On January 6, 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 January 8, 2014, seven people were arrested by the Cuerpo de Investigaciones Científicas, Penales y Criminalísticas (CICPC) for their alleged involvement in the murder. At the time of the arrest, the Venezuelan authorities also confiscated several items believed to have been owned by Spear and Berry.[24]
Spear's daughter has been in the care of her grandparents since her parents' death.[25] 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. Maduro claims that soap operas were responsible for the couple's murder.[26]