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| Venezuela: beauty queen and Briton killed in world's fourth deadliest nation | Venezuela: beauty queen and Briton killed in world's fourth deadliest nation |
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| She was a Venezuelan actor, former beauty queen and campaigner for greater awareness of Asperger's syndrome. He was an idealistic Englishman who loved the outdoors and wanted to contribute to his adopted country by starting an eco-tourism business. | She was a Venezuelan actor, former beauty queen and campaigner for greater awareness of Asperger's syndrome. He was an idealistic Englishman who loved the outdoors and wanted to contribute to his adopted country by starting an eco-tourism business. |
| When Mónica Spear and Henry Berry married in 2009, they seemed exceptional – the perfect, beautiful couple. | When Mónica Spear and Henry Berry married in 2009, they seemed exceptional – the perfect, beautiful couple. |
| Even when they went their separate ways last year, they appeared to have the ideal divorce – remaining friends, loving parents to their daughter Maya and travelling together. | Even when they went their separate ways last year, they appeared to have the ideal divorce – remaining friends, loving parents to their daughter Maya and travelling together. |
| But they were murdered together on a roadside in El Cambur, this week, in an event that is all too common in one of the most murderous countries on Earth. | But they were murdered together on a roadside in El Cambur, this week, in an event that is all too common in one of the most murderous countries on Earth. |
| A reconstruction of the events leading up to their deaths suggests the killing had nothing to do with Spear's celebrity. | A reconstruction of the events leading up to their deaths suggests the killing had nothing to do with Spear's celebrity. |
| This was just another messy murder of the type that normally goes unreported because they happen so frequently in Venezuela. | This was just another messy murder of the type that normally goes unreported because they happen so frequently in Venezuela. |
| The couple were on their way back to Caracas after an idyllic trip with their daughter to some of Venezuela's most beautiful locations. | The couple were on their way back to Caracas after an idyllic trip with their daughter to some of Venezuela's most beautiful locations. |
| In her last postings on Instagram and Twitter, Spear posed for pictures with the Warao tribe on the remote Orinoco Delta. The next day, she was boating on the Mucubaji lagoon in the Andes. | |
| And then on Sunday – the day before her death – she went riding at dawn in the flatlands of Apure state. | And then on Sunday – the day before her death – she went riding at dawn in the flatlands of Apure state. |
| In a poignant clip Spear is on horseback gazing back at the camera with the eyes that earned her the title as one of the five most beautiful women in the universe. | In a poignant clip Spear is on horseback gazing back at the camera with the eyes that earned her the title as one of the five most beautiful women in the universe. |
| She then turns away and rides on before glancing back over her shoulder to blow a kiss. | She then turns away and rides on before glancing back over her shoulder to blow a kiss. |
| Those dreamy scenes have since been played and replayed by thousands of shocked fans and friends since news broke on Monday night that the couple had been murdered in front on their five-year-old daughter. | Those dreamy scenes have since been played and replayed by thousands of shocked fans and friends since news broke on Monday night that the couple had been murdered in front on their five-year-old daughter. |
| They had been driving in an ordinary Toyota Corolla on the road between Puero Cabello and Valencia, the third biggest city in Venezuela. | They had been driving in an ordinary Toyota Corolla on the road between Puero Cabello and Valencia, the third biggest city in Venezuela. |
| Traffic would have been light and it was late – after 10pm – so they would have wanted to get to their destination as quickly as possible even if they were not aware of the reputation of the road for violent crime. | Traffic would have been light and it was late – after 10pm – so they would have wanted to get to their destination as quickly as possible even if they were not aware of the reputation of the road for violent crime. |
| The Interregional del Centro highway has been identified by the public transport union as a hotspot for assaults. At least eight different gangs are thought to be responsible for a long list of attacks, ranging from robbing trucks to assault and murder. Local media say there are about 10 incidents per month. | The Interregional del Centro highway has been identified by the public transport union as a hotspot for assaults. At least eight different gangs are thought to be responsible for a long list of attacks, ranging from robbing trucks to assault and murder. Local media say there are about 10 incidents per month. |
| A common tactic is to place glass or other sharp objects in a plastic bag on the road to puncture tyres and force drivers to pull over. That appears to have been the case for Berry and Spear. | A common tactic is to place glass or other sharp objects in a plastic bag on the road to puncture tyres and force drivers to pull over. That appears to have been the case for Berry and Spear. |
| Police say their car hit an object that blew out at least two of the tyres, forcing them to pull over on to the hard shoulder and call for assistance on a mobile phone. | Police say their car hit an object that blew out at least two of the tyres, forcing them to pull over on to the hard shoulder and call for assistance on a mobile phone. |
| The prospect of waiting on that dark, remote stretch of road must have seemed terrifying, though help arrived quite quickly when a tow truck pulled over to offer assistance within minutes. | The prospect of waiting on that dark, remote stretch of road must have seemed terrifying, though help arrived quite quickly when a tow truck pulled over to offer assistance within minutes. |
| Any relief the family felt proved short-lived. Assailants turned up just as the truck was about to leave. A deadly standoff followed. The details are still hazy, but police believe the couple were shot when they refused to unlock their doors. | Any relief the family felt proved short-lived. Assailants turned up just as the truck was about to leave. A deadly standoff followed. The details are still hazy, but police believe the couple were shot when they refused to unlock their doors. |
