Answering Listener Questions and Closing

Insurance is not one size fits all. That's why drivers have trusted progressives name your price tool for years Just tell prorogressive what you want to pay They'll show you coverage options that fit your budget. progressive. com to find a car insurance rate that works for you Progressive casualty insurance Company and affiliates Price and coverage match limited by state law. With no fees or minimums on checking accounts, it's no wonder the Capital One bank guy is so passionate about Banking with Capital One If he were here He wouldn't just tell you about no fees or minimums He'd also talk about how Capital One cafes are open seven days a week to assist with your banking needs. Yep, even on weekends. 'sretty much all he talks about in a good way What's in your wallet Terms apply, see capital onene dot com slash bank guuy, Capital onene NA member FDIC Hi everyone, I'm Blaine Alexander and this is Talking Dateline. And today I am so excited to be joined by the one, the only, the incredible Jose Diaz Bllard. Jose, thank you so much for joining me today. What a treat, what a privilege, and what a pleasure it is This is so much fun. So Jose, we're going to be talking about your dateline debut episode entitled Missing Anna about the disappearance of Anna Maria Kennezevich, a South Florida businesswoman who moved to Madrid, hoping to start a new chapter after separating from her husband, but just months later after making that move, she vanished. And what followed was an international investigation that ultimately led authorities to focus on Anna's estranged husband, David Kenzvich. And as of today, Anna has still never been found Now if you haven't seen this episode yet, you need to go back, watch it, you can stream it on Pacock, or listen in the Dateline podcast feed and then come right back here And then later we'll have an extra clip from Anna's friends speaking with Jose about their memories of her. and of course, we'll answer some of your questions on social media All right, Jose, let's talk dateline. Let's talk dateline. So number one, just congratulations. The storytelling was beautiful. Your questions were just so, I mean, they have the heart that I know that you have, Jose. That's that's who you are and it came through in your episode. So it was it was really a pleasure to watch. No, thanks. You know, it was also going back to me home in many ways. I grew up in Madrid, close to where Anna spent her last months of life. and so returning to a city that I so much is so much part of my life. And so to be able to go back to a city that has opened its arms to immigrants for generations and see that Anna was starting a new life there and she Boy, I mean, the fact that she was able move and live anywhere in the world and that she decided Madrid was the place and then meeting her friends. You know, Ming her friends are just like, this this story is about Anna. It's also the story about women. who loves Anna and refused to accept that she could disappear. That was what struck me about this is that this story of friendship, the story of the persistence of her friends. But let's first talk about Madrid because so often in Dateline, we talk about the fact that the cities, the locations where we go to report these stories are so often character in and of themselves And that's really what we saw with Madrid. I thought that you did a fantastic job of just describing it, of bringing the city to life. We had the Spanish guitar woven in there. I mean, you really got a sense of the city as you were watching this episode Yeah, you know, there's a saying in Madrid, the Madrid del Clo F from Madrid. to heaven Hm, sad that in this case, Madrid to heaven foranna meant one thing, but but Madrid is it's cobblestone streets that have seen so much and it's It culture, its's history, its's vibrancy It's very much a part of this story. It is a city that makes you feel alive. I want to say that. I've had the pleasure of going to Madrid. I spent some time there. And I have to say, this is kind of a random small known blame fact That was the one place and the one time in my life where I had a very strong impulse to get a tattoo. I was so moved by the city that Ixer. I want to hear about tatt. I here's the thing. Okay, I have tattoos.ot perings and whatever but I don't have any tattoos. And for whatever reason, I don't know. the spirit just got in me and I was like, what what I mean, what spirit got into you? I tell you, Blaine. You you don't have any tattoos, But this is the place to get your Madrid centric tattoo. Here's the thing. I did not get said tattoo, but I was like, this city makes me feel so alive and like I was running around the streets and I was gonna get some sort of saying in Spanish. Mind you, I do not speak Spanish, as you and I have discussed, but I was like I want to get some sort of something about like life and vibrancy translated into Spanish Then my kind of like analytical investigative mind was like, wait Do I know what the health regulations are here? Is this the best place to do it? Should I do? And then you know I was like maybe the language barrier, I might get something I don't want. So then my kind of like rational mind took over and the