FBI Offers $25,000 Reward in Search for Ana Maria Henao Knezevic’s Remains After Husband Dies Before Trial

Content Warning: This article contains discussion of domestic violence, suspected murder, and suicide.

MIAMI — The FBI is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the successful recovery of the remains of Ana Maria Henao Knezevic, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Florida who disappeared from her apartment in Madrid, Spain, on February 2, 2024.

Federal investigators believe Ana was killed after her husband, David Knezevich, followed her to Spain and entered her Madrid apartment building.

David was arrested after returning to the United States and was charged in connection with Ana’s disappearance and death. He died by suicide before the case could proceed to trial and before investigators could determine where Ana’s remains were taken.

Because David died before trial, the criminal allegations against him were never adjudicated by a jury.

The FBI Miami Field Office said the investigation remains active despite the end of the criminal prosecution.

“Some people would think that because we’re not going to trial, the case is closed,” said Kelly, an investigative analyst assigned to the FBI Miami case team. “The case is not closed. We are following any new leads that we find.”

Emma, an FBI special agent who has worked alongside Kelly on the investigation, said locating Ana remains the unfinished part of the case.

“The puzzle’s not done,” Emma said. “It won’t be completed until we’re able to locate Ana’s remains and do her justice by bringing her home.”

The FBI is working with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security and law-enforcement partners in Spain, France, Croatia, Serbia, and Italy as investigators continue trying to reconstruct David’s movements and determine where Ana’s remains may have been left.

Ana and David were both naturalized U.S. citizens who had lived in Florida.

The couple had separated and were involved in contentious divorce negotiations when Ana disappeared.

Their surnames were spelled differently intentionally: Ana used Knezevic, while David used Knezevich.

Investigators said financial disagreements were a central part of the deteriorating marriage.

Ana and David had participated in joint business ventures involving real estate and information technology, and investigators allege David was disturbed by the prospect of dividing their accumulated wealth during a divorce.

Ana believed she was entitled to what she considered a fair share of the assets because she had invested substantial time and effort into the couple’s businesses and viewed herself as instrumental to their success.

Ana had relocated to Spain in search of a new beginning.

She had also expressed a desire to devote part of the next chapter of her life to helping women who had experienced domestic abuse.

Her brother, Felipe Henao, described that goal in a statement provided to the FBI.

“She had this deep desire to help others, especially women who were going through difficult situations,” Henao said. “I think, in her own way, she understood that pain—she saw it, she felt it, and she wanted to make a difference.”

Investigators believe David traveled from Florida to Serbia and then drove from Serbia to Spain before Ana disappeared.

David also held Serbian citizenship.

According to investigators, he allegedly stole license plates during the trip and placed them on a rental vehicle in an attempt to obscure his path.

The vehicle was a dark blue 2019 Peugeot 308 with tinted rear windows.

Surveillance footage places Ana inside her Madrid apartment building during the afternoon of February 2, 2024.

She was last seen alive during a video conference call at approximately 7 p.m.

At approximately 9:27 p.m., surveillance footage captured a man investigators believe was David entering the apartment building.

The man wore a motorcycle helmet and reflective vest, giving him the appearance of a food-delivery courier.

Investigators said the individual entered the lobby and spray-painted the building’s only surveillance camera.

He was later seen leaving the building with rolling luggage.

Spanish law enforcement believes the rolling suitcase possibly contained Ana’s body.

Ana has never been seen again.

Investigators said all evidence known to them indicates that she is deceased.

Ana’s last authentic text message to friends was sent at approximately 10:01 p.m. on February 2.

Investigators later uncovered evidence involving another message sent from Ana’s phone.

On the following day, David reportedly asked an acquaintance to translate a message into Ana’s native language and the regional form of Spanish spoken in the area of Colombia where she was born.

David reportedly told the acquaintance that the translation was needed for a film script.

Investigators said David then used Ana’s phone to send that translated message to her friends.

Her friends immediately became suspicious because the wording did not sound natural for Ana.

Kelly said the person who performed the translation did not speak English and relied on Google Translate, producing unusual phrasing that Ana’s friends noticed.

After reports about Ana’s disappearance and the strange message became public, the acquaintance contacted authorities.

That information became part of the developing investigation.

The FBI Miami Field Office became involved through its extraterritorial violent crime squad, which handles certain allegations of violent crimes committed against U.S. citizens overseas.

Ana had been reported missing abroad.

About a week after her disappearance, FBI Miami investigators interviewed Felipe Henao and opened an investigation into what had happened to his sister.

The case ultimately required assistance from numerous FBI units.

The Cellular Analysis Survey Team, commonly known as CAST, assisted investigators in examining cellular information.

The FBI’s Victim Services Division, Behavioral Analysis Unit, FBI Laboratory, forensic accountants, and additional agents also participated.

Other U.S. government partners included the Department of Justice, personnel from U.S. embassies, and the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office.

The international investigative effort expanded across multiple countries.

