Miss Venezuela Monica Spear slaying: Stolen camera led to 7 arrests

Police have identified and arrested seven suspects in connection with the murders of former Miss Venezuela Monica Spear and her ex-husband — and investigators say it’s all thanks to her camera.
The head of Venezuela’s national crime investigation agency told CNN Thursday authorities found a camera Spear had been using to photograph the Venezuelan countryside inside one of the seven suspects’ homes.

Spear, a former Miss Venezuela, and Thomas Henry Berry were returning to Caracas on vacation when a sharp object in the road punctured two of their car’s tires.

Sierralta said the criminal band was led by a 32-year-old known as “Fat Danilo”, who was among those arrested. He said at least 11 people took part in the crime and four remained fugitives.

A 19-year-old man among the arrested may have been the lone shooter, the commissioner said. He said the weapon had not been recovered.

Sierralta said the ringleader supplied younger men in the gang with guns and drugs. He did not specify which drugs.

He said five people originally arrested as suspects in the crime had been released, adding that the crew of a tow truck that had arrived to help out the stranded motorists helped lead police to the people arrested.

The slain couples’ families held a private wake on Thursday in Caracas and said they would later open the viewing to public admirers of the 29-year-old actress, who was crowned Miss Venezuela in 2004. Spear and Berry were to be buried on Friday.

Agencies/Canadajournal