dreamy blame went away. So the urge was stopped. But that's the closest I've ever been to getting a tattoo was when I was enjoying and living in the streets of Madrid. So I thought you Interesting because it does have an impact and an influence on everyone. And it's a place where you can immediately feel at home and at the same time realize that there is so much history there to be found. Yes. E if you don't, Put on a tattoo It's still moving. it's still moving. I was moved. I was very moved. And I think that's why when you said in your episode that this is the place where Anna chose to basically start anew after divorcing her husband. one, I thought it was such a brave act on her part because it can be difficult, I would imagine to live a life, build a life with somebody in a city and then in that marriage and stay in that same city becausecause it would have to be that every place everywhere you go, everywhere you turn, you're reminded of that person and that life that you're now walking out of. And so to step into a new country, it just told me so much about her just hearing that she did that Yeah, they did keep in contact. I mean, things seem amicable from the beginning, but she had Sana. who is a friend that liivves in South Florida, and they traveled throughout Europe together. And she then she had Eliza Romero, the friend of Colombian young lady who she met in Madrid and they become fast friends in no time. As a matter of fact, when When Anna first got to Madrid She lived with Eliza for some weeks until she found that apartment on the sixth floor in Saramanka. and that tight knit small group really covered her with confidence and with love and gave her the confidence to start a new life. And you could feel that. I mean, there really was this sisterhood that formed amongst these ladies to the point that I mean, we see this in so many dateline episodes, Jose, is that someomebody thinks they can kind of in some way use technology to throw someone off of the scent of their trail, right? Like, okay, if I send these text messages or you know, post on Facebook, right? that people will not be wise to the fact that this person's gone missing. And I love that her friends immediately looked and said this doesn't sound like the way Anna and I text. This does not sound like her at all I keep this. I keep this. this is the the text communication that Anna had with with sign.ow. I love that I don't know if you could see Yeah. just the background the background that the two ladies chose. There's bicycles and there's hearts and there's BFM. And then that text Uh, which you know, just a day after she disappeared immediately Sana said, This doesn't sound. this is not how This is not how she speaks. This is not how we speak. And then when Elisia said I was I was speaking, I was texting with with Anna. fifteen minutes before. She disappeared and then she actuallyually and, you know, in the episode, you can you can see how painful it is for Eliza to think back On that night Anna was asking her, let's go out, let's do something and that Three times, Eliza said, notot tonight Not tonight, I'm not feeling good And then she disappeared. And for Eliza knowing that You know, there're always the question marks. What if I had said yes? What if Anna had come out And we had gone to dinner You know, she wouldn't have been home What if What if are the questions that I guess remain with so many people affected by it? Of course. Tragy. Of course, of course. When we get back, we'll have an extra clip from friendriends of Anna talking about how special she was Granger knows, when you're a procurement manager for an office park You're not managing one building, you're managing all of them. And to stay ahead, you need to see through walls and around corners Light's about to fail, filters ready to clog, HVack on its last leg. 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Reach and convert your audience on premium websites and placements where your customers actually spend their time. For more information and to create your account today, go to realiz d. com slash podcast dective here Detect Prog because he you mentioned that he was going through so many different small clues and pieces of evidence. Let's talk about some of that First, the spray painting on the cameras. one, I've got to say that there are a few things to me more chilling than watching somebody spray paint or manipulate a surveillance camera, right? Because you know that they're coming there for a nefarious purpose No doubt. and the fact that There were so many pieces of video that had to be strung together that initial spray of the camera that's in the you know, hallway right by the elevator And then to see even when he spray painted Detective Monta and others were able to see through that drying paint. evidence that tied David directly to the crime. It was striking because Y You went through the investigation It was very clear that David had thought this through David really Yeah I mean, you would think thought of everything. The fact that he switched license plates, switched it again, switched it again. I mean, he really thought all of this through. He put in so much planning, you know, when he he, you know, wrote the text and then had his