia and then drove across Europe to Spain, that would take longer to determine.

 

[Charlot123]

Longtime lurker here. I follow MANY cases religiously here (checking them all day every day!), never posted though. But there's something in this case weighing on my mind that I feel the need to share and see if anyone has any input or thoughts about. (I think everyone eventually gets drawn in by some case or another and feels compelled to make their first post, and this is it for me!)

I don't have this theory 100% fleshed out, but I feel like it's worth pursuing and hoped others would too. Especially after reading that part about the husband (David) mistreating Ana in the recent past, according to her, particularly knowing about his penchant for rough sex, which it sounds like she didn't like, and I would think he would know this. That post made me think of him in a whole different (worse) way, as well as the whole case, in fact.

OK, maybe the person who blacked out the cameras wore the helmet for the obvious reason of hiding his identity from anyone looking at the footage later (although sounds like there actually wouldn't have been any since these probably didn't record, but the person in the helmet wouldn't have known this, especially if he isn't a local or otherwise familiar with the place.) And he's also wearing the helmet so that nobody who saw him could give a good description to the authorities.

But this was an intercom type viewer used when a visitor arrives and rings up to let the resident know they're there. The resident can see who it is thru this viewer and decide if they want to buzz them in or not. So what good would it do anyone to black out this viewer? It isn't like a security system camera that would capture someone walking by. Its purpose is to let the resident see who's there. So blacking it out ruins its only purpose.

But it also has audio (right?) So the way that it can still serve its purpose despite it being blacked out is if the visitor is someone the resident already knows and whose voice the resident would recognize. The visitor (having already blacked out the viewer) can ring the resident to announce their arrival. The resident would say, "Who is it? There's something wrong with the camera and I can't see you." The visitor would say, "It's me (someone known to the resident). It's okay, let me in." And having recognized the voice, the resident allows them to come in. (or something along these lines)

This would explain how the visitor (who is, in my scenario, likely the bad guy) was able to get in to the building and into her apartment, and why there would be no forced entry, and why she would allow it. This is the only reason I can think of that explains why the intercom camera was blacked out. Unless it was just someone purposelessly vandalizing, but that seems unlikely.

Now does it explain what happens after that though? It sounds like the police saw no evidence of any violence having occurred in the apartment. So she must have willingly left with the visitor from her apartment and I presume later met with foul play of some sort subsequently.

Wouldn't there be CCTV showing her leaving her apartment or her building later that night? Or in the morning or the next day? If so, if any of this is correct, it would show her with another person, I would think.

I know there were more details that backed up my thoughts that I came across as I read all the posts in this thread, but that's all I remember at the moment. There's a lot concerning Ana and David's pending divorce that ties in and looks bad for David, but since he isn't yet a suspect, I didn't think that should be discussed. Yet.

I was thinking of the same, but in a different context. That Ana would have opened the door, or left the house willingly, with a well-known person who said he "wanted to talk about us, once again", or something like it. There is a huge difference between a toxic period in a marriage (this is when a therapist would advise to take a break from the relationship) and a true fear of a serious physical assault. Which Ana didn't have, i believe. So the intercom camera could be closed to obscure that the voice is played by a device (as opposed to coming from a person). Or , the opposite might be true - the camera is obscured to prevent someone else (in her room, if she is nor alone, or if a nosy neighbor wants to look in the intercom) from seeing that the person speaking is exactly who she thinks he is.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

Longtime lurker here. I follow MANY cases religiously here (checking them all day every day!), never posted though. But there's something in this case weighing on my mind that I feel the need to share and see if anyone has any input or thoughts about. (I think everyone eventually gets drawn in by some case or another and feels compelled to make their first post, and this is it for me!)

I don't have this theory 100% fleshed out, but I feel like it's worth pursuing and hoped others would too. Especially after reading that part about the husband (David) mistreating Ana in the recent past, according to her, particularly knowing about his penchant for rough sex, which it sounds like she didn't like, and I would think he would know this. That post made me think of him in a whole different (worse) way, as well as the whole case, in fact.

