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

[FacelessPodcast]

.

So just practically, on the photos, Ana is petite, but she is not extremely tiny, don't know how to word it better. Are people thinking of folding her body inside a suitcase? It has to be quite a large suitcase. And either blood, or body secretions, unless the metro is open but there is no one inside, would be noticeable. Especially if it is a first-time killer. Now, a bike, a helmet and a sidecar or a large cart on the side, could probably work. The person runs the risk of being stopped by the police, so he has to drive accurately, but it is possible. The only thing, biking in an unknown city is always a risk. As a local, you are not noticeable and you know a lot of exit routes.

@FacelessPodcast, how common are food deliveries on bikes, mopeds, bicycles or even gyroscooters with backpacks in Madrid? I am thinking, especially if it looks like a delivery, and the person carries a backpack, it might be unnoticeable in a city that is into "green life", I don't know how Madrid is now.

Ana is very short. In American terms, somewhere between 4 ft 8-4 ft 10. She weighs less than 100lbs. For a small person in that vein to go inside a suitcase, I think it's extremely doable. We had the case in London of Gareth Williams, for example. And I think he was 5 ft 7. Now, as for body secretions or blood, if we accept such a person is the same one as the spray painter, then clearly they're a planner. I don't think lining the bag with trash bags or something is out of the question. You see a constant flow of visitors in Madrid on the metro with huge bags, nobody would look twice. As for blood, it depends on the cause of death. The risk is omni-present, whatever route he takes. I will say that biking or driving in Madrid for the first time is going to be a culture shock, particularly to an American. Not an insurmountable one, but it would require a calm person to navigate the cultural differences on the road.

And yes, food delivery (across multiple companies) is very common. They often use bicycles, motorbikes, mopeds, even scooters -- all of them carrying those very large packs. But as I say, any type of large suitcase isn't going to stand out anywhere. There are a trillion airbnb's all over Madrid. Spain receives a massive amount of tourism so nobody would look twice.

One more point. Let's assume an intruder wanted to go from Ana's flat up to, say, the mountains north of Madrid. Ana lived just 600 metres away from Avenida de América. From there you can get on to the freeway very quickly and easily. Along the 607, you're up in the mountains in around 45-50 minutes.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

How certain are we that she must have been taken through the front door? IF her building had a secondary entry/exit, would it be covered by a camera? IF there was a garage, would a non-resident have car access? Would the garage have cameras? Are there cameras on each floor of the building? How would the perp know that in the case they weren't familiar with the building? What if her body was left hidden in a storage room (or even in her apartment) and taken out at a later time?

As far as I know, there is only one camera - by the elevator inside the main door. There is also the intercom (which has a video function upon activation, but I doubt recorded anything). A rear exit of some kind is likely but I'm not sure that it would exit into anywhere that then gives on to the street. Others have said they think there's a possibility there's a parking garage or street access through the rear but I haven't seen that confirmed. Looking on the map, it doesn't make sense to me. You can get a brief glimpse of the interior (the portera is standing by the elevator it seems to me) here around 2:08:

As for leaving a body in a storage room, assuming there are any in that building, it's possible but would pose the risk of returning to the scene (unless they already live there) and also it sounds like the fire dept accessed the building quite quickly after her disappearance. Would they not search the whole building? We saw what happened with Elisa Lam etc. Possibly she was overlooked in such a fashion. But certainly, the police will have combed that building for any trace of her.

 

[Charlot123]

Ana is very short. In American terms, somewhere between 4 ft 8-4 ft 10. She weighs less than 100lbs. For a small person in that vein to go inside a suitcase, I think it's extremely doable. We had the case in London of Gareth Williams, for example. And I think he was 5 ft 7. Now, as for body secretions or blood, if we accept such a person is the same one as the spray painter, then clearly they're a planner. I don't think lining the bag with trash bags or something is out of the question. You see a constant flow of visitors in Madrid on the metro with huge bags, nobody would look twice. As for blood, it depends on the cause of death. The risk is omni-present, whatever route he takes. I will say that biking or driving in Madrid for the first time is going to be a culture shock, particularly to an American. Not an insurmountable one, but it would require a calm person to navigate the cultural differences on the road.

And yes, food delivery (across multiple companies) is very common. They often use bicycles, motorbikes, mopeds, even scooters -- all of them carrying those very large packs. But as I say, any type of large suitcase isn't going to stand out anywhere. There are a trillion airbnb's all over Madrid. Spain receives a massive amount of tourism so nobody would look twice.

One more point. Let's assume an intruder wanted to go from Ana's flat up to, say, the mountains north of Madrid. Ana lived ONLY 600 metres away from Avenida de América. From there you can get on to the freeway very quickly and easily. Along the 607, you're up in the mountains in around 45-50 minutes.