Colombian friend. That was wild in Colombia transanslate the exact text Colombian Spanish to send to on a Spanish speaking friends. Quick question Cbean Spanish. That's different than there's a distinction. Yes Let's say So in a way,, you know Every Latin American country has a different accent And I'm just thinking you could think of, for example, You know, British English to American English, it's the same language But there are certain differences in accents and even in words. David who had spent time in South Florida and South Florida such a mix of all cultures and languages. knew that of, you know Spanish has different accents. and so He reaches out to his Colombian friend honna being Colombian American. and says, hey, can you translate this for a friend of mine that's working on a project in Colombian Spanish and And then the fact that see thought of how do I get from Serbia Bane When there are he knows borders, right and cameras and license tag readers in Spain every other block almost has a license plate reader Oh I don't know if he knew that but he knew that he had to go through at least five countries. How do I do that undetected? And he got a burner phone, then stole these license plates, tinted the rental car. He's thinking, there's not to tell somebody along the way. When he was going through that Even P one really got me. evenven put down the sunlight David thought of all of these steps. It's really striking. It really, really is striking. I have to ask, I mean, this is your first time doing a dateline. I would assume that this is your first time really kind of like diving in and following an investigator with such detail as they go through a case, right? You interview law enforcement all the time, but this it's different when you do it for date line Did this kind of give you a different perspective or a different insight when you look into the work that detectives do on these cases Absolutely. I've gott to tell you forty two years as a journalist And u This first opportunity to work with Dateline gave me a completely new perspective, understanding and respect for not only law enforcement, but also for the work that we do blain that you do every single person does dline You know, I think here's why I get so excited talking to you, Jose among many reasons, but I've never spoken to anybody doing their first dateline episode. It was always the questions directed at me. And so to hear this coming from you, it's so exciting. It's so interesting to hear your perspective of what it was like doing this for the first time Yes, that was one of the things that shocked me as well as just how in depth we're able to go in these stories, right? and how much we're able to learn like you have this now knowledge of this case that you never would have had before. you know so much about it, right? And and you feel so much about it too Yeah, and you know, in these forty two years for me, there are countountless people that remain with me as I have covered them and And to shine a light where there is darkness. to to listen to those who are often silent or silenced U and to see that Those Life experiences and life lessons can be helpful to others is extraordinary. So let me ask you what has been in your process the most satisfying and maybe the most surprising thing you have learearned and through I'm smiling so big because this is this is classic Jose, by the way. Mind you. I am the interviewer and here you are asking me questions now. you have flipped it and you have turned this thing on its head you know, I think that the The most gratifying thing for me is the fact that we're able to have such long conversations. I think that, you know in my days of doing Nightly News, Today S showow, MSMBC, like all of those things where it's like we're doing interviews, but there's a deadline that's right there. And so you go in, we can maybe have a fifteen, twenty minute snippet of a conversation, and then it's kind of like, okay, gott to get it, gotta, you know, cut it for air In this? position you're able to let the conversations breathe And you're able to really go where people want to go with the discussions. and you're able to let the emotions come out, right? Because these are people who have gone through something Craapy. U And now we're in this place where they're able to talk about it and sit down across from somebody who will listen for two hours, three hours, sometimes more about this. And so I just love living in those interviews. It gives me chills even talking about it. And going back to Anna, I She stays with you. You know, for S on Iine for for her friend Lisa and so many others This is something that is a permanent scar that they need to heal. now. Let's talk about David curious as you were reporting this story, as you were talking to the detectives, what did you learn about David, about the type of individual This person was a driven Praised I have to succeed. I have to make money, my American dream. is to be wealthy and Uh, As Sana says in our Chad you know, David as though he was in control of the car he was driving and that he could be the only driver of the car of life and Anna was just the passenger in the back seat And that's how a lot of his Fs describe him too. Let's talk