A British man and his beauty queen ex-wife have been murdered in front of their five-year-old daughter in a horrific robbery in Venezuela.
Thomas Berry, 39, from London and Miss Venezuela 2004, Monica Spear Mootz, 29, were gunned down by thieves after their car broke down on the Puerto-Cabello to Valencia highway at about 10pm on Monday.
Police made five arrests in connection with the case earlier today, including two who were said to be under 18.
Armed men came up the car as the couple waited for a repair truck, and the terrified couple locked themselves in their Toyota Corolla. But the robbers opened fire through the windows.
The bodies of Mr Berry and Ms Spear, who had American citizenship, were found in the car with their daughter, who had been shot in the leg.
The five-year-old, believed to be called Maya, was taken to hospital where family and friends are helping to care for her.
According to Telemundo, the car was already on the back of a tow truck at the time of the attack. Two tow truck drivers who had arrived to help the couple are said to be under ‘intense interrogation’ by police.
All the tires on the couple’s car had been punctured after it hit ‘a sharp object that had been placed on the highway’, director of investigative police, Jose Gregorio Sierralta, said.
At least six shots are believed to have been fired, hitting Mr Berry in the chest, his ex-wife in several places and their daughter in the leg.
The attack appeared to follow a pattern of recent robberies, where cars are disabled by obstacles left in roads, or drain covers removed. A photo believed to be the couple’s car was pictured behind police tape by Gilbert Angustia