OK, maybe the person who blacked out the cameras wore the helmet for the obvious reason of hiding his identity from anyone looking at the footage later (although sounds like there actually wouldn't have been any since these probably didn't record, but the person in the helmet wouldn't have known this, especially if he isn't a local or otherwise familiar with the place.) And he's also wearing the helmet so that nobody who saw him could give a good description to the authorities.

But this was an intercom type viewer used when a visitor arrives and rings up to let the resident know they're there. The resident can see who it is thru this viewer and decide if they want to buzz them in or not. So what good would it do anyone to black out this viewer? It isn't like a security system camera that would capture someone walking by. Its purpose is to let the resident see who's there. So blacking it out ruins its only purpose.

But it also has audio (right?) So the way that it can still serve its purpose despite it being blacked out is if the visitor is someone the resident already knows and whose voice the resident would recognize. The visitor (having already blacked out the viewer) can ring the resident to announce their arrival. The resident would say, "Who is it? There's something wrong with the camera and I can't see you." The visitor would say, "It's me (someone known to the resident). It's okay, let me in." And having recognized the voice, the resident allows them to come in. (or something along these lines)

This would explain how the visitor (who is, in my scenario, likely the bad guy) was able to get in to the building and into her apartment, and why there would be no forced entry, and why she would allow it. This is the only reason I can think of that explains why the intercom camera was blacked out. Unless it was just someone purposelessly vandalizing, but that seems unlikely.

Now does it explain what happens after that though? It sounds like the police saw no evidence of any violence having occurred in the apartment. So she must have willingly left with the visitor from her apartment and I presume later met with foul play of some sort subsequently.

Wouldn't there be CCTV showing her leaving her apartment or her building later that night? Or in the morning or the next day? If so, if any of this is correct, it would show her with another person, I would think.

I know there were more details that backed up my thoughts that I came across as I read all the posts in this thread, but that's all I remember at the moment. There's a lot concerning Ana and David's pending divorce that ties in and looks bad for David, but since he isn't yet a suspect, I didn't think that should be discussed. Yet.

I think it's far likelier that if someone abducted her, they gained access to her flat because she knew their voice - yes. I think it's possible she could be subdued without it being apparent inside her residence and removed from it in the same way. There will almost certainly be CCTV from this man subsequently leaving the apartment -- either from the KFC next door, passing taxis, up and down that street. But sadly, it's also possible she never walks out of that flat.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

When cases are being investigated in the US, the family of victims are told by police to say nothing to the media about the details of the case or reveal anyone they might suspect. Lawyers for the media know they are under an obligation to not hinder or interfere with due process by carelessly publishing stories that are intended to cast suspicion on potentially innocent people - until police announce an arrest.

I observed this media discretion about, for eg., Alex Murdaugh. There was oceans of coverage about his financial shenanigans but not a peep about whether he might have murdered his family.

IMO the media outlet specifically driving this is NewsNation, it's not being covered the same way by more traditional media.

Admittedly, my knowledge of the Murdaugh case is cursory. And I have no great understanding of NewsNation, either. I first heard of them through this case. But I have to respectfully disagree with your original point here.

1) This case is being investigated in the US.

2) Whether or not the family speak to the media is one thing. Frankly, their relative is missing -- I find it impossible to imagine a situation where they say "no comment" on anything relating to Ana's life partner *in case of any future possible criminal implication* while they are trying to find her. Ana's brother has already said he's in contact with the US State Dept and local police, so either he's ignoring their pleas for him to stay silent or they haven't asked him to.

3) But you said misinformation. Which is another way of saying untrue. What have the family said so far that is untrue? To me, it seems to me they are simply stating the situation and asking questions. So, since NewsNation is an American outlet, I'm wondering which country misinformation IS tolerated in? And I'm wondering what it is you know, beyond an understandable distaste for casting suspicion on potentially innocent people, that allows you to use the word misinformation.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

I was thinking of the same, but in a different context. That Ana would have opened the door, or left the house willingly, with a well-known person who said he "wanted to talk about us, once again", or something like it. There is a huge difference between a toxic period in a marriage (this is when a therapist would advise to take a break from the relationship) and a true fear of a serious physical assault. Which Ana didn't have, i believe. So the intercom camera could be closed to obscure that the voice is played by a device (as opposed to coming from a person). Or , the opposite might be true - the camera is obscured to prevent someone else (in her room, if she is nor alone, or if a nosy neighbor wants to look in the intercom) from seeing that the person speaking is exactly who she thinks he is.