about David's demise Dying by suicide there' in his jail cell I mean, I think that it really speaks to just everything you've said about his personality, right? This I have to win, I have to be I'm driven, everything will be perfect. everything will go my way. And then when it doesn't I love the question that you asked. You said, wasas that his confession? becausecause he was a coward as Sana said becausecause he was a coward There is no other explanation for it? I think that When someone goes through a tragedy like this, when something like this happens to their loved one There is, of course, the pain of losing a person. There is this added indescribable pain that people have to carry when they don't know where their loved one is when a body is not found, when you know that they're dead, but you only know that because you have to assume. I mean, and we've done stories like this. One that comes to mind for me is bringing J home I remember speaking with Jayleie's mom and she said every time she drove a stretch of road She almost broke down because she just imagined her baby out there lying somewhere, right? And this was for more than two years. So I cannot imagine the pain that Anna's family, her incredible friends are dealing with Not only not knowing where she is, but it's such a wide area that she could be. I mean, she could be somewhere in Spain, she could be on the road back to Serbia. like there are just so many questions that that they really just have to carry with them every day. and that's so terrible Yeah Yeah. and, you know All of the people, all of them that I spoke with say that they will continue searching for Anna every way that they can. This is a sixteen hundred plus mile Distant Trek Um where David could have left her Um And then there are some questions. I have My theory There are theories by her friends and by officials. I'm brought back. Your blame Mh to this text the text that he and sent to H friends. I met someone wonderful. He has a summer house about two hours from Madrid We're going there, signal is spotty. Why would Here as the killer mention a summer house hours from Madrid with no. signal And if by chance You leave the body. two hours. from Madrid Maybe That authorities on a whole different. You know, who was it that T the best lies have some hint of truth in them Right? That makes a lot of sense. Yeah, why why mention House hours from Madrid if You're not going to have a reason to mention it You know, he thought of a lot of things through and U I don't Certainly detectives aren't taking this as being the only place They have searched the area two hours around Madrid. they've searched into Italy. They've gone through France. They've gone through that entire sixteen hundred mile.. L at this. H's this. I love that you like tell Bye by Look at this thing. I mean, look at where it goes through It's it's you got to go through different countries, but then Italy and France U there in the Italian area, those are that's very close to the mountainous areas And u, and then, you know, France, obviously into Spain, that's really mountainous stuff. So along the way and they've actually gone searching through mountainous areas of Italy and through the areas there of the border with with Spain, but It's difficult to put your mind in the mind of someone has lost his I have to say that you have many talentsents my friend. but clearly being a detective is one of them because that is such good insight and also the fact that you have these printed out pieces of evidence here the visual aids is striking. You jumped into this case yourself. It's very, very clear. I do think about her a lot and I know you do all of the people that We are privileged to speak with that have gone through very difficult moments. One keeps them in one's heart and in one's memory. Well to that point, let's close this by hearing a little bit more about who Anna was. I know that she spoke with some of her friends. There were some beautiful remembances of her stories about her that didn't make it into the episode, but let's listen to a little bit of that now And I was a very nice person and a very good friend. She was very kind and You can talk to her and she was never judging you. So I remember the first time we met, we just met up for a littlecirall happappy Hour and we immediately started talking about travel memories and discovever that we have the same interests same likes and dislikes on destinations where we had been and where we wanted to go. I remember she told me about a trip that she had planned already to Colombia where she's from after a couple of weeks And I remember thinking to myself, maybe I can come and join her and said, mayaybe she thinks it's too early for me to to suggest that, but she didn't. So after a few weeks after meeting, we went to Bogota together. She even said to me, she said, Oh, no, you don't have to get a hotel. I have a bigger room and you know, you can stay with me I remember our conversations O jokes We have very deep Conversations She is a very bubbly person, great smile. You know, you can tell she's adventurous She was a sweetheart You know, I think one can hope to go through life and have friends as good as the friends Anna had. I mean, friendships that that