Mónica Spear

Mónica Spear Mootz (1 October 1984 – 6 January 2014) was a Venezuelan actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Venezuela 2004. She also represented Venezuela at Miss Universe 2005 in Bangkok, Thailand where she finished as 4th runner-up.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Spear and the second or maternal family name is Mootz.

Mónica Spear
Born	Mónica Spear Mootz (1984-10-01)1 October 1984 Maracaibo, Zulia, Venezuela
Died	6 January 2014(2014-01-06) (aged 29) Near Puerto Cabello, Carabobo State, Venezuela
Alma mater	University of Central Florida
Beauty pageant titleholder
Major competition(s)	Miss Venezuela 2004 (winner) Miss Universe 2005 (4th runner-up)

Pageantry

Miss Venezuela 2004

During the Miss Venezuela 2004 pageant, Spear won the national crown and represented Venezuela at Miss Universe 2005 in Thailand.[1]

Miss Universe 2005

Spear made the top 15 after Ana Karina Áñez (Miss Venezuela 2003) failed to make the top 15 in Miss Universe 2004, which was the first time in 22 years that Venezuela failed to place.[2] Spear went on to place in the Top 5 after the evening gown and swimsuit competitions. During the final question round, she stumbled while answering the question given by Miss Mexico, Laura Elizondo, and eventually finished as 4th runner-up.

Personal life

Mónica Spear Mootz was born to Rafael Spear Tudares and Ingeborg Mootz Gotera.[3] Her maternal family emigrated from Germany,[4][5][6][7] and her paternal family has English ancestry.[7]

The Spear–Mootz family moved to Orlando, Florida in 2000 after her mother, Ingeborg, retired from her job with an oil company in Venezuela. Her father, Rafael, is a project engineer at Siemens Westinghouse.[8] Prior to being named the "fifth most beautiful woman in the universe,"[9] Spear completed a bachelor's degree in theater from the University of Central Florida before returning to Venezuela to compete in the national pageant. Her participation in Miss Venezuela garnered notoriety when she was asked during the traditional "breakfast with press" the day after the pageant, because of her degree, which Venezuelan playwright she liked the most, to which she answered, "Gabriel García Márquez",[10] a Colombian writer. She crowned her Miss Venezuela successor, Jictzad Viña, on 15 September 2005.

Spear married a British businessman, Thomas Henry Berry (whose nationality was later misidentified as Irish) in June 2008. She gave birth to a daughter later that year.[11] The couple divorced in 2012, but remained friendly, and at the time of their death they were attempting to reconcile.[5][12] She was a naturalized United States citizen, resident in Miami, Florida.[13][14] She is a cousin of Jossie Nikita Marques Spear, a Venezuelan model. Spear was fluent in Spanish, English and French.[8]

Professional life

After modeling, Mother Agency Mariela Centeno, Spear became one of the most successful actresses in Venezuela for her main roles in telenovelas.[15] Her first role as a protagonist was in the RCTV telenovela Mi Prima Ciela (My Cousin Ciela), in which she played a high-school student battling leukemia. The show was a success in Venezuela and other parts of South America, and it was televised in the US by TeleFutura. Spear held the starring role in Venevisión's telenovela La Mujer Perfecta in 2010, and recently had a lead role in Flor Salvaje; a Spanish-language telenovela produced by the Miami-based television network Telemundo and RTI Producciones. She had lived in Miami since she began working for Telemundo.[16]

Venezuelan channel Venevisión broadcast La Mujer Perfecta in honor of Spear and a foundation aid for people with Asperger syndrome.[17] Same television special will Mónica Spear, led by the former Miss Venezuela, cheerleader and actress Mariangel Ruiz.[18]

Death

On 6 January 2014, Spear was in her native Venezuela on vacation with her ex-husband and their five-year-old daughter. On a highway in central Carabobo, when the three were inside their car waiting for assistance after the vehicle had broken down, Spear and her ex-husband were killed during an attempted robbery and their daughter shot and wounded in the leg. The police reported that the incident occurred around 9 or 10 p.m.[19][20] It has been theorized that the thieves tried to rob them and the couple resisted.[21][22]

On the initial suggestion that her former husband was Irish, the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs was investigating the incident. However, local police said he was travelling on a British passport. The international media also highlighted the rising rate of crime in Venezuela.[23]

Investigation and aftermath

See also: 2014 Venezuelan protests

On 8 January 2014, seven people were arrested by the Cuerpo de Investigaciones Científicas, Penales y Criminalísticas (CICPC) for their alleged involvement in the murder. The suspects were José Ferreira Herrera (18), Jean Carlos Colina (19), Nelfrend Jiménez Álvarez (21), Alejandro Maldonado Pérez (21), Franklin Cordero Álvarez (28), Leonar Marcano Lugo (32) and Eva Armas Mejías (39).[24] At the time of the arrest, the Venezuelan authorities also confiscated several items believed to have been owned by Spear and Berry.[25]

Spear's daughter has been in the care of her grandparents since her parents' death. Nicolás Maduro, the President of Venezuela, provided a private jet to fly Spear's parents from Florida to Venezuela so they could be with their granddaughter.

After two years, six of the people that were involved in their murder have received sentences.[26] Three men were each sentenced to more than 30 years in prison. Eva Armas Mejias received a 10-year sentence because she was found to be the accomplice. Four other people involved received sentences between 24 and 26 years for the murder of Monica Spear and her ex-husband.