I think it's possibly also significant that she supposedly told her friend "I'm no longer going out tonight". Re-reading that, I wonder if she changed her plans because she heard from someone that they were coming to see her...

 

[Charlot123]

There is a tiny chance that the antidepressant Ana was started on had unexpected effect. If I understand correctly, she was started on it in Florida. If she soon moved to Spain, could it all - change in the time zone, plus her travels inside Europe (she visited Sanna in Austria), plus new meds - have made Ana more impulsive? I listened to Sanna again, and she kept on saying that she knew Ana, and "this is not Ana". Likely, what with these sprayed cameras, Ana was taken against her will and in a normal frame of mind. Also, her audio messages left several days prior sound well-paced. And yet, such cases have been known - a new drug is started, and the person moves, with no one around to compare the changes. I just hope that Ana's photograph and her description, including the fact that she is petite, has been shown on Spanish TV, to exclude any chance of her being confused and lost. (Hoping for the better outcome, as temporary confusion is better than the alternative).

 

[sunspun]

I think it's possibly also significant that she supposedly told her friend "I'm no longer going out tonight". Re-reading that, I wonder if she changed her plans because she heard from someone that they were coming to see her...

And possibly refrained from mentioning to her friend who exactly that visitor would be, because it was the same person she'd only just been disparaging in earlier conversations, which she might find a bit awkward to explain...?

 

[FacelessPodcast]

And possibly refrained from mentioning to her friend who exactly that visitor would be, because it was the same person she'd only just been disparaging in earlier conversations, which she might find a bit awkward to explain...?

Very possibly. Either that, or it was one of the men she was in contact with. Sanna said she was meeting people and that she (Sanna) had even spoken to one of these guys who said his situation with Ana was only platonic (via the friends-only feature of the app, I guess).

 

[Charlot123]

I think it's possibly also significant that she supposedly told her friend "I'm no longer going out tonight". Re-reading that, I wonder if she changed her plans because she heard from someone that they were coming to see her...

There is a chance then that she simply went downstairs and got into his car, or walked to the next intersection and got in a car, or even walked out of the back door if the parking was larger there. Blackened camera and intercom scream abduction, but it might be a pure diversion. IRL, a woman can willingly walk to a certain place to meet someone very well-known and trusted. Then it might look way more normal, and go check all CCTVs in Madrid. The only thing, she had to take more than just a phone with her, but maybe she did? That gives the perpetrator more time and less noise. All that is needed is one call. Sounds like a plausible version to me.

Was her photo shown on Spanish TV?

 

[FacelessPodcast]

There is a tiny chance that the antidepressant Ana was started on had unexpected effect. If I understand correctly, she was started on it in Florida. If she soon moved to Spain, could it all - change in the time zone, plus her travels inside Europe (she visited Sanna in Austria), plus new meds - have made Ana more impulsive? I listened to Sanna again, and she kept on saying that she knew Ana, and "this is not Ana". Likely, what with these sprayed cameras, Ana was taken against her will and in a normal frame of mind. Also, her audio messages left several days prior sound well-paced. And yet, such cases have been known - a new drug is started, and the person moves, with no one around to compare the changes. I just hope that Ana's photograph and her description, including the fact that she is petite, has been shown on Spanish TV, to exclude any chance of her being confused and lost. (Hoping for the better outcome, as temporary confusion is better than the alternative).

The case has been on TV, yes. Both Tele5 and TeleMadrid are large broadcasters. There are also posters up. The police here have said very, very little which is standard.

Watching news this morning, her neighbours were spoken to briefly and nobody in the building knew her. The portera said she had only noticed a female visitor in the days before who left the building with Ana.