Food delivery scooter or a bike with a large backpack around her apartment is something I'd pay attention to because they are less noticeable, part of urban life.

We drew from Madrid to Barcelona, meaning, through Madrid, too. Granted, in 2010, so things must have changed. Manual transmission is less typical in the US, but it is everywhere in Europe, so if people are used to it, it should be easier. You are right, the sooner you get to the highway, the better, but where Ana lived, it would be not problematic, especially in the evening.

 

[indicolite22]

As for leaving a body in a storage room, assuming there are any in that building, it's possible but would pose the risk of returning to the scene (unless they already live there) and also it sounds like the fire dept accessed the building quite quickly after her disappearance. Would they not search the whole building? We saw what happened with Elisa Lam etc. Possibly she was overlooked in such a fashion. But certainly, the police will have combed that building for any trace of her.

SBM. IMO, by the time the suspicious messages were sent to her friends (Feb 3 in the afternoon), she was out of the building. Likely having her keys, the perp had all night and all morning to return. The fire dept got involved a couple of days later (Feb 5?).

 

[Charlot123]

As far as I know, there is only one camera - by the elevator inside the main door. There is also the intercom (which has a video function upon activation, but I doubt recorded anything). A rear exit of some kind is likely but I'm not sure that it would exit into anywhere that then gives on to the street. Others have said they think there's a possibility there's a parking garage or street access through the rear but I haven't seen that confirmed. Looking on the map, it doesn't make sense to me. You can get a brief glimpse of the interior (the portera is standing by the elevator it seems to me) here around 2:08:

As for leaving a body in a storage room, assuming there are any in that building, it's possible but would pose the risk of returning to the scene (unless they already live there) and also it sounds like the fire dept accessed the building quite quickly after her disappearance. Would they not search the whole building? We saw what happened with Elisa Lam etc. Possibly she was overlooked in such a fashion. But certainly, the police will have combed that building for any trace of her.

Looking at the video...I saw it before, the photos of Ana with a dog. Do we know if it was her/family dog? If the Knezeviches have a dog now, then who is the dog left with, since David is in Serbia? (Not trying to sleuth the family, just an obvious question, where does one leave a family member?)

 

[indicolite22]

Did the perp have her phone pin? Did they disable location on the phone? Phone location up until it was switched off could tell a story, maybe indicate when she was taken out.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

Food delivery scooter or a bike with a large backpack around her apartment is something I'd pay attention to because they are less noticeable, part of urban life.

We drew from Madrid to Barcelona, meaning, through Madrid, too. Granted, in 2010, so things must have changed. Manual transmission is less typical in the US, but it is everywhere in Europe, so if people are used to it, it should be easier. You are right, the sooner you get to the highway, the better, but where Ana lived, it would be not problematic, especially in the evening.

Automatic is increasingly common in Spain, they always have them at rentals but yes, overwhelmingly people drive manual here. Parking spaces are almost always very tight, usually you're reversing in and under pressure, the placement of traffic lights is different here, roundabouts everywhere (with lights on them meaning you pause mid-way often), the driving itself is more cut-throat etc. I mean, it's not quite as bad as Paris but I think to an America used to big freeways with multiple lanes, large parking lots, restaurants with their own dedicated lot etc -- it's going to be a culture shock the first time. As I say, not one that would be impossible to overcome. But noticeable. If I were going to murder someone in this city, I would definitely do a test run on my route beforehand.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

Looking at the video...I saw it before, the photos of Ana with a dog. Do we know if it was her/family dog? If the Knezeviches have a dog now, then who is the dog left with, since David is in Serbia? (Not trying to sleuth the family, just an obvious question, where does one live a family member?)

I would assume the dog is back in America or Colombia with her family? Travelling into the EU with a pet is about as simple as pushing water uphill.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

SBM. IMO, by the time the suspicious messages were sent to her friends (Feb 3 in the afternoon), she was out of the building. Likely having her keys, the perp had all night and all morning to return. The fire dept got involved a couple of days later (Feb 5?).

Yeah, I think I read they came into the building on Sunday. But that might've been the brother saying that who was possibly hearing it second-hand. Sunday does feel very quick to me.

SBM? Apologies, I only know about 3 of the WS acronyms (and WS is one of the three).

 

[indicolite22]

Yeah, I think I read they came into the building on Sunday. But that might've been the brother saying that who was possibly hearing it second-hand. Sunday does feel very quick to me.

SBM? Apologies, I only know about 3 of the WS acronyms (and WS is one of the three).

SBM = sniped by me, used when part of the message is quoted

 

[FacelessPodcast]

SBM = sniped by me, used when part of the message is quoted

Ah, thank you!

 

[Charlot123]

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I would assume the dog is back in America or Colombia with her family? Travelling into the EU with a pet is about as simple as pushing water uphill.