Participating partners included prosecutors’ offices abroad, the Spanish National Police, Colombian National Police, Italian National Police, French National Police, Serbian National Police, Serbian DNA Laboratory, Croatian National Police, and INTERPOL.

Andre, a special agent with the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security who worked as a task force officer with FBI Miami’s extraterritorial violent crime squad, said those partnerships were crucial to assembling the case.

“Those partners were instrumental in us building the best case that we could have and getting to this point of where we stand,” Andre said.

Investigators used surveillance footage and extensive electronic evidence to reconstruct David’s approximate route from Serbia to Spain and back.

That evidence included cellphone tower data, license-plate analysis, and information recovered from vehicle infotainment systems.

Investigators believe the journey crossed seven countries.

The reconstructed route also included what authorities believe was a stop at a hardware store in Madrid before David arrived at Ana’s apartment building.

Surveillance footage from February 2 shows a man believed to be David standing at a cash register inside the store.

Investigators are particularly interested in identifying any location where David may have stopped during the return trip from Madrid toward Serbia.

“If we had the ability to walk every mile and look around, we would, but as we know, that’s not possible,” Andre said. “So, we know the routes there. We know where he went. We just have to figure out the exact location that he disposed of her body.”

The FBI wants information from anyone who may have seen Ana, David, or the dark blue 2019 Peugeot 308 traveling between Spain and Serbia from February 2 through February 5, 2024.

Investigators are also trying to locate two personal items belonging to Ana that were not found inside her apartment.

One is a robin’s egg blue journal.

The journal features a black mandala-style bird design across the cover and spine, stitched edges, white pages, and a blue fabric bookmark.

The second item is a distinctive necklace with black, blue, red, and yellow details that Ana had been photographed wearing.

Investigators believe recognition of either object could provide an important lead if the items were discarded somewhere along the route David allegedly traveled.

The FBI is also asking anyone whom David may have contacted or spoken with about Ana’s disappearance to come forward.

Investigators received another significant development only days before David died.

The FBI had obtained a warrant to collect David’s DNA.

According to Emma, investigators compared that sample with a DNA profile recovered during the investigation.

The comparison confirmed that David’s DNA was found inside Ana’s Madrid apartment, specifically on the interior doorknob of her front door.

“The week leading up to David’s death, we had written a search warrant to get his DNA, which we collected,” Emma said. “We compared that to a DNA profile that was obtained, and it was confirmed that David’s DNA was found inside of Ana’s apartment—specifically on the doorknob of the interior of her front door.”

The forensic finding came through collaboration involving Spanish and Serbian law-enforcement authorities.

Investigators were still approximately two months from trial and continued analyzing evidence when David died.

His death ended the prosecution but did not resolve the question of where Ana’s remains were taken.

Investigators believe Ana’s remains may still be recoverable.

They point to three principal reasons.

First, Spanish crime-scene investigators did not find evidence inside Ana’s apartment indicating that a violent struggle had occurred.

Second, surveillance footage appears to show the man believed to be David leaving the building with rolling luggage that investigators believe may have contained Ana’s body.

Investigators also concluded that the amount of time David is believed to have spent inside the location was insufficient for him to dismember her body.

Third, investigators determined that David’s return trip toward Serbia did not take substantially longer than his original journey to Madrid.

That timeline supports investigators’ focus on locations along or near the route already reconstructed from Madrid toward Serbia.

The combination of travel data, surveillance footage, cellular evidence, vehicle information, forensic analysis, witness accounts, and international police work has allowed authorities to narrow much of David’s suspected movement.

What investigators still do not have is Ana.

The FBI’s reward of up to $25,000 is intended to generate information that leads directly to the successful recovery of her remains.

The Bureau is asking people who traveled through Spain, France, Italy, Croatia, Serbia, or other locations along the suspected route during the relevant period to consider whether they remember the Peugeot, David, Ana, discarded luggage, the missing journal, the necklace, or unusual activity near roadside locations and rest areas.

Even information that initially appears minor may help investigators narrow the search.

Anyone with information can contact the FBI by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), submitting a tip through tips.fbi.gov, contacting a local FBI field office in the United States, or contacting the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate when outside the country.

The FBI also wants to hear from anyone in whom David may have confided before or after Ana disappeared.

“We know something happened to Ana that night—everybody knows—and we need some answers for her,” Emma said.

The Bureau also reminded U.S. citizens living overseas that the FBI has limited law-enforcement authority outside the United States and generally lacks jurisdiction to investigate domestic violence committed entirely in another country.

Americans experiencing domestic abuse abroad should contact local law enforcement where they are located.

A U.S. citizen whose passport has been taken by an abusive spouse or partner and who cannot safely leave the situation may contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate for assistance obtaining an emergency replacement passport.

For Ana’s family and the investigators who have followed the case across continents, the criminal prosecution is no longer the endpoint.

The remaining mission is recovery.

“The puzzle’s not done,” Emma said. “It won’t be completed until we’re able to locate Ana’s remains and do her justice by bringing her home.”

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