A man, who had admitted to fatally harming his two-year-old daughter by leaving her unattended in a scorching hot vehicle while he indulged in adult content, passed away on the day he was supposed to report to prison.
Christopher Scholtes, aged 38, was found deceased by Phoenix Police Department officers just before 6 a.m. on Wednesday, November 5, the same day when he was scheduled to be incarcerated prior to his sentencing hearing on November 21.
Laura Conover, the Pima County Attorney, revealed during a press briefing that the father had agreed to a plea deal for second-degree murder, which could have led to a maximum of 30 years in prison. However, instead of showing up in court as expected, it was disclosed that he had taken his own life the previous night.
Conover described the situation as complex while commending the prosecuting team and offering condolences to Scholtes’ family. She concluded by addressing Scholtes’ two surviving daughters, who have now suffered the loss of a sister and their father within a short span of two years.
Having entered a guilty plea in October for the second-degree murder of his daughter, Parker, who tragically perished in July 2024 due to heat exposure in a car on a scorching 42-degree Celsius day, the man was anticipating a 20 to 30-year prison sentence. However, he was granted bail until the day he was due to be taken into custody.
Scholtes and his wife, Erika, a practicing anesthesiologist, had recently moved to a new residence worth £1 million in Phoenix suburbs, relocating from Marana near Tucson, where their daughter had met her unfortunate fate. While Erika was at work at Banner University Medical Center, Parker was left sleeping in the car with the air conditioning on.
In court, Erika staunchly defended her spouse, labeling their child’s death as an accident. Scholtes confessed to authorities that he had left his daughter in the car with the air conditioning running for 30 minutes while she slept after a shopping trip.
He later acknowledged that the car’s engine automatically shuts off after half an hour. Upon Erika’s return home, she discovered her unconscious child in the vehicle.
Initially pleading not guilty and rejecting a plea bargain in March that could have resulted in a minimum of 10 years in prison, Scholtes eventually accepted a harsher deal six months later, facing 20 to 30 years for second-degree murder and child abuse charges.
Additionally, he was sued by his eldest daughter, now 17, alongside Erika for emotional distress, assault, battery, and fraud. Text messages between the couple indicated Scholtes’ habit of leaving the children unattended in the car for extended periods. The wife’s message to him stated, “I told you to stop leaving them in the car, how many times have I told you,” as Parker was being rushed to the hospital.
Two of his daughters informed the police that he had previously left them in cars and often got distracted while playing games and handling food, according to police reports.