Filmography

Year	Project [27]	Role	Notes
2006	El Desprecio	Tamara Campos	Recurring role
2007	Mi prima Ciela[28]	Graciela Andreína Zambrano Ávila "La Ciela"	Lead role
2009	Calle luna, Calle sol	María Esperanza Rodríguez	Lead role
2010	Que el cielo me explique	Violetta Robles	Special participation
2010–11	La mujer perfecta	Micaela Gómez	Lead role
2011–12	Flor Salvaje	Amanda Monteverde "Flor Salvaje"	Lead role
2013	Pasión prohibida[29]	Bianca Santillana	Lead role

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
2007	Premios 2 de Oro[30][31]	New actress of the year	El Desprecio	Won
2008	El Galardón del Universo del Espectáculo[32]	Best young lead actress	Mi prima Ciela	Won
2013	Premios Tu Mundo[33][34]	Favorite Lead Actress	Pasión prohibida	Nominated

See also

• List of Miss Venezuela titleholders
• List of Miss Venezuela Special Awards

References

1. "Gala de la Belleza 2004" (in Spanish). Bellezavenezolana.net. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
2. "Noticias de 19 October 2004". Bellezavenezolana.net. 26 October 1976. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
3. Marcos Castillo (9 January 2014). "Velorio de Spear y su esposo será a partir de las 4 de la tarde". El Carabobeño (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 10 January 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
4. Ana Ramos (7 January 2014). "Mónica Spear podría ser sepultada en Caracas" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 10 January 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
5. "Tía de Mónica Spear asegura que estaba en proceso de reconciliación con Berry". El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). 7 January 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
6. "Abuela de Mónica Spear no se ha enterado que mataron a la actriz". Diario Contraste (in Spanish). 9 January 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
7. "Mónica Spear fue asesinada en vía Pto. Cabello-Valencia". El Telégrafo (in Spanish). Quito. 8 January 2014. Archived from the original on 18 January 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2014. «Aunque físicamente era de tez canela, Mónica era hija de un descendiente inglés y una alemana (Rafael Spear e Ingeborg Mootz).» Translation: Although physically (she) was swarthy, Mónica was the daughter of an English descendant and a German (Rafael Spear and Ingeborg Mootz).
8. Curtis, Henry Pierson (7 January 2014). "Mónica Spear: UCF grad, former Miss Venezuela killed by armed robbers in Venezuela". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
9. "Diario EL PAIS – Montevideo" Check |url= value (help). Elpais.com.uy. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
10. "Til_art_cul1" (in Spanish). El Universal. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
11. "Monica Mootz and Thomas Henry Berry murdered". January 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
12. "El trágico viaje de reconciliación de la Miss Venezuela". ABC (in Spanish). 9 January 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
13. "Venezuelan Actress Monica Spear Mootz and Ex-Husband Murdered". Channel 6 Miami. 7 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
14. "Justice Vowed After Former Beauty Queen Monica Spear Slain in Front of Daughter". ABCNews. 8 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
15. "Mónica Spear fue galadronada" (in Spanish). Univision.com. 26 February 2008. Archived from the original on 18 September 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
16. "Monica Spear Dead". The Huffington Post. 7 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
17. "Venevisión retransmitirá "La mujer perfecta" en honor a Spear". Notitarde. 9 January 2014. Archived from the original on 10 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
18. "Venevisión rendirá homenaje televisivo a Mónica Spear". Periódico 24. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
19. Pierson, Henry. "Mónica Spear: UCF grad, former Miss Venezuela, killed by armed robbers". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
20. "Venezuelan soap star Monica Spear, husband murdered". Worldnews.nbcnews.com. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
21. Sandra Guerrero/Tibisay Romero. "Asesinados la actriz Mónica Spear y su pareja" (in Spanish). El-nacional.com. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
22. Staff. "Matan a balazos durante un asalto a una ex Miss Venezuela" (in Spanish). Clarin.com. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
23. "Former Miss Venezuela and ex-husband killed in robbery". The Irish Times. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
24. Lucia Roiz, Jessica (21 May 2015). "Mónica Spear Murder Case: Gerardo Jose Contreras Sentenced To 25 Years In Prison". Latin Times. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
25. "Suman 7 detenidos por asesinato de ex Miss venezolana". El Universal (Mexico City) (in Spanish). 9 January 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
26. "Pena Maxima para asesinos de Monica Spear". Univision (in Spanish). 18 January 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
27. "Biografía de Mónica Spear (Fotos)". Retrieved 2014-01-09.
28. "Mónica Spear: La "Prima Ciela" de Venezuela (Fotos)". Archived from the original on 2014-01-08. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
29. "Jencarlos Canela y Mónica Spear protagonizan "Pasión Prohibida"". Archived from the original on 2014-01-10. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
30. "El 2 De Oro Minuto A Minuto..." zetaboards.com. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
31. "Ganadores del "2 de Oro" celebraron con humor y música". Magazine Venezuela. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
32. "Mi Prima Ciela" fue seleccionada como la Mejor Telenovela - Magazine Venezuela". Magazine Venezuela. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
33. "Listado completo de finalistas Premios Tu Mundo 2013" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2013-12-10. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
34. "Premios Tu Mundo 2013: lista de ganadores (fotos)". Huffington Post (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 January 2014.

External links

• Mónica Spear on Twitter
• Miss Venezuela Official Page
• Mónica Spear on IMDb

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Danielle Jones	Miss Universe 4th runner-up 2005	Succeeded by Tara Conner
Preceded by Ana Karina Áñez	Miss Venezuela 2004	Succeeded by Jictzad Viña
Preceded by Marjorie Olivares	Miss Guárico 2004	Succeeded by Lorena Sánchez de León