From what we got via MSM, the doctors advised Ana to leave, to separate from David physically, to recuperate, and she loved Spain since her European travels. Now, if they still have a family dog, and Ana left for her emotional stability, it would be normal and expectable to leave the dog with David.

But then David left. It would appear that what he said to Ana's family member was at variance with what the lawyer is stating now. (This part I can also understand and am not questioning. ) Anyhow, per David's lawyer, David is currently in Serbia. He has the right to be anywhere, but given that we all here don't like to leave pets in boarding places, I am curious about the animal. (Dog walkers and pet sitters make good money here, but per MSM, there are papers in the driveway, so, unlikely.)

 

[FacelessPodcast]

.

From what we got via MSM, the doctors advised Ana to leave, to separate from David physically, to recuperate, and she loved Spain since her European travels. Now, if they still have a family dog, and Ana left for her emotional stability, it would be normal and expectable to leave the dog with David.

But then David left. It would appear that what he said to Ana's family member was at variance with what the lawyer is stating now. (This part I can also understand and am not questioning. ) Anyhow, per David's lawyer, David is currently in Serbia. He has the right to be anywhere, but given that we all here don't like to leave pets in boarding places, I am curious about the animal. (Dog walkers and pet sitters make good money here, but per MSM, there are papers in the driveway, so, unlikely.)

Do we know for sure the dog was their pet?

 

[Charlot123]

Automatic is increasingly common in Spain, they always have them at rentals but yes, overwhelmingly people drive manual here. Parking spaces are almost always very tight, usually you're reversing in and under pressure, the placement of traffic lights is different here, roundabouts everywhere (with lights on them meaning you pause mid-way often), the driving itself is more cut-throat etc. I mean, it's not quite as bad as Paris but I think to an America used to big freeways with multiple lanes, large parking lots, restaurants with their own dedicated lot etc -- it's going to be a culture shock the first time. As I say, not one that would be impossible to overcome. But noticeable. If I were going to murder someone in this city, I would definitely do a test run on my route beforehand.

You are right, one fails at minute details, lol. The traffic in Rome is heavy, from Rome to Florence it was peaches, but in Florence, the rental car return in the local airport was microscopic and impossible to find. What with the streets being physically shorter than their names (e.g. Via Vittorio Emanuele II), our GPS had a nervous breakdown. We lovingly remembered "home" rental car return with its huge lot. And then the Uber driver refused to look for the place, "you know the food truck in the neighborhood? There is one. Meet you there." So, yes, probably, the same in Madrid. Meaning, the guy is either a local or has some experience driving in the area.

 

[Charlot123]

Do we know for sure the dog was their pet?

No. But unless one is allergic to animal fir, I'd expect them to have a pet. Maybe not anymore, though.

 

[Sjöberg]

SBM. IMO, by the time the suspicious messages were sent to her friends (Feb 3 in the afternoon), she was out of the building.

I am thinking this could be important here, actually.
Where were the texts sent from and why? The police of course knows the approximate location of the phone when the texts were sent even without physically having the phone.

If this crime was well-planned by someone who wanted to leave a false trail, then at the time of at least the second text, Ana was probably not where the phone was. Kill or subdue her, send the first text, take the phone to the wrong direction, send the second text. It kinda makes sense with the identical texts hours apart. What would the point otherwise be? To make it look like she was alive longer? Why, for alibi reasons? Also possible. Interesting. Would a stranger abduction really need all this over decreasing contact time? And moreover, would a stranger even be able to access her phone? I still want to know if it had a pin, a fingerprint reader or no protection.

If the crime was not so-well-planned and the texts were not meant to distract with the location, but only to buy time, then where and how did the culprit spend the 2 hours between the first and the second text? Why keep the phone on and near you for the 2 hours?

Sidenote, why this oddly specific yet unspecific "2h from Madrid" and did Ana usually measure distance in car-driving-hours? I know it is common in the US, but as it is rare in the EU, it stands out to me as well.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

ETA: obviously, striding to be very green. One wonders if it was a bike or a scooter. Sadly, even an organic recycling bin could have been used. Madrid Sustainability Guide

SMB

Yes, Madrid is very green. You cannot enter the city in a traditional emissions car, for example (except in limited circumstances). Smog levels are low, recycling is everywhere, so on. Now, each apartment block will have its own wheelie bins for normal rubbish, which the portero/portera will take out usually in the evenings. These wheelie bins are shared for the apartment block. So, in my block, which has maybe 20-30 residents, we have around 5-6 wheelie bins.

