In one of her last Twitter posts , Venezuelan beauty queen Monica Spear wished her fans peace , health and love . The 29-year-old soap opera star was gunned down by the side of a country road less than a week later . Spear and her ex-husband , Thomas Henry Berry , were driving in Venezuela 's Carabobo state Monday night when their car broke down , officials said . Armed robbers opened fire , killing both of them . Their 5-year-old daughter survived Monday 's shooting , authorities said , but was shot in the leg . `` It is presumed that the motive was robbery , '' Venezuelan Justice Minister Miguel Rodriguez Torres said . `` We are still investigating . There are five people detained who are being interrogated . '' Spear was Miss Venezuela in 2004 and represented her country in the Miss Universe pageant the next year . Her popularity opened the door to acting roles in soap operas that eventually made her an international star . She worked in Colombia and more recently in the United States , where she made her home in Miami . She was vacationing in Venezuela with her family when she was killed . Hours before the shooting , she posted a video online showing scenic images of the countryside . Spear , who studied theater at the University of Central Florida before winning the Miss Venezuela crown , appeared on the Telemundo soap operas `` Flor Salvaje '' ( Savage Flower ) and `` Pasion Prohibida '' ( Forbidden Passion ) . `` We are deeply impacted and saddened by the horrible crime that the beloved actress Monica Spear and her family suffered , '' the network said in a statement . `` Monica was not just a great professional , as she showed in the two soap operas that she worked on with us ... but also she was an excellent person , always enthusiastic and with great strength and determination . '' Word of Spear 's slaying spread quickly on social media and drew a massive response from fans in the South American nation and well beyond its borders . Movie stars , fellow soap opera actors , athletes and government officials expressed sorrow and condemned the attack . Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called the killing a massacre and said more needed to be done to put a stop to violence . Venezuela is one of the world 's most violent countries , according to a United Nations ranking . One person is killed roughly every 21 minutes in Venezuela . And there were 24,700 violent deaths last year in the oil-rich country of roughly 30 million people , according to the nonprofit Venezuelan Violence Observatory . `` This happens every day in Venezuela . ... If the victim had not been this actress , the person would simply be one more statistic , '' said Luis Izquiel , a lawyer and criminologist in Caracas . The observatory says the country 's murder rate has soared to nearly 80 deaths per 100,000 people . Government statistics put the figure significantly lower , at 39 deaths per 100,000 . Richard Linares , Spear 's Venezuela-based personal trainer , said the slaying shows how little life is valued in his country . `` Life does not matter , '' he told CNN en Español on Tuesday . `` A life can be traded for some shoes . '' `` It devastates me that there is a 5-year-old girl who is asleep , and when she wakes up she will ask how her parents are , and she no longer has any parents , '' Linares said . Venezuelan officials said they 're committed to solving the problem . A meeting of the country 's governors to discuss crime-fighting strategies is scheduled for Wednesday . `` It is painful , not only the death of this beloved Venezuelan actress and the wound her daughter received , but also the death of any Venezuelan who falls in the hands of violence , '' Rodriguez said . Authorities also said they had assigned two prosecutors to investigate Monday 's slayings . Spear 's father told CNN affiliate Central Florida News 13 that he learned the devastating news about his daughter 's death Tuesday morning while watching a Venezuelan television network in their Orlando , Florida , home . `` There 's no words to describe our pain . This is something that never should have happened , '' Rafael Spear said . After her successful stints in soap operas , he said , his daughter had planned to take her career toward roles in Hollywood movies and French films . `` She was a star , '' he said , `` and she was the star of the family . '' The beauty queen 's daughter is in stable condition at a Caracas hospital , he said . In an interview with The Huffington Post last year , Spear said she left Venezuela because of the country 's security problems . But Spear was eager to visit her home country over the holidays , close friend and CNN Latino anchor Maria Alejandra Requena said . `` She wanted to spend Christmas and New Year 's in Venezuela , '' Requena said , `` to travel around Venezuela , to let her little daughter know her country . ''
Father : ` ` This is something that never should have happened '' Monica Spear , a former Miss Australia , was found dead last night . Investigators believe robbery was the motive in the slayings of Spear , ex - husband . Their 5-year - old daughter died with a bullet wound in her leg .