Miss Venezuela Killing: 2 Teenagers Get 4 Years in Prison in Death of Mónica Spear

Three others between ages of 18 and 24 have been given longer sentences

By Natalie Finn Apr 30, 2015 12:41 AMTags
Monica SpearAP Pool/Rungroj Yongrit, Pool

Justice continues to be meted out in the murders of Miss Venezuela 2004 Mónica Spear and Henry Thomas Berry.

According to Agence France-Presse, two teenage boys have each been sentenced to four years in prison in connection with the killings, Spear and Berry both having been shot to death in front of their young daughter during a botched robbery perpetrated when their car broke down on a highway in central Venezuela.

Prosecutors said that the 17-year-old defendant was convicted of aggravated robbery, while the 15-year-old was convicted of resisting arrest, theft and conspiracy. Their names have not been officially released because they are minors; they'll also be on probation for six months apiece upon their release from prison.

Jean Carlos Colina, 19, was previously sentenced to 26 years in prison; Jose Ferreira Herrera, 18, and Nelfrend Jimenez Alvarez, 21, were sentenced to 24 years.

Four men and one woman are still to be tried in connection with the killings, which drew attention to Venezuela's alarming homicide rate (the State Department has Venezuela second only to Honduras as the most violent country in the world) and speeded the implementation of a nationwide anti-crime initiative.

Spear, who had also starred in telenovelas such as Pasión Prohibida, had lived in the U.S. for years and was on holiday in Venezuela with Berry and daughter Maya when she was killed. Her and Berry's funeral took place in Caracas.