She called 911. She told the dispatcher he was choking her, threatening to kill her and her children. But before police could reach her, she went back — because something was happening to one of her kids. That decision cost her life.
On July 17, 2025, Sinay Leon-Montoya, 27, was stabbed more than 60 times inside an apartment on the 6800 block of West Par Lane in Wichita, Kansas. Her killer was Edward A. Millan-Volcan, 26 — the father of her children, and a man she was in the process of leaving.
The weapon: a three-inch scratch awl — a small, pointed tool. The medical examiner found puncture wounds covering her chest, neck, arms, back and head. Twenty-one of those wounds pierced her heart and lungs.
Her friend, Germany Torres Figueroa, 26, tried to stop it. She fought back. She survived — but not without injuries of her own.
The couple’s young children were inside that bedroom the entire time.
Timeline of that day
- 2:17 pm: Leon-Montoya calls 911 from W. Kellogg Drive — reports choking, threats. Language barrier slows dispatch.
- 2:20: She leaves — then returns to the apartment because of a child emergency.
- 2:34 pm: Second 911 call. Police arrive to find two stabbing victims. Leon-Montoya dies at hospital.
Those 17 minutes — the gap between her first call and the second — were all it took.
Last week, Millan-Volcan pleaded guilty to first-degree felony murder and attempted murder. A plea deal dropped additional charges of kidnapping and child endangerment. He faces a minimum of 38 years and 9 months in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for July 16.
Leon-Montoya was trying to leave him when she was killed. Her children — who watched their mother die — are the ones left to carry that.