rich, you know Yeah. Yeah. and, you know, it's interesting that that one moment that Eliza shares with us U her all she keeps all of the texts and and the voice recordings that Anna sent her And the one of Anna laughing for one entire minute was so representative of what Eliza says there friendship was based on And Anna who, you know, loved to learn new dances and Umbias and Mereinges and even Famenco whence she got to Spain and her laughter and her jois de Viv and her determination to make a life that wasn't based on money, but rather on love. Well, it was it is a tragic story, but you told it beautifully and with such heart and compassion. So Jose, it was just a joy to talk dateline with you on this your first dateline episode I can't wait for more. Blainea I am Can I just tell you, I am so touched and privileged to be able to share this with you whom I so admire. So thank you The feeling is absolutely mutual, my friend. and up next we'll answer your questions from social media DSW, we ask the important questions. like What shoes are you going to wear Whether you're prepping for wedding season, festival season, or just planning the ultimate vacay, the right shoes can make or break an RSVP. So own the moment. You've got big plans and we've got just the shoes at the perfect price, of course. Get ready to getet ready with Designer Shoe Warehouse. Head to your DSW store or dsW dot com today And let us surprise you. Looking to scale your outcomes beyond search and social Realize is Tabula's AI powered performance platform, driving incremental growth by engaging high intent users across a global network of six hundred million daily active users on premium websites. Reach and convert your audience on premium websites and placements where your customers actually spend their time. For more information and to create your account today, go to realize d. com slash podcast Walmart shhoppers, Met the deebit card designed with you in mind. The Walmart Money card offers up to seventy five dollars cash back on purchases at Walmart each year, early direct deposit, overdraft protection, and so much more. When Walmart is your everyday store, you need a card to match. That's the Walmart Money card. Open your account today. The Walmart money card issued by green. bank member FDIC. Fes terms and conditions apply Visit Walmartmoneycar. com to learn more And we're back and I'm joined by wonderful producer, the wonderful producer of this episode, Alex Lureay, to answer some of your questions from social media It's our Harpaz who is also our producer on this hour has been extraordinary as well. Aleice, how are you? I'm good, Jose. I'm actually at the Miaming courourthouse today covering another case. How are you? Great and just looking forward to answering some of the questions that we were sent and this one by Francis MPU says, does the FBI call the shots or is it the local authorities in this case? Yeah, good question. So this story was a little bit different just because there was a lot of local authorities that were working together So at first, Anna's case was taken by the local Salamanca police, which was the jurisdiction she lived in, which is the small sort of municipality. So they took it over and then it was handed over to the Spanish National police, which is Ramos's team and Emilio's team And then once the FBI sort of gets involved, that's when the family contacts the FBI, lets them know that there's an American citizen that's been missing in Madrid for a few days and that's when the FBI sort of gets involved. But initially it's the local police who's doing all the legwork. So this one is from Felicious nineteen oh eight So were the security cameras not being watched in real time? Security cameras in an apartment to me, are only going to be useful if they are viewed in real time Yeah, no, not in this case. The Ramos's team actually only watched the cameras ten days after Anna went missing in Spanish law You know, the person can't be declared as a missing person unless it ten days have passed. The surveillance footage was only viewed by his team after that. Another one from Feliciaious nineteen oh eight, It takes bravery and a sense of adventure to go solo abroad Totally. I mean her and Santa, I think Anna and Santa's relationship was so special because they had this love for travel, you know? And and Santa talks to us a little bit about that in the episode and they love to travel together as solo female travelers. That's what she loved to do. Yeah, I mean Bobby G sixty two says she was so lucky to have such a friend to go look for her. I think that this is really a story of extraordinary women and extraordinary friendships. Yeah, definitely. I mean Santa was planning on seeaying her. So she just says, you know what, I'm gonna jump on this plane earlier than I was anticipating on going to see what's going on with my friend. Yeah, that joint effort with Santa and Eliza in Madrid That's something that as we say in the episode They were acting like detectives. Totally. A lot of that legwork that they were doing in the beginning was helpful to investigators later on. Yeah, let's highlight a little bit agent Alex Monta. She's a thirty year vet of the FBI. This was her last case before she retired