PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 An autopsy report released Friday unveils gruesome new details in a stabbing at Maryvale High School last year that left a 15-year-old student dead.<\/p>\n
The documents from the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner show that Michael Montoya II, 16, was stabbed 15 times while inside a classroom on Aug. 19, 2025, around 11 a.m. Those included being stabbed in the back, neck and chest, where the knife hit his heart.<\/p>\n
He also had bruises on the right side of his face, injuries to his mouth and cuts on his arms and legs.<\/p>\n
Police said the suspect, Chris Aguilar, 16 at the time, smuggled a folding 4-inch pocketknife<\/a> onto campus.<\/p>\n A classmate said Aguilar switched seats on the day of the stabbing so he could sit next to Montoya, police said. Investigators said Aguilar punched Montoya multiple times before the stabbing.<\/p>\n Montoya died at the hospital.<\/p>\n A school safety officer later detained Aguilar, who was booked into jail.<\/p>\n He later pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder<\/a>. He was initially charged with second-degree murder but was later indicted on the more serious murder charge.<\/p>\n Witnesses told investigators that Aguilar stabbed Montoya multiple times because Montoya had stolen a gun from Aguilar during a meetup on the previous day<\/a>, court documents said.<\/p>\n Montoya\u2019s mother plans to sue the Phoenix Union High School District for $28 million<\/a>, alleging negligence and saying the district eliminated school resource officers, deliberately reprogrammed metal detectors and ignored years of danger.<\/p>\n See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it<\/a>.<\/p>\n