Re: her meds, if she had a therapist here, I’m assuming she was using Sanitas or some such. Private medical insurers (as opposed to the free healthcare system). Not sure how much her doctor could tell the police but I can tell you through experience that an American being prescribed one medication at home can definitely move to Spain and continue their dosage on something very similar / identical.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

There is a chance then that she simply went downstairs and got into his car, or walked to the next intersection and got in a car, or even walked out of the back door if the parking was larger there. Blackened camera and intercom scream abduction, but it might be a pure diversion. IRL, a woman can willingly walk to a certain place to meet someone very well-known and trusted. Then it might look way more normal, and go check all CCTVs in Madrid. The only thing, she had to take more than just a phone with her, but maybe she did? That gives the perpetrator more time and less noise. All that is needed is one call. Sounds like a plausible version to me.

Was her photo shown on Spanish TV?

Definitely a chance, yes. But if that happened, then the police had his license plate from day 1 and would have been able to track it all the way out of Madrid. That either leads to car ownership, a rental car, or a stolen car. The first two tell the police who he is.

 

[Charlot123]

Yes it would. But this someone has got multiple passports with, perhaps, variations on his name, that's another matter. And also, there are other ways of entering Spain. The Schengen Agreement allows border-free access to anyone legally within the EU. So, that's 425 million people, plus however many non-EU residents and visitors at any one time. Once someone is in the EU, it's possible to drive throughout without any further checks. So, if someone flew directly into Spain from, say, Bosnia, that would be simple for the Spanish police to determine. If that person entered the EU via Slovenia and then drove across Europe to Spain, that would take longer to determine.

In general, the movement within EU is surprisingly unrestricted with US passport that he has. JMO - France probably won’t register anyone’s existence, even the airports are laissez-faire, but flying to France, renting a French car or taking a train and crossing the border with Spain would be better. I think he flew in, but if he really wanted to slip through How to Get from Paris to Madrid

This being said - car rental! Flight or train. Even drive, Serbian plates will stand out. So if David went to Spain, he must have rented a car somewhere.

 

[Charlot123]

Definitely a chance, yes. But if that happened, then the police had his license plate from day 1 and would have been able to track it all the way out of Madrid. That either leads to car ownership, a rental car, or a stolen car. The first two tell the police who he is.

To sit in a bar and go to his hotel? (Now, I assume that stays on cameras, though.) There is something that makes me wonder, though. If she let someone known in and never left the apartment, as you said, the person must have been a professional. A murder is a murder, even if it is a tiny woman. But yet, the firemen who checked the apartment didn’t notice anything unusual as far as we know. That means, either real professionals or… maybe she walked outside to talk or took a car somewhere, or the guy knew where to park.
Now, if Spanish apartments are like Italian ones, I can imagine how people can barely see one another. But there probably is a camera on each floor, so spray painting two downstairs won’t change anything. Unless Ana’s apartment was on the first floor.
I assume that apartments in Madrid, even in old houses, are renovated, so no in-house thrash shafts, nothing from the old life. Maybe a back door? What about the cleaning people?

 

[indicolite22]

What are the chances that the sighting of the helmeted guy at 9:30pm and her sighting at 10pm are unrelated? He wouldn't just wait inside her building, hoping to run into her coming or going that evening. Would the perp have seen the lights in her apartment at 8:30 (time she ended the last phone conversation)?

Was the second camera he sprayed (in front of the elevator) also not recording?

Did we establish if there is an alternative exit to the house? There was a different entrance pictured on Idealista website.

 

[indicolite22]

Amills Bonet told NBC News that his organization is in constant communication with relatives and friends of Knezevic Henao and that he is serving as the family's spokesperson.

"Ana Maria wanted a divorce and to settle in Spain," Amills Bonet said, adding that the woman began "divorce proceedings" in January, including contacting attorneys in Florida.

NBC News did not find any official divorce filings in Florida for the couple.

