Gerardo José Contreras, who was convicted of the murder of beauty queen Monica Spear and her ex-husband, died on July 13 from complications caused by tuberculosis.
On July 24, journalists Deivis Ramírez and Pableysa Ostos reported via Twitter that the convicted felon, a.k.a. El Gato, died in prison while receiving treatment for tuberculosis. He was serving a 25-year sentence for the murders of Spear, 29, and her ex-husband, Thomas Berry, 39.
According to ABC News, Spear and Berry were fatally shot while visiting their home country of Venezuela in 2014. The couple was driving with their daughter from Merida to the capitol of Caracas on the night of January 4, when their vehicle suffered a flat tire. As they waited for assistance inside the car, three armed men approached their locked vehicle before shooting at them. Spear and Berry died at the scene, while their then-5-year-old daughter escaped with a gunshot wound to her leg.
