When Monica Montoya, 43, a married mother of three nine year olds, got a call from her mother saying she was being attacked by her husband, Montoya did what any thoughtful child would do — she came to her mother’s rescue.
The Daily Mail reports the sad details of what happened next,
According to police, Montoya came between the feuding couple, the fight escalated and her stepfather, who was armed, fatally shot her.
Police say the 62-year-old man then turned the gun on himself and took his own life, reported CBS Denver.
Montoya’s 73-year-old mother, Silvia, suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was treated and released from the hospital.
Police in Commerce City told The Denver Post they had investigated two prior domestic disturbances at Luis Lara’s address, but he was never arrested.
Montoya leaves behind her husband, Alex, and three children, Alex, Samantha and Anna, all of them nine years old. She is also survived by her three sisters.
Cathy Germann, a neighbor of Montoya’s in Westminster, said she worked as an engineer and was a great person and the perfect wife and mother.
Her sister, Silvia Briscoe, has set up an online fund at YouCaring.com to raise money for the triplets’ education fund. It has raised over $40,000 of the $50,000 goal. Let’s hope the three kids are fully taken care the rest of their childhoods.