Senseless violence claimed the lives of former Miss Venezuela and her former husband in central Venezuela on Monday, police claimed.

Monica Spear, 29, who was also a soap opera actress, and Henry Berry, 39, were killed in a robbery try right on the highway between Puerto Cabello and Valencia in the state of Carabobo, Sierralta, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Spear was crowned Miss Venuzuela in 2004 and was already living in the U.S. But was only in the country for a vacation. Fortunately, their 5-year-old daughter, Maya Berry, survived the attack although she sustained a wound in her leg.

Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez claimed that five people have been held and questioned in relation to the crime.

Initial investigation showed that the former couple was traversing the highway when their vehicle hit a sharp object placed on the road. They stopped the vehicle to try to find out what they hit.

Spear reportedly flagged down a tow truck and while the workers were working on the crane, five unidentified men appeared with guns.

The operators scampered the nearest police station, located around a mile away. Spear, Berry and their daughter locked themselves in the car.

Forensic police director Jose Gregorio Sierralta, however, said that the gunmen peppered the vehicle with bullets.

The beauty queen had several TV series to her name, aired on the Florida-based Telemundo, including the "Flor Salvaje" or Savage Flower and "Pasion Prohibida" or Forbidden Passion.

In a televised message, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro described the incident as "a massacre."

"This violence is a sickness that we have," he said.

"They were inside the car and were riddled (with bullets). I ask those who assassinated this young person: what explanation do you have?" the President added.

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles also offered help to speed up the investigation as well as curb crime in the country.

"We should unite to win the war against violence and insecurity. "We're in an emergency. ... This situation calls for all of us to take a look at ourselves as a country," Capriles said in a report by the Chicago Tribune.