Beauty queen's killers nabbed, Venezuela says

 The killers of a Venezuelan soap opera star and former beauty queen are among seven suspects who have been arrested, Venezuela's interior minister said.

The shooting deaths of actress Monica Spear and her ex-husband have galvanized the public to turn up the pressure on the government to act on Venezuela's high crime rates.

The victims' 5-year-old daughter witnessed the roadside shooting and suffered a gunshot wound herself, but survived.

No one has been charged yet, but officials say there is evidence linking the suspects to the double homicide.

"It's terrible that this happened, and society has to react," Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said at a security meeting he convened with mayors and governors on Wednesday. "It is not time to faint, to throw in the towel, to let our guard down. To the contrary, it's time to react."

But during the same meeting, Maduro theorized that Spears' killing may not have been a robbery or a normal street crime.

"This murder seems more like a contract killing," he said.

The president did not elaborate on his statement. 

Later in the day, the Interior Ministry announced that the killers were among seven suspects who had been arrested, but did not mention a contract killing or other motive.

Those arrested were four men, a woman and two juveniles, according to the state-run AVN news agency.

Some of the victims' belongings were found on the suspects, AVN reported.

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.

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).

Her brother, Ricardo Spear, told HLN's Nancy Grace that the actress's daughter was released from the hospital and was with family.

The child does not know that her parents are dead, and the family has reached out to psychologists about how to handle the situation, Ricardo Spear said. 

"We're going to do it slowly, we're going to use metaphors: They went to heaven, they're up there watching you, they're taking care of you, they love you," he said.

The Spear family is not one to hold on to anger, the brother said, and has nothing to say to whoever ended Monica Spear's life. Family members are filled with sadness, but hope that something good can come from the tragedy, he said. .

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.

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. 

source; cnn news