Search intensifies for missing American woman in Madrid: 'We must always be looking'

Online alerts about Ana María Knezevich Henao, a Colombian American woman who's been missing for weeks, have reached millions of people, according to a volunteer group.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[indicolite22]

Husband's attorney reacts to abuse allegations:

The attorney did not deny the allegations, but again argued against using the term "bad divorce", because the process hasn't officially started yet.

 

[Charlot123]

The case has been on TV, yes. Both Tele5 and TeleMadrid are large broadcasters. There are also posters up. The police here have said very, very little which is standard.

Watching news this morning, her neighbours were spoken to briefly and nobody in the building knew her. The portera said she had only noticed a female visitor in the days before who left the building with Ana.

Re: her meds, if she had a therapist here, I’m assuming she was using Sanitas or some such. Private medical insurers (as opposed to the free healthcare system). Not sure how much her doctor could tell the police but I can tell you through experience that an American being prescribed one medication at home can definitely move to Spain and continue their dosage on something very similar / identical.

That she can get the medications she needs, and at a way more affordable price than in the US, I know from a friend who moved to Spain. My concern was different- Ana was seriously depressed after the separation, says the media, she even was started on antidepressants. So she was started, then, left, and then suddenly felt so well in Spain that the wanted to spend all her life there. Could she continue feeling better and better, until it became too good? Then, sadly, “amazing connection” could be with a totally ill-fitting person, but she, in her mindset, didn’t see it. This happens, too. The chance is slim, i know, but i hope, against all odds, that this is it is what has happened because this is the only scenario in which i can still see her alive. But the chance is slim.

Still, the highest chance is that she has been targeted. By whom, we don’t know, but there are at least two people potentially interested. I really don’t know about David. 10-million reason is the reason, but such a person could probably kill for 5 grands, too. However, another relationship, growing stronger, might be a valid reason, especially if there is family planning involved,

Could it be our garden variety predator, only in another country? Surely. A single woman facing a divorce is vulnerable, and they are predators.

 

[indicolite22]

Rameau said Tuesday that David Knezevich told both her and Ana's brother that on Feb. 2 he was at the couple's Fort Lauderdale home and not in Serbia.

Husband of American woman missing in Spain denies involvement, disputes couple was going through "nasty divorce," lawyer says

Ana Knezevich vanished shortly after a man wearing a helmet disabled her apartment complex's security cameras by spray painting the lenses.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[FacelessPodcast]

That she can get the medications she needs, and at a way more affordable price than in the US, I know from a friend who moved to Spain. My concern was different- Ana was seriously depressed after the separation, says the media, she even was started on antidepressants. So she was started, then, left, and then suddenly felt so well in Spain that the wanted to spend all her life there. Could she continue feeling better and better, until it became too good? Then, sadly, “amazing connection” could be with a totally ill-fitting person, but she, in her mindset, didn’t see it. This happens, too. The chance is slim, i know, but i hope, against all odds, that this is it is what has happened because this is the only scenario in which i can still see her alive. But the chance is slim.

Still, the highest chance is that she has been targeted. By whom, we don’t know, but there are at least two people potentially interested. I really don’t know about David. 10-million reason is the reason, but such a person could probably kill for 5 grands, too. However, another relationship, growing stronger, might be a valid reason, especially if there is family planning involved,

Could it be our garden variety predator, only in another country? Surely. A single woman facing a divorce is vulnerable, and they are predators.

Yes, of course it’s definitely possible she was targeted by a predator here in Madrid.

At this stage we can only point to probability. In 2021 (the latest national records I can see), 97 women were murdered in Spain. So that’s 24.7 million (female population) / 97.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

Rameau said Tuesday that David Knezevich told both her and Ana's brother that on Feb. 2 he was at the couple's Fort Lauderdale home and not in Serbia.

Husband of American woman missing in Spain denies involvement, disputes couple was going through "nasty divorce," lawyer says

Ana Knezevich vanished shortly after a man wearing a helmet disabled her apartment complex's security cameras by spray painting the lenses.

www.cbsnews.com

This is crucial, then. And easily verifiable. He’s either on the other side of the world or he’s not (though this wouldn’t account for a theoretical third party).