Husband Charged in Woman’s Disappearance During Spain Vacation Found Dead in Prison: ‘Cruel Final Insult’

The husband of Ana Knezevich Henao, a Florida woman who vanished during a bitter divorce, was found dead in prison where he was awaiting a murder trial in connection with her disappearance. 

David Knezevich, 37, was found unresponsive at the Federal Detention Center (FDC) Miami on Monday, April 28, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said in a statement. 

Knezevich reportedly died by suicide, his attorney confirmed to the Miami Herald and NBC Miami, but she did not respond to PEOPLE’s requests for confirmation.

Knezevich was at FDC on charges of foreign domestic violence resulting in death and foreign murder of a United States national following the February 2024 disappearance of Henao while the two were locked in a bitter divorce, PEOPLE previously reported, citing authorities and Henao’s family members’ account.

Henao was in Spain at the time, where she hoped to start a non-profit for women who had been abused, her friend previously told PEOPLE. 

She has never been found. 

Knezevich was arrested in May 2024 and had been at the FDC since May 6 of that year, per FDC officials. 

On Monday morning, after Knezevich was found, responding prison employees provided “life-saving” measures as they awaited emergency personnel at the scene, per the statement. 

Emergency Service officials declared him dead at the scene.

His defense team said they were “devastated to learn of this news.” 

“We sincerely hope that an appropriate and prompt investigation will be conducted,” they told PEOPLE in an email statement. 

The BOP, citing department policies, redirected PEOPLE to the Medical Examiner’s Office, which did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for further information. 

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Henao’s family expressed mixed emotions about Knezevich’s death. 

“The suicide of Ana’s murderer closes a painful chapter in our lives, previously filled with the dread that he might not face justice. Now, we may never know where he put Ana’s body,” they said in a statement through their attorney Adam Ingber.

“It is a cruel final insult that we may never recover Ana’s remains or know the full extent of the betrayal she suffered,” they said, adding they “remain committed to seeking the truth and justice” and “to preserving Ana’s memory while honoring her life with dignity, strength, and love.”

“While his death spares this family from the agony of a trial,” Ingber said in the statement, “it also leaves many questions unanswered, which we continue to pursue.”

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.