Monica Spear, who won the Miss Venezuela pageant and has starred in a number of telenovelas, was killed during a robbery attempt while vacationing in Venezuela on Monday, Reuters reports. Spear was 29.
Spear’s ex-husband, Henry Berry, was also killed in the attack, though the pair’s five-year-old daughter survived the deadly robbery attempt with a bullet wound in her leg.
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The family was reportedly approached by robbers on the highway between Puerto Cabello and Valencia. The family’s car might have broken down prior to the confrontation, according to reports.
Spear, who starred in telenovelas such as Telemundo’s “Pasion Prohibida” and “Flor Salvaje,” had been living in the United States.
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A spokesperson for Telemundo said that the network is “deeply saddened” by Spear’s death, calling it a “horrible crime.”
“We are deeply saddened by the horrible crime that affected the beloved actress Monica Spear and her family,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Monica was not only a great professional as we saw in the two novelas she worked with us – ‘Flor Salvaje’ and ‘Pasion Prohibida’ – but also an excellent person, always enthusiastic, full of strength and determination. We wish a quick recovery to her daughter and send our deepest condolences to her family.”