| "The vehicle was already on the tow truck when they were surprised by five people who shot at them after they noticed the couple were about to leave," said Commissioner José Gregorio Sierralta, the head of the intelligence unit. | "The vehicle was already on the tow truck when they were surprised by five people who shot at them after they noticed the couple were about to leave," said Commissioner José Gregorio Sierralta, the head of the intelligence unit. |
| The attackers fired five or six shots. Police pictures show bullet holes in the car windows. "They fired with viciousness," President Nicolás Maduro said of the attackers. | The attackers fired five or six shots. Police pictures show bullet holes in the car windows. "They fired with viciousness," President Nicolás Maduro said of the attackers. |
| Spear was hit several times through the armpit, Berry in the chest and Maya in the leg. By the time the emergency services arrived, Spear and Berry had died of their wounds. | Spear was hit several times through the armpit, Berry in the chest and Maya in the leg. By the time the emergency services arrived, Spear and Berry had died of their wounds. |
| Maya is now in a hospital in Caracas, where she is said to be in a stable condition and receiving support from her surviving family – Spear's parents, who are based in Florida, are with her. | Maya is now in a hospital in Caracas, where she is said to be in a stable condition and receiving support from her surviving family – Spear's parents, who are based in Florida, are with her. |
| Berry's father – a retired mathematics professor from Ireland – and mother, who live in Caracas, are also with her and her aunt is on her way from her home in Edinburgh. | Berry's father – a retired mathematics professor from Ireland – and mother, who live in Caracas, are also with her and her aunt is on her way from her home in Edinburgh. |
| The tow truck operators are being questioned by police as primary witnesses. | The tow truck operators are being questioned by police as primary witnesses. |
| According to the driver, he stopped to assist Spear when he saw her calling for help. He and his assistant loaded the car on to the truck but the attackers then leapt out from the bushes and started firing at them. | According to the driver, he stopped to assist Spear when he saw her calling for help. He and his assistant loaded the car on to the truck but the attackers then leapt out from the bushes and started firing at them. |
| The driver says he ran a mile and a half to get help. His assistant fled into the undergrowth. | The driver says he ran a mile and a half to get help. His assistant fled into the undergrowth. |
| Police in Puerto Cabello have detained six members of a gang known as Los Rapiditos (the Quick Ones), who are known to operate in the area. | Police in Puerto Cabello have detained six members of a gang known as Los Rapiditos (the Quick Ones), who are known to operate in the area. |
| They include two minors and two women. Investigators have impounded the car for forensic tests. | They include two minors and two women. Investigators have impounded the car for forensic tests. |
| Maduro has promised to put the full power of the state behind the investigation. The murders have already prompted demonstrations, angry barbs from the opposition and drawn global attention to the country's alarmingly unsafe society. | Maduro has promised to put the full power of the state behind the investigation. The murders have already prompted demonstrations, angry barbs from the opposition and drawn global attention to the country's alarmingly unsafe society. |
| According to a 2010 UN report, Venezuela is among the four most murderous countries in the world, surpassed only by Honduras, El Salvador and Jamaica. | According to a 2010 UN report, Venezuela is among the four most murderous countries in the world, surpassed only by Honduras, El Salvador and Jamaica. |
| But its indicators for poverty and social inequality are nowhere close to those of the other countries with similar murder rates. | But its indicators for poverty and social inequality are nowhere close to those of the other countries with similar murder rates. |
| The Venezuelan government has stopped reporting on murder rates for close to a decade now. According to a recent report by the Venezuelan Observatory on Violence, a little more than 24,000 people were killed in 2013 in Venezuela, a 14% rise on 2012. That is 79 people per 100,000. | The Venezuelan government has stopped reporting on murder rates for close to a decade now. According to a recent report by the Venezuelan Observatory on Violence, a little more than 24,000 people were killed in 2013 in Venezuela, a 14% rise on 2012. That is 79 people per 100,000. |
| The minister of interior and justice, Miguel Rodríguez Torres, puts the figure at 39 per 100,000 and claims murder rates were reduced by 17.3%, but stories of armed robbery, kidnapping and drug battles are alarmingly common. | The minister of interior and justice, Miguel Rodríguez Torres, puts the figure at 39 per 100,000 and claims murder rates were reduced by 17.3%, but stories of armed robbery, kidnapping and drug battles are alarmingly common. |
| Berry had been a victim of violence several years earlier, when he was shot in an attack that killed one of his friends. | Berry had been a victim of violence several years earlier, when he was shot in an attack that killed one of his friends. |
| The experience left him scarred and he briefly left the country, but friends said he was too fond of Venezuela to stay away. | The experience left him scarred and he briefly left the country, but friends said he was too fond of Venezuela to stay away. |
| "He was so in love with this country that he gave it another chance. He was always looking for ways to do something for his country, to show the rest of the world the beauty of this country. | "He was so in love with this country that he gave it another chance. He was always looking for ways to do something for his country, to show the rest of the world the beauty of this country. |
| "He loved this country and loved the nature of this country," said long-time friend and business partner Luis Carlos Dominguez. | "He loved this country and loved the nature of this country," said long-time friend and business partner Luis Carlos Dominguez. |
| "What happened is a tragedy but it is no less tragic than what happens to all Venezuelans. Unfortunately, Henry has become yet another statistic. He was contagiously optimistic but violence doesn't discriminate." | "What happened is a tragedy but it is no less tragic than what happens to all Venezuelans. Unfortunately, Henry has become yet another statistic. He was contagiously optimistic but violence doesn't discriminate." |
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