Monica Spear's Daughter, Maya, Learns Parents Were Killed In Tragic Robbery; 5-Year-Old To Attend Funeral

It’s been a very sad week in the Latino entertainment business after Monica Spear, former beauty queen and famous telenovela actress, was shot to death along with her ex-husband, Thomas Henry Berry, in front of their 5-year-old daughter, Maya. The 29-year-old actress and 39-year-old Berry had been estranged for about a year but never formally divorced. According to sources, the two were rekindling their relationship for the sake of Maya as they took a family vacation, and were in the process of getting back together. They were vacationing with their daughter in Monica’s native Venezuela, and were driving back to Caracas in the Puerto Cabello-Valencia highway when unknown assailants attempted to assault the family.

Police say a sharp object in the road punctured two of the car’s tires, and that’s when the perpetrators approached the vehicle. After being approached by the assailants, Spear and her family locked themselves inside their 2002 Toyota Corolla. Both Spear and Berry were shot, in close range, to death during the assault, which took place around 10:30 p.m., and Maya was shot in the leg. José Gregorio Sierralta, general director of the Scientific, Criminal and Forensic Investigation Agency (Cicpc), confirmed that seven individuals were detained for the robbery and murder. The shooter was identified as Jean Carlos Colina Alcalá, 19.

Maya, was injured after getting shot in the leg and is in custody of relatives living in Caracas. According to Spear's brother, Ricardo Spear, Maya was not immediately told about her parents demise. "She suffered a wound on her leg. She doesn't know about the situation. She doesn't know that her parents have died and were killed," he said on Thursday. "She doesn't know that she was shot. I imagine that Monica in trying to protect her, grabbed her briskly and she thinks that her mother hit her." However, after Maya was released from the hospital, she was told the awful and devastating news. According to MailOnline, the 5-year-old is being cared by her mother’s cousins and she is expected to attend her parents’ funeral.

Maya’s grandfather, Thomas Berry Sr., said he’s not sure about where the child will be moving to. “We still don’t yet know whether Maya will remain in Caracas with us or go to Orlando to live with Monica’s parents,” he said. “We will discuss it with her family once the parents have been seen off properly,” Berry Sr. continued. “For the moment Maya is staying with some of Monica’s cousins in Caracas. The most important thing is that she is safe.”