A married mother of triplets from Colorado has been shot dead while trying to break up a fight between her mother and stepfather, who police say then took his own life.

When Monica Montoya, 43, got a frantic call from her mother at around noon on Saturday saying she was being attacked by her husband, 62-year-old Luis Lara, the mother of three raced to the couple's home in Commerce City hoping to put an end to the altercation.

According to police, Montoya came between the feuding couple, the fight escalated and her stepfather, who was armed, fatally shot her.

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Domestic drama: Monica Montoya, 43, pictured with her nine-year-old triplets, was killed while trying to break up a fight between her mother and stepfather, who then took his own life

Crime scene: Montoya arrived at her family's residence in Commerce City, Colorado (pictured), after getting a frantic call from her mother about a domestic dispute

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.

Role model: A neighbor said Mrs Montoya worked as an engineer and was the perfect wife and mother to her triplets. One of her daughters is pictured on the right

Montoya's sister, Silvia (left), has launched an online campaign to raise money towards the education of her nieces and nephew

A funeral for Mrs Montoya was held Friday morning at The Crossing Church in Westminster, after which she was laid to rest at Golden Cemetery.

One of her sisters has launched an online fundraiser on YouCaring.com to collect donations towards the triplets’ education fund.

'In her personal life her kids education was always at the forefront of her planning,’ her sister Silvia Briscoe writes on the page. ‘This donation will help finish the work she so lovingly began.’