A 2-year-old girl tragically passed away after being left in a hot car, with a body temperature exceeding 40C when emergency responders arrived. The child’s father, 38-year-old Christopher Scholtes, had left his daughter named Parker in the car for several hours with the air conditioning running. Scholtes’ wife, who is an anaesthesiologist, was at work during the incident. When she returned home around 4pm and inquired about their daughter’s whereabouts, Scholtes rushed outside to check the car, which was parked in direct sunlight on a scorching July day in Marana, near Tucson, Arizona.
Scholtes confessed to authorities that he knew he had left his daughter in the car, explaining that he usually parked in the garage but couldn’t do so that day due to obstructing exercise equipment. According to investigators, Scholtes’ other children, aged 9 and 5, disclosed that their father frequently left them alone in the vehicle.
Prosecutors alleged that Scholtes was preoccupied with drinking beer, playing video games, and watching inappropriate content while his daughter was left unattended in the overheated car. Despite initially claiming she was inside for only 30 minutes, surveillance footage contradicted his statement, showing him returning home at 1pm and the wife discovering the child missing at 4pm.
Upon finding the girl motionless and still strapped in her seat inside the car, the couple called emergency services. Despite efforts to save her, the child did not survive. An autopsy revealed her body temperature at 108.9F (42.72C) when she was found unresponsive, leading to her tragic demise from environmental heat exposure.
Scholtes admitted to leaving his daughter in the car for a brief period as she had fallen asleep after a shopping trip, but later acknowledged that the car’s engine shuts off automatically after 30 minutes. Bodycam footage captured Scholtes expressing remorse, while text messages between him and his wife indicated a history of leaving their children in the car.
In a recent development, Scholtes accepted a plea deal, admitting to second-degree murder and child abuse charges. Scheduled to surrender to authorities, he was discovered deceased early in the morning in a Phoenix suburb. The plea deal carried a maximum prison term of 30 years for the offenses, with a sentencing hearing set for November 21.