Recycling, however, is down to each Madrileño and very common here. You carry your recycling down to your local bins. It's uncommon for apartments to have their own blue wheelie bin for recycling as I had, say, in Los Angeles. Let alone an individual one per apartment. So, all that to say, if a body was placed into one of those wheelie bins (it likely wouldn't have been a recycling one), at some time on the Friday night, I think it wouldn't have taken very long for a resident to have discovered it. Assuming it was possible that nobody threw away any rubbish that entire day, then by the evening the portera would have carted it outside for collection and almost certainly noted the weight. Body discovered.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

I am thinking this could be important here, actually.
Where were the texts sent from and why? The police of course knows the approximate location of the phone when the texts were sent even without physically having the phone.

If this crime was well-planned by someone who wanted to leave a false trail, then at the time of at least the second text, Ana was probably not where the phone was. Kill or subdue her, send the first text, take the phone to the wrong direction, send the second text. It kinda makes sense with the identical texts hours apart. What would the point otherwise be? To make it look like she was alive longer? Why, for alibi reasons? Also possible. Interesting. Would a stranger abduction really need all this over decreasing contact time? And moreover, would a stranger even be able to access her phone? I still want to know if it had a pin, a fingerprint reader or no protection.

If the crime was not so-well-planned and the texts were not meant to distract with the location, but only to buy time, then where and how did the culprit spend the 2 hours between the first and the second text? Why keep the phone on and near you for the 2 hours?

Sidenote, why this oddly specific yet unspecific "2h from Madrid" and did Ana usually measure distance in car-driving-hours? I know it is common in the US, but as it is rare in the EU, it stands out to me as well.

The only reasons to give the location by its distance from Madrid, I can think of: it's so small that no place name would be relevant to the recipient. One of them was Sanna. OK, that's possible. If it's some tiny finca in the middle of nowhere, she might not have any point of reference. But even then, Ana might say "a little place near Segovia" or whatever. The other was her friend in Madrid who, I am assuming is from here. (Or maybe a Colombian? I've read both, so I'm unclear. Possible I am conflating two separate friends). At any rate, they are communicating in Spanish. Therefore, why not give the place name. If the recipient is from Madrid, she is likely to understand any point of reference that Ana has.

The alternative: this place never existed at all, and the sender has merely picked an arbitrary "2h" to keep it out of the city at a good distance but not far enough away to sound like significant travel. But I can say for sure that if this "wonderful man" she supposedly met had a holiday home two hours outside of Madrid, he would have told her the closest town. That, in turn, is what she would have communicated.

I know she was in a vulnerable state given recent life events, I know that people in transitionary phases of life can be prone to impulsive acts. But frankly, the idea that she would meet someone and run off with them in the span of about 5-10 hours (if you ignore sleep-time) is ludicrous. Infinitely less credible once you factor in that she didn't give his name, his origin, or any single identifying feature beyond him finding her somewhere between therapy and her home.

 

[kaya3627]

SMB

Yes, Madrid is very green. You cannot enter the city in a traditional emissions car, for example (except in limited circumstances). Smog levels are low, recycling is everywhere, so on. Now, each apartment block will have its own wheelie bins for normal rubbish, which the portero/portera will take out usually in the evenings. These wheelie bins are shared for the apartment block. So, in my block, which has maybe 20-30 residents, we have around 5-6 wheelie bins.

Recycling, however, is down to each Madrileño and very common here. You carry your recycling down to your local bins. It's uncommon for apartments to have their own blue wheelie bin for recycling as I had, say, in Los Angeles. Let alone an individual one per apartment. So, all that to say, if a body was placed into one of those wheelie bins (it likely wouldn't have been a recycling one), at some time on the Friday night, I think it wouldn't have taken very long for a resident to have discovered it. Assuming it was possible that nobody threw away any rubbish that entire day, then by the evening the portera would have carted it outside for collection and almost certainly noted the weight. Body discovered.

It could be that Ana has been discovered and the police arent disclosing this. Part of the strategy is to deceive any suspects.

 

[kaya3627]

I am thinking this could be important here, actually.
Where were the texts sent from and why? The police of course knows the approximate location of the phone when the texts were sent even without physically having the phone.

If this crime was well-planned by someone who wanted to leave a false trail, then at the time of at least the second text, Ana was probably not where the phone was. Kill or subdue her, send the first text, take the phone to the wrong direction, send the second text. It kinda makes sense with the identical texts hours apart. What would the point otherwise be? To make it look like she was alive longer? Why, for alibi reasons? Also possible. Interesting. Would a stranger abduction really need all this over decreasing contact time? And moreover, would a stranger even be able to access her phone? I still want to know if it had a pin, a fingerprint reader or no protection.

If the crime was not so-well-planned and the texts were not meant to distract with the location, but only to buy time, then where and how did the culprit spend the 2 hours between the first and the second text? Why keep the phone on and near you for the 2 hours?

Sidenote, why this oddly specific yet unspecific "2h from Madrid" and did Ana usually measure distance in car-driving-hours? I know it is common in the US, but as it is rare in the EU, it stands out to me as well.

Interesting point about measuring distance in hours and USA vs EU.